Cincinnati Saturday Preview: Del Potro & Wawrinka Take On Top 2 In SFs

© Getty ImagesJuan Martin del Potro faces Novak Djokovic on Saturday.

The World top two players will take on some very dangerous opponents - one a former Top 10 player, one a former Top 5 player - in the semi-finals of the Western & Southern Open on Saturday. Three of the four players to win the past 30 Grand Slam titles (since ’05 Roland Garros) are among the final four. The trio have combined for 19 titles during this stretch.

• The first semi-final pits No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic against No. 6 seed Juan Martin del Potro; this is a head-to-head rivalry Djokovic once owned, winning their first four meetings (losing just one set in those four encounters), but del Potro has won their last two meetings, by retirement in Davis Cup last September and in straight sets in the bronze medal match at the Olympics 13 days ago.

• Djokovic is trying to reach his 49th career ATP World Tour level final (31-17 mark) and his 22nd ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final (12-9). He has the fourth-most ATP Masters 1000 titles since 1990 with 12 (Rafael Nadal leads with 21, then Federer with 20 and Andre Agassi with 17). Djokovic has held serve all 22 games this week. The 23-year-old del Potro is trying to reach his 17th ATP World Tour level final (11-5 mark) and second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final (runner-up in ’09 Montreal). He is the first Argentine to reach the semi-finals in Cincinnati since Guillermo Vilas was runner-up in 1972.

• The second semi-final pits World No. 1 Roger Federer against unseeded countryman Stanislas Wawrinka. Federer hasn’t lost a set yet this week and has had similar domination of Wawrinka in the past - he leads the head-to-head, 10-1, but more notably Federer has beaten Wawrinka eight times in a row (winning 19 of 20 sets in those matches) and 7-0 against him on hard courts (winning 18 of 19 sets).Federer is trying to reach his 108th ATP World Tour level final (75-32 record) and his 33rd ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final (20-12 mark). The 31-year-old Federer is tied for most Western & Southern Open titles in the Open Era with four, winning it in 2005, ‘07, ‘09 and ’10 (Mats Wilander won four as well). Wawrinka is trying to reach his 10th ATP World Tour final (3-6) and his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final (runner-up in ’08 Rome). Wawrinka is 0-9 against reigning World No. 1s (0-5 vs Federer, 0-3 vs Nadal, 0-1 vs Djokovic); perhaps even more daunting is Wawrinka is 0-19 in sets against reigning World No. 1s.

• The past 15 ATP World Tour Masters tournaments since the beginning of last year have been dominated by the current Top 4 of Federer (3), Djokovic (7), Rafael Nadal (3) and Andy Murray (2).

* Semi-finalists Breakdown – In Draw Order
2012   Titles ATP Masters 1000 Titles     2012 vs Top 10
ATP Rank W-L (on hard)  2012 / Career 2012 / Career Grand Slam Titles  W-L
1  Federer 54-7 (26-2)   5 / 75    2 / 20       17         12-4
26 Wawrinka   26-14 (8-3)    0 / 3    0 / 0  0      2-6
  
9 del Potro 48-12 (24-7)   2 / 11    0 / 0  1     5-10
2 Djokovic 53-9 (28-2)   3 / 31    2 / 12        5        13-8

*2012 ATP WORLD TOUR MASTERS 1000 FINALS – Federer and Djokovic have combined to win four of the six ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles this season. Going back to last year the Top 4 have won all 15 ATP Masters 1000 titles. Here is a look at the list of finals:
  Champion    Finalist
Indian Wells Roger Federer John Isner
Miami  Novak Djokovic Andy Murray
Monte-Carlo Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic
Madrid  Roger Federer Tomas Berdych
Rome  Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic
Toronto  Novak Djokovic Richard Gasquet
Cincinnati      ?  ?
 
