Djokovic growing in confidence going into U.S. Open

Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a return to Roger Federer of Switzerland during their championship match at the Cincinnati Masters tennis tournament in Cincinnati, August 23, 2009.

CINCINNATI, Ohio (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic said he will go into the U.S. Open with renewed optimism after his run to the final of the Cincinnati Masters.

The Serb was beaten 6-1 7-5 in the final by world number one Roger Federer but his confidence was lifted by the manner of his defeat of Rafa Nadal in the semi-final.

When Djokovic was beaten in the third round of the French Open in May, the 22-year-old was the picture of dejection, depressed at the state of his game.

But after making the final in Cincinnati, the former Australian Open champion said things were looking up once more.

"Overall, it's been a great week for me - I got a lot of matches in before the U.S. Open, so I'm satisfied," he said.

"I started quite slow, but then the quarter-finals was a little bit better, and then the semi-final was a great match."

Djokovic's defeat was his fourth in Masters Series finals this year and though he was hampered by a quick turnaround after playing Nadal on Saturday night, the Serb said he had been second best to Federer.

"Unfortunately I was born in the wrong era," he joked. "I was very close in most of those finals, but I don't think this is some kind of curse or something.

"Everybody is playing (great) tennis. Those two guys, Nadal and Federer, and of course (Andy) Murray, they're all playing fantastic tennis. Roger and Rafa are maybe two of the best players that ever played this game. Roger for sure is.

"It's kind of hard because they raise their level in the final stages of the tournaments, especially the finals. So for me to reach the final stages is a big success. Hopefully in the future I'll be able to get some titles.

"Today there were some parts of the match that I played quite OK. I will try to work in these seven days before the U.S. Open on these things, on a better approach to the match and being aggressive from the start.

"If I manage to do that, I think I can get far."

(editing by Justin Palmer)