Djokovic struggles past qualifier in Cincinnati semifinal

Novak Djokovic won his rain-delayed opening match, beating Benoit Paire 7-5, 6-2 in 1 hour, 39 minutes.

Fourth-seeded Stan Wawrinka rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 win over Borna Coric. To hold her game together, it seems she often suffers on court, near tears at times, especially in matches that matter.

Federer used his steady serve to beat Andy Murray 6-4, 7-6 (6) in the other semifinal.

Djokovic has never won at Cincinnati, the only one of the nine ATP Masters events that has eluded him.

He has lost four finals here, two apiece to Murray and Federer.

The 34-year-old showed his class in the second set, trailing 2-3 and facing a break of serve at 0/40. At that point, she turned it around, breaking Ivanovic’s serve five times while pulling away.

She dominated the last six games, advancing to a semifinal against 14th-seeded Elina Svitolina.

“He just makes you play, and (he) plays more careful on the big points”, Dolgopolov said.

Serena Williams pumped her fist after each important point and screamed as she smacked another emphatic shot.

“This was my best performance since (winning) Wimbledon“. He had only eight unforced errors to 27 for Wawrinka, who was coming off a long, three-tiebreaker win on Friday. He secured the first set point by blasting a serve that Wawrinka couldn’t handle.

The King and Queen of tennis, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, return to New York this month to defend their crowns at the US Open, both managing short-term elbow injuries, both determined to convince themselves and their rivals that life can only get better.

The top-ranked players at the Western & Southern Open played early Friday.

Despite their recent Grand Slam history, Wawrinka said the French Open title wasn’t on his mind as he forged through the quarterfinal.

“I’m extremely happy with the way I’m playing, it’s nice to play Andy”, Federer said.

The world number one will face either Tomas Berdych or Alexandr Dolgopolov for a place in the final.

Cincinnati will hope and expect the same, but then Cincinnati had hoped and expected for a first meeting in a year and half between Federer and Nadal, but that was not to be.

Across on Court 3, a surprisingly low-key venue for such a mouth-watering match-Murray was the latest top-four player to find himself in a three-set battle.

Djokovic took until his fourth game to hit an ace until his rampant dashing to and from the net forced Wawrinka to err.

“I’m playing great tennis and I’m feeling good, feeling healthy and enjoying myself”.

Federer now has a 12-0 record against Lopez in ATP matches and shared a lighthearted moment with his opponent after the match.