SATURDAY SEMI-FINALS FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play

Center Court

(6) Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) vs (2) Novak Djokovic (SRB) Djokovic Leads 4-2
07 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-3 6-4
08 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard RR Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-3
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome Clay QF Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4
11 Roland Garros (France) Clay R32 Novak Djokovic 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-2
11 SRB vs. ARG WG SF (Serbia) Hard RR Juan Martin Del Potro 7-6 3-0 ret
12 London Olympics (Great Britain) Grass Bronze Juan Martin Del Potro 7-5 6-4

DEL POTRO FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 23-year-old Tandil native is 6-2 lifetime here and he is the first Argentine to reach the semi-finals in Cincinnati since 1972 when Guillermo Vilas advanced to the final (l. to Connors)
• En route to the semi-finals has not faced a seed and has only dropped one set, defeating Tommy Haas 75 62, Viktor Troicki 76(2) 26 61 and Jeremy Chardy 61 63
• This week has broken opponents 13 times (in 31 games, 42%) and has held serve 26 of 32 games
• His previous best showing was the third round in his debut five years ago as a qualifier (d. Canas, Kohlschreiber, l. to Moya)
• Last year lost in the second round to No. 3 Federer 63 75

2012 Highlights:
W(2): Marseille (d Llodra); Estoril (d Gasquet); F: Rotterdam (l Federer); SF(3): Dubai (l Federer); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Berdych); London Olympics (l Federer); QF(4): Sydney (l Baghdatis); Australian Open (l Federer); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Federer); Roland Garros (l Federer)
YTD W-L: 48-12 (24-7 on hard), 18-13 in Tie-breaks
YTD Titles: 2
Career Titles: 11
Date of Birth: September 23, 1988
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 9

2012 in Review:
• The Argentine native is appearing in his seventh semi-final in 15 tournaments this season (3-3 mark), his second in an ATP Masters 1000 event, Madrid in May…This is his sixth career ATP Masters 1000 semi-final (1-4) and his lone final came in Montreal in 2009 (l. to Murray)
• Owns a 48-12 overall match record (24-7 on hard) and has already equalled last year’s mark (48-18) …Prior to last week’s opening round loss in Toronto (l. to Stepanek), he was coming off a bronze medal performance at the London Olympics where he lost a 19-17 marathon to Federer before coming back to beat Djokovic for bronze…It was Argentina’s first of four medals in the Olympics
• Has an 11-3 mark in Grand Slam play with quarter-finals at Australian Open (l. to Federer) and Roland Garros (l. to Federer in five sets) along with fourth round at Wimbledon (l. to Ferrer)
• He’s won a pair of ATP World Tour titles, his 10th career in Marseille in February (d. Llodra) and a repeat effort in Estoril in May (d. Gasquet)
• Began the season reaching the quarter-finals or better in first six tournaments with four (of six) losses coming to Federer (Australian Open QFs, Rotterdam final, Dubai SFs, Indian Wells QFs)…In first three months of action compiled a 21-6 record and since April is 27-6
• He won two Davis Cup matches on clay in Buenos Aires in the quarter-finals vs. Croatia, beating Karlovic and Cilic in straight sets…Argentina will host Czech Republic in Sept. in SFs in Buenos Aires
• Returned to Top 10 after Australian Open QFs, his first time in the elite since returning from wrist injury lay-off in 2010
• Has a 25-48 career mark vs. Top 10 opponents (5-10 this season) and his highest ranked win came over No. 2 Djokovic in the bronze medal match

DJOKOVIC FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 25-year-old Serb is appearing in the semi-finals for the fourth time in five years and has held serve all 22 games thus far (saving four break points)…Has broken opponents eight times…He opened with a 76(4) 62 win over top Italian Andreas Seppi on Wednesday and followed with a 6-0 ret. victory (shoulder) over Nikolay Davydenko and 63 62 over No. 12 seed Marin Cilic
• In last year’s final, retired vs. Andy Murray due to right shoulder pain after trailing 6-4, 3-0…It was his third final in four years (18-7 record)…Also runner-up in ‘08 (l. to Murray) and ’09 (l. to Federer)
• He lost early in first three appearances from 2005-07, going 1-3 but has compiled 17-4 mark since 2008…Two years ago he reached quarter-finals (l. to Roddick)

2012 Highlights:
W(3): Australian Open (d Nadal); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (d Murray); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Toronto (d Gasquet); F(3): ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Nadal); ATP Masters 1000 Rome (l Nadal); Roland Garros (l Nadal); SF(4): Dubai (l Murray); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Isner); Wimbledon (l Federer); London Olympics (l Murray); QF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Tipsarevic)
YTD W-L: 53-9 (28-2 on hard), 11-8 in Tie-breaks
YTD Titles: 3
Career Titles: 31
Date of Birth: May 22, 1987
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 2

