ATP Cincinnati: Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals - but what does the elbow do?
Defending champion Novak Djokovic reached the semifinals at the ATP Masters tournament in Cincinnati.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Aug 17, 2019, 04:10 pm
Djokovic defeated Frenchman Lucas Pouille 7: 6 (2), 6: 1 and now faces Daniil Medvedev from Russia.
Djokovic and Pouille played a high-class first set in which the world number one in the tiebreak maintained their level, while Pouille made some casual mistakes. In set two, Djokovic came straight to the break. Pouille then earned his first three breakballs from the match, but Djokovic fended them off with good first serve. A second break to 5: 1 then brought the decision.
The only concern for the Serb: In the meantime, he had to get treatment on the right elbow, where he was operated on in early 2018. He would only have felt a little tense, Djokovic appeased after the match, even if he admitted to having felt some pain. He hoped that everything would be okay again until the semi-finals.
In the semifinals (from 12 a.m.CEST), the Djoker now faces Daniil Medvedev, who has shown his strong form over the past few weeks and defeated Andrey Rublev , 6-2, 6-3, against Federer .
Opponents Medvedev last victorious against Djokovic
In a direct comparison, Djokovic leads 3-1, but the last duel in Monte Carlo was won by Medvedev, who had already given Djokovic problems at the Australian Open and taken a set from him.
"He is in good shape. Has a lot of confidence, does not miss a ball from the baseline. He also does not seem tired after the many matches last. On the contrary, it seems to do him good," said the Djoker.
Medvedev is also full of praise for Djokovic, whom he regards as a role model in terms of game style.
The second semi-final will be played by Richard Gasquet (7: 6 (2), 3: 6, 6: 2 against Roberto Bautista Agut) and David Goffin, who got on without a fight after a cancellation by Yoshihito Nishioka.