The rivalry Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic shared on the court, isn’t unknown to anyone. The two faced each other on almost every surface, in every tournament and whenever they met, fans were graced with epic games.
Though Djokovic was able to beat the Swiss legend on most occasions, the Cincinnati Open was one tournament where he couldn’t gain dominance over the 8-time Wimbledon champion. Roger dominated the hard-court tournament throughout the 2000s and 2010s.
However, in 2018, when the two met in the final of the Masters 1000 tournament, Djokovic was finally able to break his loss streak against Roger and took away the title after beating the latter in straight sets. This was also the Serb’s first-ever Cincinnati Open title.
After the victory, the Serb made a humorous remark thanking the Swiss legend for letting him win the title at least once as he said,
“Thanks for letting me win here once.”
“Thanks for letting me win here once,” Djokovic joked to Federer.
Federer dominated Cincinnati from 2005 to 2015, won 7 titles and achieved an impressive streak of 100 consecutive serve holds between 2014 and 2018.
He didn’t even face a break point on his serve in 2012. pic.twitter.com/nUUk4rvQ1e
— Red Devil (@wey_know) August 11, 2024
The two met in the final of the Cincinnati Masters four times- 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2018, but the Serb managed to get the better of the Swiss star only on one occasion. Meanwhile, Federer dominated the initial three meetings and even won the tournament for a record 7 times – the most by any tennis player.
On the other hand, Djokovic has won the tournament 3 times- in 2018, 2020 and 2023. While his 2018 victory came against Federer, he defeated Canada’s Milos Raonic in the 2020 final.
Finally, last year, the Serb star won his third title in the city after beating Carlos Alcaraz. All 3 sets of the clash were pushed to tie breaks, and although the Spaniard managed to win the first one, he lost the remaining two to the 24-time grand slam champion.
Everybody was expecting Djokovic to be present at the 2024 Cincinnati Open to defend his title. It could also set a momentum for him to then further perform well and eventually win the US Open. However, the Serb bowed out of the tournament as he had to attend an event in Belgrade where all Olympic medalists, including him, from Serbia will be honored by the country
Djokovic to Miss 2024 Cincinnati Open
Prioritizing his country, the tennis legend decided to skip the tournament and directly start his hard-court season at the US Open, without any prior appearance. This can make him lose 1000 points while at the same time, taking away an opportunity to put another Cincinnati Open title in his bag.
But the Serb has kept his priorities pretty straight. Apart from the Serbian event, he also has to give his body rest after going through an intensive training and performance period. This included playing in the finals of the 2024 Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics, the latter of which he eventually won.
