“Rublev was suffocating me like a snake suffocates a frog for most of the match,” said Djokovic. Rublev punished a weak second serve to bring up set point, and he soon surged ahead as Djokovic botched a drop shot attempt. Djokovic fought off a break point early in the second set but failed to convert any of his four opportunities against a resilient Rublev. The 17th-ranked Bulgarian edged a high-quality encounter 6-3, 6-7 (1/7), 7-6 (7/3) to advance to his second Masters final — after winning the title in Cincinnati six years ago. Dimitrov, who lost to Djokovic in the semi-finals in Paris in 2019, won his only Masters title in Cincinnati in 2017 — the same year he won the season-ending ATP Finals.

Source: Punch November 05, 2023 01:04 UTC