Djokovic ousts weary Nadal to gain final

MASON, Ohio (AP) — Rafael Nadal’s move to No. 1 will have to wait a couple of more weeks.

Looking weary after two months of nonstop winning, the 22-year-old Spaniard got run around the court Saturday and, ultimately, bounced from the Cincinnati Masters one step short of another title match. Instead, Novak Djokovic reached the final with a 6-1, 7-5 victory that delayed the inevitable.

The third-seeded Djokovic will play Andy Murray for the title today. Murray reached his first Masters series final by beating Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 6-4.

By reaching the semifinals of the $2.6 million ATP Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Nadal piled up enough points to overtake Roger Federer as the world’s No. 1 player. Given the way points accrue — the last 52 weeks are counted — he will surpass Federer in the Aug. 18 rankings.

Federer has been No. 1 for a record 235 consecutive weeks. He and Nadal have been ranked 1-2 since July 25, 2005. Nadal will become the third Spaniard to hold the No. 1 spot, joining Carlos Moya (1999) and Juan Carlos Ferrero (2003).

He could have moved up immediately by winning in Cincinnati, but wore down as the week went along. Djokovic ended Nadal’s long run of winning tennis — 32 straight matches, five straight tournaments — by being more aggressive and making Nadal work hard for every point.