Novak Djokovic’s reign as Cincinnati Masters champion is over. The World No. 1’s bid for back-to-back Western & Southern Open titles fell just short as he lost out to Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals after a three-set battle.
Medvedev will face off with David Goffin in the final. The Belgian reached the first Masters 1000 final in his career by defeating France’s Richard Gasquet in straight sets.
And on the women’s side, American Madison Keys ousted compatriot Sofia Kenin in the semi-finals and will now square off with Svetlana Kuznetsova for the title.
As the Cincinnati Masters draws to a close, SBOBET is here to catch you up on the top storylines surrounding the tournament on the men’s and women’s side.
Daniil Medvedev dethrones defending champion Novak Djokovic
Daniil Medvedev’s remarkable run continues. The 23-year-old Russian is through to his third consecutive hard-court final after defying the Cincinnati Masters 2019 odds and ousting World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
Medvedev mounted a brilliant comeback after going one set down. He didn’t quite know how he did it, but he credits the crowd for providing him with the energy to come out on top.
“To be honest, I don’t know how I did it,” Medvedev said. “I was so tired in the first set and playing Novak I thought I wasn’t able to keep the intensity. Then, the one momentum change in the second set was the difference. The crowd gave me so much energy.”
Djokovic had a great chance to claim back-to-back titles in Cincinnati, especially after World No. 2 Rafael Nadal pulled out of the tournament. But he just couldn’t get past Medvedev, who’s been in outstanding form of late.
Prior to Cincinnati, Medvedev had also made it to the finals of the Citi Open and the Rogers Cup. Unfortunately, he lost on both occasions, first to Nick Kyrgios in Washington and then to Rafael Nadal in Montreal.
After losing to Djokovic in the round of 16 of this year’s Australian Open, Medvedev has now scored back-to-back wins over the World No. 1. He also prevailed in three sets in their previous meeting in the Monte Carlo Masters.
David Goffin defeats Richard Gasquet to reach first Masters 1000 final
Medvedev will meet David Goffin in the final of the Cincinnati Masters. The Belgian, who will be appearing in his first Masters 1000 final, disposed of French veteran Richard Gasquet in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
Goffin walked over to the semis after quarter-final foe Yoshihito Nishioka had to withdraw due to illness. That gave the Belgian a significant edge over Gasquet, who needed three sets to defeat Roberto Bautista Agut in the last eight.
“I’m really happy,” said Goffin. “It’s a tournament I like and I’ve played the best tennis here in the past few years. I’m really happy to reach my first Masters 1000 final here. It’s a great moment for me.”
This will be Goffin’s second final of the season, with his first coming in the Halle Open back in June. He also made it to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, where he beat a certain Daniil Medvedev along the way in a five-set war.
Although, Medvedev defeated Goffin in their lone meeting on hard court, which came during this year’s Australian Open.
Madison Keys makes it to first hard-court final since 2017
Madison Keys is finally getting her groove back on hard-court. The American has reached her first final in a hard-court tournament since the 2017 US Open as she defeated compatriot Sofia Kenin.
Keys came back from a 5-2 hole to win the first set, 7-5. She also found herself a break down twice in the second set, but she managed to reel off the last three games to claim the win.
“I think at the end I really kind of found my groove and figured out how I wanted to play the points,” Keys said after the match.
“I think in the second set she started returning really well and taking things really early. Seemed like she was really seeing it. I kind of just had to really focus in on my return games and put the same amount of pressure on her.”
Prior to defeating Kenin, Keys also had a couple of notable Cincinnati Masters 2019 results as she took down World No. 4 Simona Halep in the round of 16 and Venus Williams in the quarter-finals.
Keys’ run to the final comes as a bit of a surprise considering she had lost in the first round of her last four hard-court tournaments.
But now, she will have a great opportunity to score her first title of the season as she takes on Svetlana Kuznetsova. The American is a perfect 3-0 in her career matches against the Russian, all of which were on hard court.
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