Cincinnati Masters 2019: David Goffin reaches first Masters 1000 final
David Goffin came good for the first time in his fifth Masters 1000 semi-final as the Belgian saw off Richard Gasquet in a 6-3, 6-4 win to reach the Cincinnati title match – his 13th final on the ATP Tour.
Goffin was faster off the blocks as he rode on an early break of serve to take the opening set against his 33-year-old French opponent.
The second set was a tighter affair where the players traded a break apiece in the early stages and then Gasquet saved a break point to hold serve for 3-2. But Goffin upped the ante to eke out another break of the Gasquet serve in the seventh game of the set and duly served out a straight-set win.
The winner of the other semi-final between defending champion Novak Djokovic and in-form Daniil Medvedev would face Goffin in the Cincinnati final on Sunday.
The Belgian, who reached the final of the ATP Finals in 2017, has an underwhelming 1-6 head-to-head record against Djokovic. The pair has never met in a tournament final before and Goffin's only win over the top-seeded Serb came in the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters two years ago.
Goffin has split his two meetings with Medvedev. After the young Russian beat Goffin in the third round of the Australian Open this year, the Belgian returned the favour in the third round of Wimbledon to even their head-to-head at one win apiece.
A Goffin-Medvedev final would be the first Masters 1000 title match since 2019 Monte Carlo (Fognini beat Lajovic) to feature two finalists with no Masters 1000 titles between them. The match-up would also confirm a third first-time Masters 1000 winner of the season following Thiem's victory at Indian Wells and Fognini's win at Monte Carlo.