Novak Djokovic takes on Andy Murray in Cincinnati Final

Written by: Global Chick on 21st August 2011

Novak Djokovic takes on Andy Murray in Cincinnati Final

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns to Rafael Nadal of Spain during the men's singles final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 03 July 2011. EPA/KERIM OKTEN |

British No. 1 Andy Murray is back where he belongs, in finals of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments. Today he reached the final of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Cincinnati after winning over American Mardy Fish 6-3 7-6 (8).

The Brit won his 300th tour level match today playing in very hot weather. “I was struggling physically early on in the second set. That’s frustrating for me because that’s something I haven’t struggled with for quite a long time. I need to get better before the US Open,” Andy said.

Andy Murray has only played one tournament and two Davis Cup matches since his unfortunate loss to Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of Wimbledon. Murray suffered a surprise loss last week in Montréal when he was downed by Kevin Anderson of South Africa in the second round.

Of tomorrow’s final opponent Novak Djokovic, Murray said, “”I’ll need to play well and to get it tomorrow, but it’s a good test tomorrow to see exactly where my game is before the US Open, because he’s the No.1 in the world just now.”

Opponent Mardy Fish was looking to reach his second final in as many weeks. Fish has had a great American summer winning the Atlanta tournament and he was the runner up in Los Angeles and in Montréal last week. “I’ve played great all week. I beat a lot of good players this week. I’ve just been trying to solidify my spot, trying to make guys think that I belong, and trying to convince myself I belong as well,” the American said.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic advanced into the final of Cincinnati this week by only having to play one set. Opponent Tomas Berdych had to retire due to a shoulder injury. The Czech player was up 5-3 up in the first set when the Serb evened out the match 5-5 and then took the set 7-5.

“In the beginning the shoulder just started like if I had to stretch, especially for the backhand side and some air balls. I felt pretty well in the beginning so I was pretty much confident that if I would stay healthy that I would have a really good chance today,” Berdych said. The World No. 9 is yet to win a title this year. His last title was in Munich in 2009.

Djokovic has already won five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles this year. Murray and Djokovic have played nine times and Djokovic leads 6-3. The two have meet twice this year with Djokovic being the winner on both occasions. The first match was the final of Australian Open and the second match took place at the ATP World Tour Masters in Rome in the semi-final. The last time Murray conquered the Serb was in the Miami final in 2009.

“I hope it’s not going to be too hot and let’s hope for another good match. We have a good rivalry, same age, same generation and it’s nice to play him in a final again,” Djokovic said of Murray.