MASON, Ohio — No medal involved this time. Little drama, either. Novak Djokovic simply ground his way to another title shot.
And Roger Federer will be waiting for him.
Djokovic reached the finals of the Western & Southern Open for the second straight year Saturday, beating Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-2 in a reprise of their meeting in the Olympics. Del Potro defeated Djokovic for the bronze medal on Wimbledon’s lush grass two weeks ago.
The sequel on a hard court? Not even close.
The final will match the world’s top two players, the first time that’s happened in Cincinnati. If Federer wins, it’ll give him a record five titles in the tournament.
“It’s a nice bonus, really,” Federer said. “When I was a kid I wasn’t thinking of winning five Cincinnatis, but then again here I am in this great situation being able to do it, the first man ever. So I’m obviously excited. Very often when I do now reach a finals there is something on the line. Here we go – there is something there.”
Top-ranked Federer beat Swiss countryman Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the other semifinal. It’ll be the seventh time that Federer and Djokovic have played for a tournament title, the last time in 2011 at Dubai. Federer beat Djokovic for the Cincinnati title in 2009.
Federer leads the career series 15-12, but it’s taken a few interesting turns lately. Djokovic beat him in the semifinals at the U.S. Open last year, then again in the semis at Rome and the French Open. Federer got the upper hand again in the semifinals at Wimbledon.
“I hope I’m fresher than him tomorrow,” Federer said. “We’ll see how it goes.”
Djokovic also reached the Cincinnati final last year but had to quit in the second set because of a sore shoulder, giving the title to Andy Murray.
This week is going much better for him.
He won the Rogers Cup in Toronto last Sunday night, leaving him a little tired, but he managed to get some rest at the suburban Cincinnati tournament. He was on court for only a half-hour Thursday night, when Nikolay Davydenko had to quit their match because of a sore shoulder.
The Serb had played only three sets the last two days, leaving plenty of energy for his second semifinal in eight days.
He used it in the long rallies.
Djokovic and del Potro exchanged a lot of shots from the baseline in the first set, with both players wasting chances to take control early. Djokovic got to the semifinal by holding serve in all 22 games during the tournament, facing only four break points. He faced that many in the third game of the match.
The Serb saved one of those break points with a 30-shot rally that ended with del Potro dumping a backhand into the net, then dropping his head
