WATCH—Novak Djokovic‘s presser after beating Milos Raonic in Cincinnati:
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On Saturday, Marin Cilic and Novak Djokovic will fight for a spot in the Western & Southern Open final in Cincinnati. (Not before 2 p.m. ET, Tennis Channel Plus)
Cilic faced Pablo Carreno-Busta in the quarterfinal on Friday—after having to finish his match against Karen Khachanov earlier in the day—and the big Croatian won, 7-6 (7), 6-4. It was important for Cilic to win that match in straight sets, as he was pushed to a third by both Marius Copil and Khachanov in the previous two rounds.
Djokovic, like Cilic, was forced to pull double duty on Friday. Because of some late Thursday night rain, the Wimbledon champion had to finish his match against Grigor Dimitrov in the afternoon, and then face Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals just a few hours later. Clearly, fatigue could be an issue for both men at the muggy Midwestern event.
These two met just before Wimbledon, when Cilic beat Djokovic, 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3, in the final at Queen’s Club. That was only Cilic’s second win in 16 tries against the 13-time Grand Slam champion, but it should be enough to give him some confidence heading into this match. But Djokovic knows that if he simply plays his game as well as been playing it of late, he should be fine. That’s what beating an opponent 14 times will do for one’s confidence.
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