The Canada/Cincinnati double is legendarily taxing, but Montreal champ Novak Djokovic off to a good start in the second leg, winning 6-2, 6-3 over Ryan Harrison.
There was a lot of the talk before this match about confidence. You'd expect that from the world No. 1, arriving in Cincinnati with a 53-1 record, five Masters 1000 shields, and two majors on the year. But Harrison wasn't ceding ground easily pre-match: after beating Juan Ignacio Chela in the first round, Harrison was asked if it was a challenge to think he could win today. He responded, "I don't think that anyone that's ever met me would think that's a challenge for me. Anyone that knows me will say that me not believing I can win is as unlikely as me not walking out of this room."
It isn't bragging if you can back it up, and breaking Djokovic straight out of the gate was a pretty good start. Djokovic broke straight back—you don't have one loss through mid-August if you fold your tent at the first hint of resistance. After a routine hold, Djokovic again put pressure on Harrison's serve, converting his third break point for a 3-1 advantage.
Throughout the first set, the returner, not the server, was invariably on the attack. Djokovic has a well-earned reputation for aggressive returns, but Harrison also punched deep returns from well inside the court. Many ATP matches are decided by one or two breaks: Harrison was going to need to hold serve at least once to get into the match. He couldn't manage it in the first set, surrendering all four of his service games.
Harrison enjoys a reputation as a firebrand, but he only bounced his racquet off the court at half pace when he was broken in the first set. A hapless tennis ball finally got the full treatment after Harrison was broken for 2-0 in the next set: Mohammed Layhani administered a code violation warning with the air of a sympathetic priest in a confessional, rather than a magistrate giving a British looter a maximum sentence. Harrison finally held serve on his sixth attempt, but by this time Djokovic was in full control of his own service games. The free points on serve, rare as a San Francisco liberal at a Tea Party rally in the first set, now flowed from his delivery. Djokovic had won a bare majority of his service points in the first set, but he cantered home in the second, easing through in straights.
Djokovic always refers to the mental game in his press conferences, and this season he's brilliantly coupled efficient technique and athletic gifts with calmness. I hope his opponent was paying attention: Harrison has the wheels and a nice range of shots, but composure in matches will help in the long run more than cocksureness between them.
—Andrew Burton