‘I have my chance tomorrow (against Williams)’
‘With her you never know; you can win, maybe, or you can lose fast’
Serena Williams brushed off some serving troubles before cruising to a 6-4, 6-3 win over Elina Svitolina on Saturday and will meet Simona Halep in the Western & Southern Open final.
The World No 1 will defend her title against Romanian Halep who routed Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 6-2 in the late semi-final.
Halep’s semi-final win secured her the second seeding behind Williams at the US Open.
The aggressive base-liner converted seven of 10 break-points and was thrilled with her performance.
“I played great tennis tonight. I was confident and I think that’s why I played my best tennis,” she said.
“I have my chance tomorrow (against Williams) but I expect a tough match. With her you never know; you can win, maybe, or you can lose fast.”
Williams's serve was off for a second consecutive match in Cincinnati and she committed 34 unforced errors but the world number one was never under serious threat from the 14th-seeded Ukrainian.
The American will bid to complete a calendar grand slam at her home US Open from August 31, a pursuit that kept her early struggles in perspective on Saturday. “I wanted to not worry about this match, but worry about the next few matches and next few weeks and start playing better for that,” Williams said in an on-court interview. “I got off to a super slow start today but I started going for it and I think that helped me out.”
Williams was broken early in the opening set, but her opponent could not keep the momentum or capitalize on the American’s eight double-faults for the match.
Williams laced two straight backhand winners to break Svitolina’s serve to move to 3-1 in the second set. The 20-year-old Ukrainian broke back but Williams responded in kind to take control before sealing the match with an ace.
Djokovic, Federer to clash in final
Top seed Novak Djokovic and defending champion Roger Federer advanced to the Western & Southern Open final in contrasting fashion on Saturday to set up a rematch of their title-deciding Wimbledon clash.
Serb Djokovic, who beat Federer in the Wimbledon final for a second consecutive year last month, rallied to beat Ukrainian qualifier Alexandr Dolgopolov 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 while the Swiss second seed beat third seed Andy Murray 6-4, 7-6(6).
Djokovic, who needs a win on Sunday to become the first player to claim all nine ATP Masters titles, lost the first set but escaped a nervy second-set tiebreak in Cincinnati that took the wind out of his 66th-ranked opponent's sails.
In the tiebreak, Djokovic was two points from defeat at 4-5 but dug deep and found a way to escape the jam, ultimately taking the set with a cross-court forehand winner.
"(Djokovic) just plays more carefully on the big points. You have to beat him and go for the risk," said Dolgopolov.
"I really believed I could win and my game was enough to beat him. It was just the situation. You know, those few points decided everything."
Djokovic had squandered a chance to level the match in the ninth game of the second set when he was broken to love before the players each held serve over the next three games to force the tiebreak which the Serb won to ensure a third set.
Djokovic then broke a disheartened Dolgopolov twice en route to ending the match in two hours, 20 minutes and improving his all-time record versus the Ukrainian to 5-0.
Completing the set of ATP Masters titles will be no easy feat for Djokovic with six-time Cincinnati champion Federer standing in his way.
The Swiss got off to a fast start against Murray, earning a break in the third game of the match en route to capturing the first set in 38 minutes with a forehand winner down the line.
The players rode their serves to a tiebreak in the second set, where Federer went on to convert on his second match point.
The victory sets up the latest instalment of the Federer-Djokovic rivalry, knotted at 20 wins apiece.
The match will be their fifth meeting in 2015, with Federer winning on the hard courts of Dubai and Djokovic emerging victorious at Indian Wells, Rome and Wimbledon.
