Roger Federer vs. Novak Djokovic set for Cincinnati Masters final

The finals at the Cincinnati Masters (the Western & Southern Open this year) are set, with Roger Federer up against Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep against Kiki Bertens in the men’s and women’s singles draws, respectively.

The Cincinnati Masters is the last big tournament before the final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open. The finals will be taking place on Sunday.

Federer won his semifinal over David Goffin, besting him in straight sets when the latter has to retire in the second set. Federer had taken a first-set via tiebreak and officially won, 7-6, 1-1. Djokovic needed three sets but bested the tough Marin Cilic, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, to advance from his semifinals matchup.

The unseeded Bertens needed three sets, but ultimately bested No. 8 Petra Kvitova, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, in her semifinal matchup. Kvitova, notably, eliminated Serena Williams in the second round of the tournament. Halep took on the very tough Aryna Sabalenka in her semifinal match, winning in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.

Bertens’ run through the tournament has been incredible, felling Coco Vandeweghe in the first round before beating Caroline Wozniacki, Anett Kontaveit, Elina Svitolina and then Kvitova to reach the final.

Sabalenka had a very impressive run to the semifinals, beating all of Johanna Konta, Karolina Pliskova, Caroline Garcia and Madison Keys en route to Halep. Halep, on the other hand, bested Ajla Tomljanovic, Ashleigh Barty and Lesia Tsurenko before facing Sabalenka as the top seed.

Djokovic’s run through Cincy includes wins over Steve Johnson, Adrian Mannarino, Grigor Dimitrov, MIlos Raonic and then Cilic to reach the final. All of those matches, save for the opener vs. Johnson, were three-set matches, so it will be interesting to see if Djokovic is tired at all when the US Open gets underway in New York. Especially after facing Federer.

Federer took down Peter Gojowczyk, Leonardo Mayer, Stan Wawrinka and Goffin on his way to facing Djokovic.