Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer in Cincinnati Masters

Roger Federer lost his cool and copped a code violation as his bitter rivalry with Novak Djokovic spilled over during a crushing defeat.

Stony-faced Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic after the Cincinnati Masters final

Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer. The biggest stink in men’s tennis. The Serb gets the GOAT’s goat. Annoys him. Infuriates him. No losses sit in Federer’s gut as deeply as those delivered by Djokovic and his fury was again evidenced when he dropped a rare F-bomb during today’s final of the Cincinnati Masters.

Federer was exasperated throughout his 6-4 6-4 loss. Flustered. Angry. Uptight. Djokovic’s comprehensive victory made him the first man to win all nine Masters events — the elite tournaments just one rung below the majors for prestige on the ATP World Tour — since their inception in 1990.

It stamped the Wimbledon champion alongside French Open winner Rafael Nadal as favourites for next week’s US Open in New York City.

Federer looked marginally out of sorts while reaching the final in Cincinnati; he was completely out of whack in the decider. Hurried by Djokovic’s ripping groundstrokes, there were still moments of genius, as always, but he sprayed 39 unforced errors and appeared completely pissed off in an unusually discombobulated performance.

Federer had the crowd on his side. This always bugs Djokovic, who laments that whatever he does in tennis, crowds are always hollering for Federer or Nadal. When Federer broke Djokovic’s serve for 2-0 in the second set, the crowd chanted Roger! Roger! But he double-faulted, shanked ground strokes and threw away the advantage.

Federer feels the heat against Djokovic. Picture: AFP

He snapped at a member of the small, but loud and proud, band of Djokovic supporters. Federer was bouncing the ball to serve before he pulled up and said to the fan, “What did you say?”

Federer revealed his trucker’s mouth when he dropped his serve at 3-3 in the first set. Then came the words you don’t often hear from an umpire: “Code violation, audible obscenity, Federer.”

He stood with his hands on his hips while Djokovic lifted the trophy. Djokovic reminded the World No 2 in his victory speech that he had won without his A-game. “Thanks for letting me win here once,” Djokovic said playfully before adding, “I didn’t play my best tennis today, but I managed.”

Federer’s meltdowns are few and far between. His biggest previous blip came when he thought unflappable Argentine Juan Martin del Potro was taking too long to challenge line calls at the 2009 US Open final.

Djokovic celebrates his win. Picture: Getty

“No, no, no!” Federer yelled at the umpire. “We have to challenge a call after, like, two seconds and this guy takes 10 — every time. Do you guys have any rules in there, or what? Don’t show me your hand. Don’t tell me to be quiet, OK? When I want to talk I’ll talk, all right? I don’t give a shit. I’m just saying he waited too long. Don’t f***ing tell me the rules.”

Federer and Djokovic are too polished as public speakers to spill the beans on their rivalry. But you only have to be courtside to feel it. There’s an extra edge to their matches. Niggle.

In his early days, Djokovic was at the mercy of Federer and Nadal before he started ripping through major triumphs at their expense. Federer leads the all-time list with 20, ahead of Nadal on 17, Pete Sampras on 14 and Djokovic on 13.

The Djokovic clan failed to enamour themselves after he won the 2008 Australian Open. In reference to Federer, Djokovic’s mother, Dijana, said, “The king is dead.”

Their rat-at-tat, toe-to-toe tennis is fantastic and so is the feud. Djokovic leads their head-to-head 24-22 and has won seven of their last nine meetings.