Djokovic now a golden master
Novak Djokovic finally clinched the title missing from his resume with a 6-4 6-4 win over Roger Federer in Cincinnati on Sunday and became the first player to complete the sweep of Masters series tournaments.
Having made five previous finals and lost to Federer in three of them, Djokovic finally broke the ice to continue his stunning revival after a long comeback from elbow surgery.
The Wimbledon champion is the first to claim the Career Golden Masters, having won all nine titles in the elite series that began in 1990.
“Obviously it’s a very special moment to stand here for the first time with the winning trophy,” former world No 1 Djokovic said after defeating seven-times Cincinnati champion Federer.
“The hard times I went through, it’s been a rollercoaster ride in my career with injury, taking time off and having surgery earlier this year.
“This seems a bit unreal to be back at this level and winning Wimbledon and obviously Cincinnati for the first time.”
Djokovic has won his last three matches against Federer and now holds a 24-22 advantage in their long rivalry.
The world No 10 Serb is set to improve to sixth in the rankings and heads to the US Open in August favoured to win a third crown at Flushing Meadows.
“Thank you for letting me win once in Cincinnati,” Djokovic said to Federer.
“Congratulations Novak on writing history today,” the Swiss said. “It’s an amazing effort not just today but your whole career to get to this point. You should be very proud.”
In the women’s section Dutch surprise Kiki Bertens saved a championship point before going on to earn a shock Cincinnati Masters final triumph 2-6 7-6(6) 6-2 over a fatigued world No 1 Simona Halep.
Bertens came back from the brink against Romania’s top seed in an exhausting secondset tiebreaker, then won five of the final six games in the decider to lift the sixth and biggest title of her career.
“I cannot find words for this moment. I’m so happy,” a tearful Bertens, whose previous titles had all come on clay, said on court.
The victory was the 26-yearold’s first over a world No 1 and her sixth consecutive triumph over a top-10 opponent and will see her advance to a career-high No 13 in the world rankings.
It also ended a nine-match winning streak by Halep, who lost in the Cincinnati final for a third time.
“Maybe once I will win one, because I love to play here,” said the Romanian. “I was a little bit tired this week, but it was a pleasure to come here and play.”