Novak Djokovic finally was the last man standing at the Western & Southern Open here Sunday. To be that man, Djokovic had to beat one of his fellow all-time greats.
No. 10 tournament seed Djokovic beat No. 2 seed Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4 on Center Court at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. A sun-baked crowd watched in hot (86 degrees) and humid conditions.
Djokovic had been 0-5 in Cincinnati finales, while Federer fell to 7-1 lifetime in W&S championship matches. The crowd mostly pulled for Djokovic as, in a match of well-liked players, local fans apparently just wanted Djokovic to finally hoist the tournament's Rookwood Cup trophy.
Shortly after winning, Djokovic jumped up and down several times and pumped a fist in the air.
"It's a very special moment to stand here and hold this trophy for the first time in Cincinnati," a smiling Djokovic said during the post-match ceremony, as the crowd chanted "No-vak! No-vak!"
Federer owns a men's record 20 Grand Slam singles titles, and Djokovic has won 13 Grand Slam championships.
"He's a great champion and one of the best to ever play the game," Djokovic said of the 37-year-old Federer.
The 31-year-old Djokovic could well have been speaking about himself, and Sunday was a typically tight battle between the tennis giants.
Djokovic now leads Federer 24-22 in their career head-to-head matches, but their W&S Open history had included an 0-3 record for Djokovic against Federer in Cincinnati finals. Their most recent W&S title meeting was in 2015.
"Congratulations to Novak on winning it today," Federer said. "This was not good enough. It's OK. Good week, but I'm happy it's over and I need to rest. So, it's all good."
"It was definitely not my best day on the return," Federer said. "It was just awful. He served well. Whatever. But missing every second serve on the forehand side, I don't know what that was about. But, look, I don't even want to look for reasons why it happened. I just think it did. Novak totally deserved to win today."
