MASON, Ohio — As he tries to reach new heights amid the crowded landscape of tennis history, Novak Djokovic keeps finding the same immovable objects blocking his path.
Playing in his fifth final in this Cincinnati suburb on Sunday, Djokovic had a chance to become the first man to have won all nine of the elite ATP Masters Series events. But a familiar foe, Roger Federer, again stood in his way, claiming his seventh title here with a 7-6 (1), 6-3 victory in the Western & Southern Open final.
The loss was Djokovic’s third to Federer in a Cincinnati Masters final, after defeats in 2009 and 2012.