CINCINNATI — Defending champion Serena Williams finished her last US Open tune-up in style by beating Romanian third seed Simona Halep 6-3, 7-6(5) to win the Western & Southern Open Sunday. For the top-seeded American, the Cincinnati triumph sent a message that she is in top form as she now sets her sights on a calendar sweep of the four Grand Slams at the Aug. 31-Sept. 13 US Open. “I don't care if I win, lose or break even,” said Williams. “I'm ready to start (the US Open), get it over with and be done and go on to the next event.” Halep had a solid start and broke Williams in the opening game of the first set but the American, who turns 34 next month, recovered to win the final five games of the first set. In the final set, the opponents traded early breaks but Williams took it to another level in the tiebreak and wrapped the match up in 99 minutes. “I tried to keep fighting,” said Halep, now a loser in six of seven career matches against Williams. “It's not easy to return her serve. I had chances to break her, but she served really well in important moments.” Halep, who also lost the Toronto final last week, will take over second spot in the world rankings. The win was the 69th career title for Williams and moved her ahead of Evonne Goolagong and into fifth place on the all-time list. Roger Federer earlier avenged his Wimbledon final loss to Novak Djokovic by beating the top-seeded Serb 7-6(1), 6-3 Sunday to capture his second consecutive Western & Southern Open title. The Swiss second seed, playing Djokovic for the first time since losing to him in the Wimbledon final for a second straight year last month, brought his record number of Cincinnati titles to seven with the win. Federer, who did not concede a service break all week, easily handled his service games throughout the match, losing only 13 points on his serve. He also employed an attacking style that gave Djokovic fits, winning 15 of 21 net points in the first set. After cruising through the first set tiebreak, Federer earned the only break of the match in the second game of the second set en route to sealing the win in 90 minutes. The win will give Federer a jolt of confidence going into the US Open where he will be seeking a sixth title at Flushing Meadows and first since 2008. Cibulkova advances Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova overcame the heat and a three-hour match with Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova Sunday in the first round of the Connecticut Open. The 26-year-old Cibulkova won 7-6 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-3 as she continues her comeback from left Achilles surgery that sidelined her for more than four months this year. In other matches at Yale Tennis Center, Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu beat Kazakhstan's Zarina Diyas 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, and the Czech Republic's Barbora Strycova topped Italy's Camila Giorgi 6-2, 7-5. — Agencies
