Federer overpowers Djokovic

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:45

Federer, who beat defending champion Andy Murray 6-2 7-6 (10/8) in the semi-finals, confirmed his status as heavy favourite for the US Open with an outstanding performance.

It was his 16th Masters Series title – his first as a father – and apart from Djokovic’s fightback early in the second set he was never troubled.

The world number one and defending Wimbledon, French and US Open champion took his total career prize money to US dollars 50million with the triumph.

Federer, seeking to become the fourth player to win at least three titles in Cincinnati in the Open era, hardly broke sweat as he put Djokovic to the sword in the opening set.

However, he encountered far stiffer resistance early in the second set as Djokovic raced into a 3-0 lead, breaking in the second game.

But the Swiss halted the fightback dead in its tracks by rattling off three successive winning games to level 3-3.

At 5-5 Djokovic was refusing to raise the white flag but was clearly running out of ideas, producing a poorly executed drop-shot to give his opponent advantage and then the game when he fired long.

Serving for the match, Federer did not drop a single point to complete the perfect warm-up for the US Open which begins a week on August 31.

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