All eyes are on Winston-Salem, North Carolina, this week as the ATP World Tour descends on the 250-level event at the home of Wake Forest University.

Daniil Medvedev set a highly-anticipated second-round clash against Alex de Minaur at the Winston-Salem Open, advancing with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Mirza Basic on Sunday. The Russian enters the hard-court tournament on the heels of an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 breakthrough in Toronto, where he reached the Round of 16 as a qualifier.

Medvedev is joined by Spaniards Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Roberto Carballes Baena as Day 1 winners. Garcia-Lopez edged Marcos Baghdatis 7-6(2), 6-4, while his countryman ousted Guido Pella 6-4, 6-2 in just one hour and 22 minutes. The win was Carballes Baena’s first on hard courts in nearly one year. He faces another Spaniard, 13th seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas, in the second round.

In other action, Italian veteran Andreas Seppi made efficient work of Joao Sousa, dispatching the Portuguese 7-5, 6-4 in one hour and 23 minutes. He drew level in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series at 2-all, having also prevailed this year in Rotterdam. Also in Seppi’s quarter of the draw, Jan-Lennard Struff moved into the second round with a 7-6(5), 6-3 win over Benoit Paire and awaits fourth seed Marco Cecchinato next.

Pablo Carreno Busta, champion in 2016, leads the field in Winston-Salem, with Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey the top home hopes.

Just one ball in the court.

Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Western & Southern Open on Sunday with a one-shot rally accounting for a staggering 50 (39%) of the 130 points played. 

Djokovic and Federer won 25 points each in the rally length of one shot, but collected them in very different ways.

Djokovic: One-Shot Rallies Won
• 4 aces
• 21 return errors from Federer (11 backhand / 10 forehand).

Federer: One-Shot Rallies Won
• 11 aces
• 14 return errors from Djokovic (8 forehand / 6 backhand).

Second-Serve Performance 
Federer’s second serve return was often out of sync in the match, and he uncharacteristically missed more second-serve returns (11) than first-serve returns (10). Part of that was due to Djokovic going for more speed than normal on his second serve. 

In the opening set, Djokovic’s average second serve speed was 98mph, slightly ahead of Federer’s 97mph. In the second set, Djokovic’s second serve speed dropped all the way down to 90mph, while Federer dialed his up to 102mph, trying to formulate a winning game plan.

Djokovic won an impressive 78 per cent (14/18) of his second-serve points for the match, which was considerably higher than his 2018 average of 54 per cent (638/1117) coming into the tournament.

Federer leads the tour with second-serve points won in 2018 at 62 per cent (642/1039), but that number got hammered down to just 47 per cent (15/32) against Djokovic in the final.

A head-turning stat from the match was that the average rally length behind Djokovic’s first serve was four shots, but that dropped down to just two shots behind second serves. Federer also averaged four shots behind his first serve, but the rally length climbed up to five shots behind his second serve.

The overall average rally length for shots in the final was a brisk 3.4 shots. Two shots in play for the server, but on average just one for the returner.

Two Shots In The Court
Djokovic won 12 more points than Federer for the match (71 to 59) with 10 of these coming in the rally length of two shots in the court. That means that either the returner hit a winner, or more likely, that the server missed their first shot after the serve, which was either a groundstroke or a volley.

2018 Cincinnati Final: Breakdown of Rally Length & Points Played / Won

A contributing factor to Djokovic’s 10-point advantage in the rally length of two shots was the superior speed with which he hit returns back to Federer.

Average 1st Serve Return Speed
• Djokovic = 61mph
• Federer = 55mph

Average 2nd Serve Return Speed
• Djokovic = 66mph
• Federer = 64mph

Once a rally did evolve, both players looked to control the baseline with more forehands than backhands.

Djokovic Groundstrokes
• Total Forehands = 74 (average speed 71mph)
• Total Backhands = 65 (average speed 68mph)

Federer Groundstrokes
• Total Forehands = 83 (average speed 73mph)
• Total Backhands = 72 (average speed 66mph)

Djokovic played four consecutive three-set matches to reach the final, often having to battle from behind in the match as he searched for his peak form. It turned up on Sunday in spades.

Novak Djokovic has become the first player in the 28-year history of ATP World Tour Masters 1000s to win all nine elite tournaments and complete the career Golden Masters by winning his first title, in his sixth final, at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Sunday.

They are some of the sport’s hardest events to win, forcing players to test their skills in varying weather conditions against the very best in the ATP Rankings right from the first round, from the heat and humidity of the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open presented by Itau in March through to the controlled indoor conditions of the Rolex Paris Masters in November. “A complete arsenal and the absence of a weakness is integral to completing the [ATP World Tour] Masters 1000 sweep,” said Justin Gimelstob. In the 258 tournaments since the elite level of ATP World Tour tournaments were created for the start of the 1990 season, no player has managed to win at all nine Masters 1000 tournaments to complete a career Golden Masters. Until now.

Since Djokovic broke Rafael Nadal’s 46-match winning streak at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, for his first trophy in Monaco in April 2013, the Serbian star had three times headed to Mason, Ohio for the Western & Southern Open, on the cusp of sporting history. “It’s always been at the back of my mind, adding extra pressure, but also motivation, as it’s what you work for,” admitted Djokovic, who has a 323-72 match wins record and 31 titles at Masters 1000 tournaments.

