Novak Djokovic vs. Gael Monfils in Cincinnati Masters

Novak Djokovic will be hoping to inflict another heavy defeat on Gael Monfils when they meet for the second time in the space of a week at the Cincinnati Masters.

Djokovic has cruised through both his matches so far in straight sets, outplaying Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday afternoon.

Stepanek tried his best to mix things up and unsettle Djokovic but ultimately he had no answer to the accuracy and ferocity of the top seed’s passing shots. However, ever the perfectionist, Djokovic was still not particularly happy with his game. "There are periods of the match where I serve okay and then periods where I serve very bad, but that's okay," said Djokovic. "It all happens. I played so many matches, and they caught up to me a little bit. It's expected that some part of my game is not working 100 per cent.

"But I believe that tomorrow the serve will be better. It's important to have the right mindset and positive attitude. I don't think that my rhythm is bad, it's just a little bit my toss and I'm out of balance on my serve and I'm forcing it a little bit too much. Maybe I should go a little bit for percentage rather than speed."

Monfils cruised past Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 6-2 but last week he was destroyed by Djokovic at this stage in Montreal, winning just three games.

Monfils likes to play his tennis from way behind the baseline but for an opponent as adept at working the angles and fighting pace with pace as Djokovic, that strategy has little chance. However it remains to be seen whether the Frenchman has the ability to adapt his game.