The head-to-head record between the two former world no. 1’s Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic stands at 23-22 in favour of the latter.
Tomorrow the two greats of modern tennis meet for the 46th time in the final of the Cincinnati Masters. It is hard to imagine that Djokovic has never won the title despite reaching the final on five previous occasions, three of them losses to Federer in 2009, 2012 and 2015. He also lost to Andy Murray in 2008 and 2011.
Federer is a seven-time champion, winning his first back in 2005 against Andy Roddick.
In today’s semifinals Djokovic defeated Marin Cilic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 while Federer advanced after a David Goffin retired with the score at 7-6(3), 1-1.
Djokovic, the current world no. 10 will be aiming for a career golden masters when he faces the current world no. 2. He has already won the Miami, Canada, Indian Wells, Rome Paris, Madrid, Shanghai and Monte Carlo Masters titles.
“It would be the greatest challenge in Cincinnati, without a doubt, especially here, because he’s been dominating this tournament historically,” Djokovic said of a potential final encounter with Federer. “He won against me several times in finals. Obviously he feels great in these conditions and this surface. But, he has to win his semi-final and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