2012 in Review:
• The World No. 2 is appearing in his 11th semi-final of the season and enters with a 14-match hard court winning streak…Last Sunday in Toronto defeated Richard Gasquet in the final…It was his sixth final of the season (3-3) and has a 53-9 match record (28-2 on hard)
• He trails No. 1 Federer by 75 points and to regain top ranking he must win the title AND Federer lose in the semi-finals
• His other two titles were repeat performances from last year at the Australian Open (d. Nadal) on Jan. 29 and ATP Masters 1000 Miami (d. Murray) on April 1…Has an ATP World Tour best 27-4 mark in ATP Masters 1000 play and 31-17 lifetime in ATP World Tour finals (12-9 in ATP Masters 1000)
• Last year left Cincinnati with 9-1 mark in finals and a 57-2 match record
• Prior to Toronto, lost the bronze medal match 75 64 loss to Argentine Juan Martin del Potro last Sunday…Lost in the semi-finals to eventual gold medalist Andy Murray
• En route to winning his fifth Grand Slam title (third in a row) Down Under (d. Murray and Nadal in back-to-back five-setters in SFs and final)…His 5:53 marathon win over Nadal was longest Slam final ever
• Prior to Miami, lost in the semi-finals to Isner 76 36 76, in Indian Wells, and to Andy Murray in Dubai
• Played well on clay with a 16-4 mark, reaching back-to-back finals at ATP Masters 1000 Rome and first at Roland Garros (l. to Nadal in both)…Then reached semi-finals at Wimbledon (l. to Federer)
• Held No. 1 for 53 consecutive weeks (from July 4, 2011 to July 8, 2012) before Federer regained it

(1)Roger Federer (SUI) vs Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) Federer Leads 10-1
05 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard R16 Roger Federer 6-1 6-4
06 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard R32 Roger Federer 7-6(3) 6-3
09 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo Clay R16 Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4 7-5
09 ATP Masters 1000 Montreal Hard R16 Roger Federer 6-3 7-6(5)
10 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid Clay R16 Roger Federer 6-3 6-1
10 Roland Garros (France) Clay R16 Roger Federer 6-3 7-6(5) 6-2
10 Stockholm (Sweden) Hard QF Roger Federer 2-6 6-3 6-2
11 Australian Open (Australia) Hard QF Roger Federer 6-1 6-3 6-3
11 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (USA)Hard QF Roger Federer 6-3 6-4
11 Roland Garros (France) Clay R16 Roger Federer 6-3 6-2 7-5
11 Basel (Switzerland) Hard SF Roger Federer 7-6(5) 6-2

   Roger Federer Stanislas Wawrinka
 Sets Won: 23 3
 Tiebreak Sets Won: 4 0

 Match Wins By Surface:
 Clay: 3 1
 Hard: 7 0

FEDERER FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The four-time champion opened with a 63 62 win over Alex Bogomolov Jr. on Wednesday night and followed with a 62 64 victory over Aussie teenager Bernard Tomic and 63 76 triumph over No. 10 Mardy Fish in a repeat of the ‘10 final…He is in the SFs for the fifth time in 12th appearance (28-7 mark)
• Leads the tournament in service games won (28 of 28), facing only one break point and No. 2 in first serve pts. won (85%) and No. 3 in second serve pts. won (62%)
• He went 1-4 in first four appearances (2000, 2002-03-04); has gone 27-3 in eighth visit, winning title four times in 2005 (d. Roddick), ‘07 (d. Blake), ‘09 (d. Djokovic ),’10 (d. Fish)… Has19-2 record in odd years, 9-5 in even years
• He’s trying to become the first five-time winner in the Open Era (Wilander won four)

2012 Highlights:
W(5): Rotterdam (d Del Potro); Dubai (d Murray); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (d Isner); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (d Berdych); Wimbledon (d Murray); F(2): Halle (l Haas); London Olympics (l Murray); SF(4): Doha (W/O vs Tsonga); Australian Open (l Nadal); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (l Djokovic); Roland Garros (l Djokovic)
YTD W-L: 54-7 (26-2 on hard), 14-10 in Tie-breaks
YTD Titles: 5/Career Titles: 75
Date of Birth: August 8, 1981
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 1

