Cincinnati: World number one Novak Djokovic brushed aside Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka in straight sets to advance to the semi-finals of the ATP and WTA Cincinnati Masters Friday.
The top-seeded Serb breezed past Wawrinka with little difficulty in just over an hour, winning 6-4, 6-1 to avenge his defeat to the Swiss in the French Open final.
Djokovic will face Ukrainian qualifier Alexandr Dolgopolov, who upset Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-2.
The Serb owns a 4-0 record in that series, most recently winning in Miami five months ago.
Before this week, Dolgopolov had lost all four of his previous matches at the pre-US Open event.
Six-time winner Roger Federer crushed Spain’s Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-4, earning a 12th straight win without a loss in that series.
The second seed lost just four points on serve in the opening set as he steamrolled through his matches in what will be his lone tune-up for the Open which begins a week from tomorrow.
The defending champion Federer, who is chasing a fifth trophy this season, improved to 43-7 on the season after a minimal 61-minute sweep.
“I’m very happy with how I got out of the blocks again,” said Federer, who last played in the Wimbledon final.
“I wasn’t sure how I’d come back from vacation and training. I’m pleased with how I’m playing.
“I’m playing great tennis and I’m feeling good, feeling healthy and enjoying myself. That’s important at this point of my career.
“I feel better at the net than I ever have and I hope to keep that up. I want to win the US Open again but I still have work to get done here.”
Britain’s third seed Andy Murray rallied after losing the first set to Richard Gasquet, turning the tide for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win.
Murray, who is trying to back up last week’s Montreal title with his third in Cincinnati, fired 35 winners and broke four times in just over two hours against his French opponent.
The Scot admitted that his stamina is running low.
“I’m obviously tired, I’ve played a lot of matches, a lot of late nights. My recovery hasn’t been perfect either.
“I’m just happy I managed to fight through a lot of tough matches, difficult situations, and hopefully that will stand me in good stead for the US Open.”
World number one Djokovic improved to 18-4 over Wawrinka.
“It was the best performance I had so far this week. It came at the right time against one of my biggest rivals and the guy I lost to last time we played in the finals of French Open,” said Djokovic.
“Obviously I approached this match very seriously in trying to prepare myself and get myself in a good position to win. That’s what I have done.”
Djokovic is on a mission to finally win Cincinnati and become the first player in history to complete a matched set of all nine Masters 1000 trophies.
He has lost four finals here, two apiece to Murray and Federer.
Cincinnati: Defending champion Serena Williams reached the semi-finals of the Western & Southern tournament in Cincinnati but not before having her mettle tested in a 3-6 6-4 6-2 win over sixth-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic on Friday.
Williams, who will be chasing a calendar sweep of the four Grand Slams at the August 31-September 13 US Open, struggled with her serve and was forced to come from behind several times in a rematch of last year’s final.
“Out of the previous nine times we’ve played I think we’ve gone three sets at least six times so I know she plays really well,” the top-seeded American said in an on-court interview.
“She’s been number one, she’s won a Grand Slam. I knew it was going to be a big test for me today and I’m really happy I was able to get through.”
Ivanovic did well to contain her opponent’s powerful serve, most notably in the first set when she broke three times in four games to pull ahead 5-3 before delivering an incredible backhand winner to hold to love.
A topsy-turvy second set yesterday saw Williams grab the first three games and Ivanovic the next four before the world number one roared back to win the next three.
The Serb then grabbed the opening two games of the final set but Williams shifted into a higher gear to win six in a row and advance.
The American landed only 31 percent of her first serves in the opening set and 47 percent in the second but was much more efficient in the third, chalking up 68 percent.
“I just decided that if I wanted to stay out here and keep playing I had to pick my game up a level,” said Williams who now has a 9-1 career record against Ivanovic.
“I had to do a ‘Serena’. I kind of like that actually.”
Up next for Williams will be 14th-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, a 6-4, 2-6, 6-0 winner over Czech Lucie Safarova, seeded seven.
In other quarter-finals, third-seeded Romanian Simona Halep dispatched Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6, 6-2.
She will now face a semi-final against Serbian Jelena Jankovic who beat Slovakian qualifier Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-4, 6-2.
Halep and Jankovic last squared off on the WTA Tour in the BNP Paribas Open final in March when the Romanian tennis diva prevailed in a three-set battle.
REUTERS
