Saturday 22 August 2015 00:07, UK
Novak Djokovic gained a measure of revenge over Stan Wawrinka for his French Open final defeat in the Cincinnati Masters quarter-finals on Friday.
The world No 1, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year but missed a third Grand Slam chance after losing to Wawrinka in May, is now into the semi-finals in Ohio after a 6-4 6-1 win.
The match was eventually decided by two consecutive breaks for Djokovic at the end of the first set and the beginning of the second.
His aim to become the first player to win all nine different ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles remains alive.
The first set seemed to fly by before the expectant crowd even settled for the Roland Garros final rematch, eventually taking just 34 minutes.
The scoreboard reflected service games with Wawrinka's power from the base-line and Djokovic's athleticism up-and-down the court getting the job done in equal measure.
Djokovic took until his fourth game to hit an ace until his rampant dashing to and from the net forced Wawrinka to err. The Serbian broke for 5-4 largely with his work at the net then served himself ahead.
When they returned to the court, Djokovic broke again within moments, again forcing Wawrinka to wilt from the base-line with his relentless pace. The Swiss player shot feebly into the net and immediately it seemed like an uphill battle.
An exciting rally in the next game proved that Wawrinka had not given up hope but when his shot narrowly fell the wrong side of the net, his hopes of breaking back immediately became harder. He forced deuce but two backhands sailed wide and long.
The writing appeared on the wall in the next game as Wawrinka, on serve, edged ahead but was pegged back for a double break as attempted winners were fired off target.
A hold of serve was Djokovic's seventh consecutive game and gave him a 4-0 lead in the second set. Wawrinka ended that mini-run by hitting winners at pace to get on the scoreboard.
After holding again, another Djokovic break in the final game summed up a meek exit from the tournament for Wawrinka.
The world No 1 sealed the deal in an hour and three minutes. He will play Alexandr Dolgopolov, the qualifier who made short work of Tomas Berdych on Friday evening, winning 6-4 6-2 in just over an hour.
