23. 08. 2009. ·
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic said after the fantastic win over the Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of Cincinnati that he did everything he needed to do to beat one of the greatest tennis players in the world.
‘Nadal’s one of the best players ever, and he puts a lot of effort into every point, so even though I was a set and a break up, I knew he wasn’t finished’, said Djokovic.
After he lost to Novak in straight sets, Nadal said he knew he had to play aggressively, but the Serb was always inside the line and he was always outside.
‘I wasn’t 100-percent ready to play. I need to play at this level more than one time. I know, when I play well, I can play at this level’, said Nadal.
Djokovic will face world no.1 Roger Federer in the finals of Cincinnati Masters. The Swiss defeated world no.2 Andy Murray in the semifinals.
Federer, the winner of a record 15 Grand Slams, including the last two at the French Open and Wimbledon, said that snapping his personal losing streak against Murray, the defending champion, didn’t matter to him, and though people try to hype it up, he doesn’t read anything into it.
‘I know my game’s on, and when my game’s on, I know I can beat any player in the world’, said Federer after beating British no.1.
‘Federer is favourite to win the title. He’s the best player in the world. Anyway, I will do my best to play as well as I did against Nadal, and to use my chances’, said Djokovic ahead of the finals.
The final match at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati between Djokovic and Federer is scheduled at 6.30pm CET. The prize money is 3 million dollars, the winner gets $443,500, while the runner-up gets $222,000.
