This was a week for the aging legends Federer and Serena to get back on track. Federer, in his 4th Masters final of the year but not winning any, got back in the winner's circle by winning his 6th Cincinnati title, ending his 2-year Masters drought, dating back to '12 Cincinnati. I am not convinced Federer can win the US Open after his failure in Wimbledon and his inability to sustain a high level of play for 5 sets, but he is certainly in the conversation, especially with the Nadal injury and the poor play of Djokovic, not to mention his head-to-head win over Murray.
Serena Williams, after winning Stanford but then being derailed by her sister in Montreal, was able to get back on track, defeating Ivanovic in the Cincinnati final. This result confirms her in my opinion as the favorite for the US Open. There are players out there that can be beat her but you're certainly going to favor her against anyone else, and there are plenty of question marks about the other top women.
Men: 2) Roger Federer (SUI) vs 5) David Ferrer (ESP) 6-3 1-6 6-2
-Federer wins 80th career title, 3rd of 2014, last '14 Halle
-It is his 22nd Masters win, good for 2nd all-time behind Nadal's 26
-It is his 6th win in Cincinnati ('05,'07,'09-'10,'12)
-He is now 3200 points behind Nadal for no. 2 in the world and the Spaniard is the defending champion at the US Open
-He beat Murray in the quarters to even their head-to-head at 11-11
-Ferrer now has 1-6 record in Masters finals
-Benneteau upset Wawrinka in the quarters to reach his first Masters semi at age 32. He is also up to no. 27 in the rankings, one spot off his career high of no. 26 in April '12.
-Ferrer and Raonic have passed Berdych in the rankings for nos. 5 and 6.
-Federer has now clinched a spot in the World Tour Finals; Nadal and Djokovic have already clinched.
Women: 1) Serena Williams (USA) def. 9) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 6-4 6-1
-Serena wins 62nd career title, 5th of 2014, last '14 Stanford
-This sounded a little unbelievable to me, but this was Serena's 1st win in Cincinnati
-She lost only one set during the week, to Wozniacki in the semis
-Sharapova came from behind to defeat Halep in the quarters but then lost a wild match to Ivanovic in the semis
-Wozniacki continued her strong summer with a win over Radwanska in the quarters, then took a set from Serena for the second time in as many weeks.
-The top 8 in the rankings remain unchanged heading into US Open. Ivanovic improves to no. 9 and Wozniacki to no. 11. Azarenka has plummeted down to no. 17.
With Serena's win, the American women conclude the tournament with a 10-8 record.
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