Djokovic wins second title in Cincinnati

Novak Djokovic won his second title in Cincinnati after winning his first in 2018 by defeating Swiss Roger Federer.

Djokovic, who has not lost any of the 11 matches he has had against Raonic, won a prize of $285,000 and 1,000 points for the world ranking that he leads.

Raonic, who was playing his fourth Masters 1000 final but the first in four and a half years, received a check for $152,999 and 585 points for the world ranking.

The victory allows Djokovic, 33, to remain undefeated so far this season with a record of 23-0 and equalled Spanish Rafael Nadal as the players who have won the most Masters 1000 titles, achieving 35 titles each after both have also played 51 finals, the best record of all time.

While Djokovic reached 360 wins in Masters 1000 tournaments, Nadal has 384 wins and Federer has 381, both absent this year in Cincinnati and will also not play the US Open, which starts next week.

The match was a replica of what Djokovic did in the semifinals against Spanish Roberto Bautista by losing the first set and then reacting with his best tennis to win the decisive points.

The first set was a walk for Raonic, who needed only 30 minutes after making two breaks against Djokovic, in the fourth and sixth games, while hitting two aces compared to none by the world number one, who made four double faults.

But everything changed in the second set when Djokovic started to secure his serve, returned better, and that allowed him not to lose his service game. In the sixth game, he made the first break against Raonic, who couldn't recover it, and in 45 minutes the Serbian won it to tie the match (1-1).

In the third and final set, although Djokovic lost his serve in the second game, he recovered it in the third and from that moment on, he took control of the game with a second break in the fifth game that left Raonic without any reaction. Raonic once again showed all the limitations he has with his tennis, outside of his serve.

The match, played on the Louis Armstrong court with the roof closed due to rain falling on the area of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, lasted two hours and the statistics left no doubt about Djokovic's superiority.