World No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Saturday wilted under pressure from Daniil Medvedev, falling 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to the ninth-seeded Russian in the Cincinnati Masters semi-finals.
Medvedev’s upset win sent him into a title showdown with another unexpected finalist, 16th-seeded Belgian David Goffin, who defeated France’s Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final.
Djokovic, who looked to have control of the contest in the early going, was caught out when Medvedev stepped things up in the second set.
“I don’t know how I turned it around. I was so tired after the first set and I thought I might not be able to keep up the intensity,” said Medvedev, who has competed in 15 hardcourt matches since July 30.
“Novak had been destroying me on second serve, so I just went for it,” Medvedev said. “It’s a great feeling to win and beat the No. 1.”
Djokovic, the defending champion who was playing his first tournament since his Wimbledon triumph in July, needed some time to cool down before pondering his loss.
“He deserves to be in the mix, certainly, with all his results,” Djokovic said. “He’s working his way to top 5. He’s definitely one of the best players in the world at this moment.”
Djokovic said that there was little he could do in the face of Medvedev’s go-for-broke style.
With the US Open starting on Monday next week, Djokovic said that he took “mostly positives” from the week.
“Today, I did lose a tennis match, but I didn’t do too much wrong,” he said. “So I’ll take that and I’ll move forward to New York, and have a good practice week.”
Medvedev won 12 of the last 14 points in the second set to square the match against Djokovic, then ran up a 3-1 lead in the third set on the way to victory on his first match point.
WOMEN’S SINGLES
There was an upset in the women’s draw as well, as Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated top-seeded Ashleigh Barty of Australia 6-2, 6-4.
Kuznetsova, a two-time Grand Slam champion who has been hindered lately by injury, denied Barty a chance to reclaim the world No. 1 ranking, which the Australian would have done by reaching the final.
Instead, the triumph by 34-year-old Kuznetsova leaves injured Naomi Osaka atop the rankings with the US Open looming.
Barty, who had rallied from a set down in each of her previous two matches, also said that she was taking positives from the week.
“This was a week that I battled through,” Barty said. “At times I played some good stuff. At times I played some pretty awful stuff. I’ve learned a lot from this week, and there are nothing but positives going into New York.”
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