After almost four hours, the winner in Cincinnati is Novak Djokovic.Image: fxp-fr-sda-rtp
After losing the final in Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic hits back at Carlos Alcaraz. The Serb won the Cincinnati final in 3 hours and 49 minutes 5:7, 7:6 (9:7), 7:6 (7:4).
Djokovic, who hadn’t played a tournament since Wimbledon a month ago, showed an impressive comeback in the final of Cincinnati’s ATP 1000 tournament in great heat. In the second set, he first made up for a break deficit and fended off a match point in the tie-break to get into the deciding set. There he kept the better end for himself in one of the longest best-of-3 matches in tour history: he used the fifth match point.
After the marathon match, the two opponents were full of praise for each other and made the audience laugh several times. “It’s fantastic to play against you and to learn from a champion like you up close,” said Alcaraz when the trophy was handed over. Djokovic immediately returned the compliment: “You are a fantastic person and a champion. What you have already achieved in your career so far is unbelievable.”
One of the main reasons for Alcaraz’s success is that he never gives up. “I love that with you,” said Djokovic, “but sometimes I wish you would play a few points a little more relaxed.” The 20-year-old Alcaraz replied that Spaniards would never die, whereupon Djokovic said, referring to Rafael Nadal: “I’ve seen that a few times.”
“The bottom line is that it was one of the toughest and most exciting matches I’ve ever played,” said Djokovic, who tore his T-shirt after the win. It felt like a Grand Slam final. With every game between the two going the full distance, the world No. 2 wishes the two will also meet in the final of the US Open, which begins next Monday. “That would be nice,” said the three-time winner of the tournament in New York, adding: “For the audience, maybe less for me.”
With his 95th tournament victory on the ATP tour, Djokovic overtook Ivan Lendl and is in 3rd place in this ranking – behind Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103). (nih/sda)
All of Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam titles
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All of Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam titles
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2023-08-21 08:08:00
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