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World No 1, Novak Djokovic, crashed out of the Cincinnati Masters Sunday, beaten 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 by ninth-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals.
Medvedev, who now leads the ATP with 30 hardcourt wins this season, will play for the title on Sunday against Belgium’s David Goffin, who defeated France’s Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-4.
Both defending champions Djokovic and Medvedev had reached the semifinals without dropping a set.
But it’s Medvedev who will be play his second Masters final in eight days, after losing to Rafael Nadal in the Montreal title match on Sunday.
The week previously, the 23-year-old also played the Washington final, losing to Nick Kyrgios.
Djokovic appeared to have the contest under control, but had no answer when Medvedev stepped up the pressure 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,” Medvedev said. “But I had a momentum chance in the second set and the crowd gave me energy.”
A rested David Goffin advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 final with a straight set victory over Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
“I’m really happy,” said Goffin. “I’ve played the best tennis here in the past few years… It’s a great moment for me.”
A quick break saw Goffin surge to a 4-1 lead with a backhand winner down the line in the first set. Gasquet grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second set before Goffin claimed five of the next six games.
He won the set and the match when a Gasquet backhand was long. Goffin had received a walkover into the semifinals after Yoshihito Nishioka was forced to withdraw due to food poisoning.
“It was almost a day off, so I was fresh and physically 100 percent today to play against Richard,” the Belgian said.
Goffin added that he was “lost” after the walkover.
“I didn’t know what to do. Do I have another practice session, go to the physio and have some treatment? I didn’t know,” the Belgian said.
“I decided to go on the court for some practice and do what I normally do after.” — SuperSport
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