2012 in Review:
• The 31-year-old World No. 1 is making his 12th semi-final appearance in 13th tournament this season
•  Has an ATP World Tour-best 54 match wins this year (54-7), including 26-2 on hard courts
• He is making his first appearance since earning a silver medal at the London Olympics on Aug. 5 (l. to Murray in straight sets)… Prior to that (three weeks earlier) he captured his seventh Wimbledon crown (d. Murray) and 17th career Grand Slam title…Afterwards he returned to No. 1 on July 9 and following week broke record of most weeks at No. 1 with 287 (surpassing Sampras)…This is 291st week overall at No 1…Has 75-point lead over No. 2 Djokovic and will remain No. 1 by reaching the final
• Co-leader (w/Ferrer) with five titles on the ATP World Tour this season, capturing consecutive titles in Rotterdam (d. del Potro) on Feb. 19, Dubai (d. Murray) on Mar. 3 and his 19th career ATP Masters 1000 in Indian Wells on Mar. 18 (d. No. 9 del Potro, No. 2 Nadal, No. 11 Isner in final three rounds without dropping a set)…Also won his 20th ATP Masters 1000 crown in Madrid (d. Berdych)
• Has captured at least one ATP World Tour title for 12 straight years (along w/Roddick), best among active players and his 75 career titles is No. 4 in the Open Era
• Has a Grand Slam record 33 straight quarter-finals or better and last time he didn’t reach second week in a Slam was ’04 Roland Garros (l. to Kuerten in third round)

30-OVER PLAYERS TO RANK NO. 1 – Since the inception of the South African Airways ATP Rankings on Aug. 23, 1973, five players age 30-over have ranked No. 1:
                     Oldest Age at No. 1
Andre Agassi      33
Roger Federer      31
Jimmy Connors      30
Ivan Lendl      30
John Newcombe      30

WAWRINKA FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 27-year-old Swiss native is appearing in the semi-finals for the first time after wins over qualifier Paul-Henri Mathieu 62 36 61, No. 4 seed/No. 5-ranked David Ferrer 64 61, No. 14 seed Kei Nishikori 63 63 and World No. 19 Milos Raonic 26 76(5) 64…Has a 7-5 career mark in Cincinnati
• No. 2 in aces this week with 34 and has held serve 39 of 44 games (89%), saving 15 of 20 break pts.
Has broken opponents 14 times (14 of 45, 31%)
• In past 10 years, only three times an unseeded player has reached the final: Mardy Fish in 2010 (l. to Federer) and ‘03 (l. to Roddick) and Juan Carlos Ferrero in ’06 (l. to Roddick)
• His previous best result was the third round in his debut in 2006 (l. to No. 13 Gonzalez)

2012 Highlights:
SF(3): Buenos Aires (l Almagro); Acapulco (l Verdasco); Estoril (l Del Potro); QF(2): Chennai (l Soeda); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Nadal)
YTD W-L: 26-14 (8-3 on hard), 6-12 in Tie-breaks
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: March 28, 1985
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 26

2012 in Review:
• The No. 2 Swiss player enters his fourth ATP World Tour semi-final of the season (first ATP Masters 1000) with a 26-14 match record (8-3 mark on hard courts)
• His best results have come on clay with three semi-finals in Buenos Aires (l. to Almagro), Acapulco (l. to Verdasco) and Estoiril (l. to del Potro)…Also a quarter-finalist at ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo
• In Grand Slam play, has compiled a 5-3 mark with third round at Australian Open (l. to No. 10 Almagro), fourth rd. at Roland Garros (l. to No. 5 Tsonga) and first round at Wimbledon (l. to Melzer in five sets)
• Has an 18-50 career record vs. Top 10 opponents, including 2-6 this season, with wins over No. 8 Tipsarevic in Rome in May, and No. 5 Ferrer in the second round
• Has a 3-6 career mark in ATP World Tour finals and reached his lone ATP Masters 1000 final in Rome in 2008 (l. to Djokovic)

POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS
Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Roger Federer (SUI)  Federer Leads 15-12
06 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo Clay R64 Roger Federer 6-3 2-6 6-3
06 SUI v. SCG WG PO (Switzerland) Hard RR Roger Federer 6-3 6-2 6-3
07 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R16 Roger Federer 6-2 7-5 6-3
07 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard QF Roger Federer 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3
07 ATP Masters 1000 Montreal Hard F Novak Djokovic 7-6(2) 2-6 7-6(2)
07 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard F Roger Federer 7-6(4) 7-6(2) 6-4
08 Australian Open (Australia) Hard SF Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-3 7-6(5)
08 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo Clay SF Roger Federer 6-3 3-2 ret
08 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard SF Roger Federer 6-3 5-7 7-5 6-2
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami Hard SF Novak Djokovic 3-6 6-2 6-3
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome Clay SF Novak Djokovic 4-6 6-3 6-3
09 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati Hard F Roger Federer 6-1 7-5
09 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard SF Roger Federer 7-6(3)7-5 7-5
09 Basel (Switzerland) Hard F Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 6-2
10 ATP Masters 1000 Toronto Hard SF Roger Federer 6-1 3-6 7-5
10 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard SF Novak Djokovic 5-7 6-1 5-7 6-2 7-5
10 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (China) Hard SF Roger Federer 7-5 6-4
10 Basel (Switzerland) Hard F Roger Federer 6-4 3-6 6-1
10 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Hard SF Roger Federer 6-1 6-4
11 Australian Open (Australia) Hard SF Novak Djokovic 7-6(3) 7-5 6-4
11 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard F Novak Djokovic 6-3  6-3
11 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard SF Novak Djokovic 6-3 3-6 6-2
11 Roland Garros (France) Clay SF Roger Federer 7-6(5) 6-3 3-6 7-6(5)
11 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard SF Novak Djokovic 6-7(7) 4-6 6-3 6-2 7-5
12 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome Clay SF Novak Djokovic 6-2 7-6(4)
12 Roland Garros (France) Clay SF Novak Djokovic 6-4 7-5 6-3
12 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass SF Roger Federer 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3
 Novak Djokovic Roger Federer
 Sets Won: 36 46
 Tiebreak Sets Won: 6 6
 Match Wins By Surface:
 Clay: 3 3
 Hard: 9 11
       Grass:     0              1

Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) vs Roger Federer (SUI) Federer Leads 13-2
07 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R64 Roger Federer 6-2 7-5 6-1
07 Basel (Switzerland) Hard R16 Roger Federer 6-1 6-4
08 ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (Spain) Hard QF Roger Federer 6-3 6-3
09 Australian Open (Australia) Hard QF Roger Federer 6-3 6-0 6-0
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid Clay SF Roger Federer 6-3 6-4
09 Roland Garros (France) Clay SF Roger Federer 3-6 7-6(2) 2-6 6-1 6-4
09 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard F Juan Martin Del Potro 3-6 7-6(5) 4-6 7-6(4) 6-2
09 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Hard RR Juan Martin Del Potro 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3
11 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati Hard R32 Roger Federer 6-3 7-5
12 Australian Open (Australia) Hard QF Roger Federer 6-4 6-3 6-2
12 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard F Roger Federer 6-1 6-4
12 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard SF Roger Federer 7-6(5) 7-6(6)
12 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard QF Roger Federer 6-3 6-2
12 Roland Garros (France) Clay QF Roger Federer 3-6 6-7(4) 6-2 6-0 6-3
12 London Olympics (Great Britain) Grass SF Roger Federer 3-6 7-6(5) 19-17

Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) vs Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) Del Potro Leads 3-2
06 Umag (Croatia) Clay QF Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1 2-6 6-4
08 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R64 Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6(5) 6-3 7-5
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome Clay R16 Juan Martin Del Potro 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid Clay R16 Juan Martin Del Potro 4-6 6-4 6-4
12 Estoril (Portugal) Clay SF Juan Martin Del Potro 7-6(2) 6-4

Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) Djokovic Leads 10-2
06 Umag (Croatia) Clay F Stanislas Wawrinka 6-6(1) ret
06 SUI v. SCG WG PO (Switzerland) Hard RR Novak Djokovic 6-4 3-6  2-6 7-6(3) 6-4
06 Vienna (Austria) Hard R16 Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3 6-3
07 Vienna (Austria) Hard F Novak Djokovic 6-4 6-0
08 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard QF Novak Djokovic 7-6(5) 6-2
08 ATP Masters 1000 Rome (Italy) Clay F Novak Djokovic 4-6 6-3 6-3
09 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard R16 Novak Djokovic 7-6(7) 7-6(6)
09 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo Clay SF Novak Djokovic 4-6 6-1 6-3
09 Basel (Switzerland) Hard QF Novak Djokovic 3-6 7-6(5) 6-2
10 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo Clay R16 Novak Djokovic 6-4 6-4
11 ATP Masters 1000 Rome (Italy) Clay R16 Novak Djokovic 6-4 6-1
12 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid Clay R16 Novak Djokovic 7-6(5) 6-4
Other meeting:
04 Aachen CH (Germany) Carpet R32 Novak Djokovic 6-2 6-3
 Novak Djokovic Stanislas Wawrinka
 Sets Won: 21 8
 Tiebreak Sets Won: 6 0
 Clay: 5 1
 Hard: 5 1