Cincinnati, Aug 23 (DPA) Roger Federer will aim to end two Masters-level losses to Novak Djokovic when the pair meet in Sunday’s final in Cincinnati.
Federer defeated world number two Andy Murray 6-2, 7-6 (10-8) to snap a four-match loss streak to the Scot.
Novak Djokovic halted five defeats at the hands of third-ranked Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-4 as the top four players in the world played in the semis at the same event for the first time since April, 2008, at Monte Carlo.
Federer, building up for a run at a sixth consecutive trophy at the US Open which begins a week from Monday, owns Djokovic 7-4 but has lost to the Serb at Masters semi-finals this season in Miami and Rome.
“Novak’s maybe not had the run he was hoping for and he’s coming back,” Federer said of the 2008 Australian Open finalist, ranked fourth.
World number one Federer had lost to number two Murray twice last autumn and at Doha and Indian Wells in the first quarter of 2009.
And the Swiss produced a game plan to make sure that scenario was not repeated.
“I stayed aggressive. I was always looking to make the plays, and I think in the end I deserved to win just because I wasn’t scared to go after my shots.
“I served well today, it was just overall a very good performance.”
Against Djokovic, Federer will be working for his 16th career Masters 1000 trophy, which would put him one short of the all-time record of Andre Agassi. Federer owns three titles this season -Madrid, Paris and Wimbledon.
Federer, a two-time Cincinnati champion, earned the win without facing a single break point.
The victory was only the third for Federer against the 22-year-old Murray, winner along with Nadal of five titles this season, including the French Open and Wimbledon.
Federer improved to 46-7 on the season while Murray suffered his eighth loss of 2009 and will head to New York as soon as possible to prepare for the Open starting August 31.
Murray said he’s more than ready to head to the Grand Slam after winning the Montreal title last week and getting to the final four in Cincinnati.
“I played seven, I thought, very solid matches,” said the Scot, who added: “Yesterday and today weren’t so good. That could have (come) down to a combination of things: My opponent was playing well, my level dropping slightly.
“But it’s been perfect preparation for the US Open. I’ll go there this evening or tomorrow and rest up for a couple days and train hard before it starts.”
rounak