Cincinnati Masters: Djokovic and Murray to meet in the final

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have met in 4 matches this year with the Spaniard leading 3-1. Particularly memorable was their thrilling semifinal encounter in Hamburg. Had Djokovic won, he would have overtaken Nadal as the world no. 2. The Spaniard prevailed and eventually won the tournament. From then on, he never looked back, winning four straight titles including two grand slams. En route to the French Open and Artois Championship titles, Nadal won over Djokovic in the semifinals and finals respectively. The only time the Serb won was at the semifinal round of the Pacific Life Open at the hard courts of Indian Wells.

Djokovic is considered as possibly the current best hard court player of the game especially after reaching the final of the 2007 US Open and winning his first grand slam at the Australian Open this year. However, he failed to defend his title at the Rogers Masters last week falling to Andy Murray in the quarterfinals. Clearly, he has much to prove.

In the match, Djokovic immediately commanded a 5-0 lead against Nadal who looked tired and simply out of touch against the Serb. He was able to hold his serve for the first time but that was all he could manage as the no. 3 seed continued his aggressive play to close out the set. The Spaniard was eager to fight back battling every point with Djokovic. In the tenth game at 5-5, the Serb was finally able to get the crucial break. Up 6-5, he served the close the match and advance to the finals. Djokovic clearly had the upper hand from the beginning up to the end. Nadal only had one break point which he failed to convert. After weeks of brutal play and victories from the Spaniard, he admitted that he was starting to feel the effects of all those. This loss snaps his 32-match winning streak since Hamburg in May. He will also have to wait until August 18 to be the official no. 1 in the ATP rankings.

Earlier, no. 8 seed Andy Murray secured his slot in the final by overcoming Ivo Karlovic, conqueror of Roger Federer in the third round. The Scot was able to return very well against the big server breaking him four times to avoid a tie-breaker which has become the trademark of matches involving Karlovic. Murray won in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Currently no. 9 in the world, he is certainly one to watch out for especially given his strong performance in this tournament as well as during the Rogers Masters in Toronto last week.

Results:
[8] Andy MURRAY (GBR) d. [16] Ivo KARLOVIC (CRO) 6-4, 6-4
[3] Novak DJOKOVIC (SRB) d. [2] Rafael NADAL (ESP) 6-1, 7-5