Novak Djokovic defeated USA’s Taylor Fritz for the loss of just four games on Friday (18 August) to reach the semifinals at the Cincinnati Open. The Serb will be looking to win his third title in Cincinnati later this week.
During his post-match interview on the court, the 36-year-old was asked whether he thought that he was a better player at possibly the twilight phase of his career. Djokovic replied in the affirmative, before insisting that he wishes to raise his level with every victory in Cincinnati.
“You know, that’s something I’m wishing for everyday, that I raise the bar more, slightly more… the level of tennis, and that’s what’s happening actually during the tournament,” he remarked.
Before arriving in Cincinnati, Novak Djokovic was out of action for a whole month after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in a scintillating five-setter at Wimbledon. The Serb did not show any signs of rust at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, though. He romped to straight-set wins over good players like Gael Monfils, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Fritz on Friday, to reach a career-ninth semifinal in Cincinnati.
The 23-time Major winner was admittedly happy with his campaign this week and hoped to get progressively better in his semifinal, where familiar foe Alexander Zverev awaits him for a place in the championship match.
“I’ve played three great matches and each day has been a better overall feeling on the court. So hopefully, the same trajectory can continue,” he concluded.
It is pertinent to note that Novak Djokovic leads Alexander Zverev by a margin of 7-4 in their head-to-head meetings on the ATP tour. Having said that, the German has troubled the Serb quite a bit in their recent encounters.
Zverev ended Djokovic’s hopes of winning a gold medal at the 2021 Olympics and also stretched him to five laborious sets in the semifinals of the 2021 US Open.
Novak Djokovic inches closer to Triple Career Golden Masters, needs just 1 more Cincinnati & Monte Carlo title
Djokovic will be eager to win his third title in Cincinnati this week. The Serb previously reigned supreme at the tune-up event to the US Open in 2018 and 2020, achieving the elusive “Double Career Golden Masters” with the latter of those two titles.
Considering the 36-year-old has won seven of the nine ATP Masters 1000 events at least three times in his career, he may break the precedent he himself set by winning an unreal “Triple Career Golden Masters” in the near future — provided he triumphs at the 2023 Cincinnati Open.
If he does win the Cincinnati crown, the Serb will only have to win next year’s Monte Carlo Masters to achieve the aforementioned feat. He has gone all the way at the elite tournament in Monaco twice, in 2013 and 2015.
For academic purposes, Novak Djokovic’s most successful ATP Masters tournaments are the Miami Masters, Paris Masters, Rome Masters and Indian Wells Masters, where he has won a total of 23 titles.
