The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Rain delays only hold up Federer and Djokovic
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic returned to court yesterday to book their places in the quarter-finals of the raindelayed Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
Both matches had been interrupted by the weather on Thursday.
Federer, playing in his first tournament since Wimbledon, completed a 6-1 7-6 (8-6) victory over Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer to set up a meeting with fellow Swiss star Stan Wawrinka.
The seven-time champion said: “I’m excited. Playing against Stan obviously is a treat.
“Ten years ago and two days ago we won the Olympic gold together and we’re still playing. I’m very excited to play against him and it’s great for him, I’m happy to see him back again.”
Federer has now won 43 of his 47 matches at the tournament. He missed out through injury in 2016 and 2017, but his victory over the world number 50 extended his winning streak in Ohio to 12 matches and 15 sets in a row.
The 37-year-old lost just four firstserve points in his win over Mayer and did not face a break point.
Wawrinka is playing his best tennis since undergoing surgery on his left knee last year.
The former world number three beat Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 6-4 6-3 to advance.
He said: “This week I’m feeling much better with my tennis. So I’m happy to be in the quarter-finals. It’s really good for me.”
Djokovic booked his place in the quarter-finals by beating Grigor Dimitrov 2-6 6-3 6-4.
The match was stopped overnight with the players locked at one set all.
Defending champion Dimitrov broke twice to win the first 6-2 but the Wimbledon champion won the second 6-3 to take the match to a decider.
Djokovic then broke again in the third set before heavy rain stopped play.
The 31-year-old returned yesterday to complete his victory and set up a lasteight meeting with Milos Raonic.