*Cincinnati, OH – The weather couldn’t have been better on Saturday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center for the 2015 Western and Southern Open day of semifinal action. And along with the perfect weather was a pretty perfect line up of tennis superstars to fight their way to the tournament finals.
Novak Djokovic and Alexandr Dolgopolov
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic kicked off action on Center Court up against qualifier Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine. The result of the match up was typical, with Djoker securing the win, but it wasn’t without a fight for the Serbian world number 1:
“I guess I did a Serena, too, today,” he said of being down the first set then coming back from the brink of defeat to win the match.
After he sluggishly lost the first set, the second set went to a down-to-the-wire tiebreaker, which Dolgo narrowly lost and handed the momentum over to his very capable opponent. Djokovic being a great frontrunner ran away with the match from that point, winning it at 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
“I was not very happy with the way I played. But, again, win is a win,” he said.
Roger Federer and Andy Murray
Next up was a Wimbledon 2015 semifinal rematch featuring Roger Federer and Andy Murray. Roger brought his full arsenal of “dazzle” to the duel and Murray brought heavy legs and a prayer … neither of which served him during the relatively one-sided affair. Federer only needed one break of serve per set to send the Brit off to New York to try again on the bigger stage, the US Open. Federer won, 4-6, 6-7, reaching the final to compete against Novak. It will be his sixth final appearance in Cincy and he’s never lost one at the venue.
“Yeah, I like that there is a lot of tennis fans from around and they fly here and support this event,” he said. “That’s what we’re used to in Switzerland, just slower pace, easygoing, not hectic. That’s maybe also what has helped me to do well here in Cincy.”
Serena Williams and Elina Svitolina
WTA superstar Serena Williams kicked off the night session up against Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine, after surviving a three-set threat against Serbian Ana Ivanovic, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, the night before.
Serena and Svitolina had met before at the Australian Open with Serena coming away with the win, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, but the Ukrainian held her own during the three-setter. On Saturday she also came out of the gates strong – or Serena weak – breaking the defending champion’s serve right off the bat, holding the lead till 3-2. But as is Serena’s “way,” she was able to reclaim the break a few games later, pulling out serves of 120 and above, to go up 5-4. She then broke the 14th-seeded Ukranian at love and took the first set 6-4.
With Serena serving first, the second set started with a trade off of holds, with the defending champion missing out on a few chances to snag the early break. Svitolina troubled her on her next service game, but Serena was able to hang on, hold her serve, then secure a break … only to lose it in a service game of her own riddled with double faults.
“I haven’t served much since the French Open because I’ve had an elbow problem. When you don’t serve much you know, I think people forget that I’ve been out,” she said of her errant serve.
“Even before French I didn’t serve much until like the day before the tournament started. So I’ve been dealing with that for a long time.
It is what it is. Hopefully I’ll get through it. If not, I’ll get through regardless. Things could be worse.”
Nevertheless, she went up 3-2 in the second.
With serve speeds only averaging in the 90s vs Serena’s in the 100s when they went in, the Ukranian was easily broken again by her dominant opponent’s powerful returns and yo-yoing shots and Serena went up 5-2. After one last-ditch hold by Svitolina, the world no. 1 buckled down and easily closed it out, 6-4, 6-3 in 1 hour and 27 minutes.
“I’ve felt better, but I’m in the final playing the way I’ve played, so I feel like I’m okay with that, she said of the state of her game. “I know I can play so much better. Some matches I’ve played better here, and I really felt the connection and that was really good to feel.”
This will make the 33-year-old’s third consecutive W&S final.
Simona Halep and Jelena Jankovic
The last semi to be decided for the night was Serbian Jelena Jankovic up against Romanian Simona Halep, both relentless grinders. The expectation was long rallies and “leaving it all on the court” between the two ladies, but it didn’t quite go down that way. Instead, the Romanian, Halep, earned a spot in Sunday’s final against Serena Williams by routing one-time Cincy champion (’09), Jankovic, 6-1, 6-1.
Halep fought her way to the final in Toronto last week at Rogers Cup against Belinda Bencic but had to retire in the third set due to a leg injury and fatigue. But whatever magic her physio and/or fitness trainer did between then and the start of the W&S Open, she quietly scrapped her way all the way to the deciding match of this tournament as well. The former world no. 2 is a proven fighter and is sure to give Serena a good fight for the W&S title.
The Cincinnati Open men’s and women’s finals featuring Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer and Serena Williams vs Simona Halep will be played on Sunday, Aug 23, beginning at 1pm EST.
Check your local listings.
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