Five years ago, upon Djokovic’s first shot at the career Golden Masters in Cincinnati, he lost to John Isner 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5 in the quarter-finals. The following year, he fell to an inspired Tommy Robredo 7-6(6), 7-5 in the 2014 third round and Roger Federer beat Djokovic 7-6(1), 6-3 in the 2015 final, which marked his fifth runner-up finish (also 2008-09, 2011-12). Injuries to his left wrist and right elbow, respectively, saw him miss the 2016 and 2017 editions, but this season Djokovic hit North American soil in form on the back of lifting his fourth trophy at The Championships, Wimbledon.

Adverse weather conditions in Cincinnati, compressed the order of play this week, forcing Djokovic to win four matches in three days for arguably the most significant Masters 1000 crown of his illustrious career. By comparison, 27-time Masters 1000 titlist Federer has Monte-Carlo and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia missing from his resume of the current nine Masters 1000 tournaments. Fourteen-time winner Andy Murray has yet to win in Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo, while record-holding 33-time champion Nadal has not sunk his teeth into the Miami, Rolex Shanghai Masters and Paris trophies. Andre Agassi, whose career spanned three decades, won seven of the then nine Masters 1000 tournaments prior to his retirement in September 2006.

During the height of his consistency, between November 2014 and March 2016, the 31-year-old Djokovic compiled a 56-2 record at Masters 1000 tournaments, winning nine trophies from 11 straight finals. Today, on his 12th attempt for the Cincinnati trophy, a heavy weight lifted from his shoulders in becoming the first player to capture all nine of the ATP World Tour’s elite events.

DJOKOVIC’S RECORD AT ATP WORLD TOUR MASTERS 1000 TOURNAMENTS

It is undoubtedly one of the most impressive accomplishments in all of professional tennis. Where many players would dream of lifting one ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy, Novak Djokovic now has a piece of silverware from all nine. 

Nine different cities, nine different court conditions, nine different world-class draws to navigate. After falling in five previous finals at the Western & Southern Open, the Serbian was at a loss for words when describing the impact of the moment.

“Definitely one of the most special moments in my career,” Djokovic told the assembled media in Cincinnati. “Achievements, making history in the sport that I truly love is a great privilege and honour and something that I’ll be very proud of for the rest of my life.

“I was saying previously that during this week this trophy has been a motivation. A big motivation for me. But at the same time I tried not to think about the pressure of really making history too much, because I have had already some failed attempts. 

“Coming into today’s match, it wasn’t easy psychologically because I knew I lost to him every time I played him on this court. But at the same time, I liked my chances because I felt better and better as the tournament was progressing. It was by far the best performance of the week.”

Djokovic was a demon throughout his 6-4, 6-4 victory over Roger Federer on Sunday, dismissing the seven-time champion in one hour and 24 minutes. While Federer struggled to find his rhythm off the ground and on return, Djokovic did not lift his foot off the gas, refusing to concede an inch from the baseline.

The triumph carried added significance for the Serbian, who overturned a handful of streaks with his long-awaited victory. Not only had he entered the match having lost five previous finals in Cincinnati, including three to Federer (2009, 2012 and 2015). Djokovic also stopped the Swiss in extending his perfect 7-0 mark in finals at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. 

Despite having met on 46 previous occasions, second-most in the Open Era, it was their first encounter in more than two years, and the Serbian admits that he had a clean slate in his mind. There were no secrets on the court, but as Djokovic says, it was a ‘strange’ feeling.

Novak’s Masters 1000 Title Haul

“For me it was fresh because it’s the first time that I won this trophy and against him here. It’s a pleasure to share the court with him, with the all-time great and I truly mean that. With him, with Nadal, these guys have been such an integral, important part of my life and my career and my evolution as a tennis player.

“They make me play my best tennis. They make me improve. They made me think about what I need to do in order to try to be the best player in the world. Having not played Roger for over two years was really strange, to be honest. I thought that we haven’t played for maybe a year or something like that, but then I remembered that actually the last time was in Australia. Was quite a long time ago, which is unusual, because we got to play so many times over the decade.”

Djokovic will next head to New York for the US Open, where he enters as one of the favourites to lift the trophy. The Serbian, who had lost six of nine matches upon return from elbow surgery in March, has flipped the switch as the year has progressed. 

Now one of the hottest players on the planet, Djokovic holds a 19-2 record since the start of the grass season, including a title at Wimbledon and runner-up finish at The Queen’s Club. Even despite succumbing to Stefanos Tsitsipas last week in Toronto, he was confident that he could finally emerge victorious in Cincinnati.

“Coming in this year, obviously the Wimbledon win made things quite different for me in terms of approach to both Toronto and Cincinnati. I felt more confident on the court. I felt I just needed to get a few more matches. I haven’t played really very well in Toronto, but I felt if I got two or three matches under my belt, then things will start to work better than as they did in the past. And having that experience obviously helps to have that self-belief and the right approach.

“I’m pleased and proud and very satisfied. Just filled with great emotions. I tried for five times. I didn’t succeed. I kept on coming here and I felt, to be honest, more pressure every time that I kept coming. It’s very fulfilling. It’s hard to compare.”