ATP Cincinnati: Djokovic defeats Alcaraz in the final in an epic battle to win his 39th Masters 1000 title

This Sunday, in what is now the biggest match in the tournament’s history, Djokovic defeated Alcaraz in the Cincinnati final. From sunrise to dusk, the Serb and the Spaniard played out a spectacular battle on center court.

In Hulk Hogan style, Novak Djokovic exults after a final unforced error by Carlos Alcaraz and tears off his shirt. With this victory after three crazy sets (5-7, 6-7, 6-7) and almost 3 hours 50 minutes of play, the world’s No. 2 Serb wins the final of the Cincinnati Masters 1000. All in all, it was the third time Djokovic had won the American tournament. At the same time, “Nole” claimed his 39th Masters 1000 title. The Serb and the Spaniard have just signed the longest, and quite simply the greatest, final in the tournament’s history. It is also, without a doubt, one of the greatest Masters 1000 finals of all time. As Djokovic said at the end of the match, “this is one of the toughest matches of my life”. And with good reason…

Anthology final !

From the outset, the world’s top two players got the first set off to a flying start, playing a high-flying game of solidity and flashes of brilliance. And if Djokovic is the first to break, the world number 1 immediately responds by taking the Serb’s first serve. Backhands and forehands are generally precise and sometimes insanely powerful, and the intensity of the match is very high. At 5-5 when he was serving, Djokovic became irritated, made a few errors and conceded another break point. But Carlitos brings the hard-fought first set to a close with a blistering backhand.

In the second set, the break came much earlier, thanks in particular to three consecutive double faults by the Serb. Alcaraz was now leading 2-1 and Djokovic seemed to be in a physical state. He was potentially suffering from the heat (34°C) and the doctor took his blood pressure. But the Spaniard continued to forge ahead, brushed aside a break point and held on to his set to take the lead. With this dip in form and the doctor’s call, the pace of the match slowed down, and when Djokovic seemed less down and started to get his head above water, a single lapse could be fatal for Alcaraz, and so it proved. At 4-3, the Spaniard went through on his break point, was broken and even saw the Serb pass him by. As Djokovic regained some color and length in his shots, and got back into the match for good, Alcaraz didn’t give up, and the battle was once again intense and fierce. The two men then embarked on a tiebreak. And in an exceptional tiebreak in which he saved a match point, it was Novak Djokovic who came out on top, 9-7.

In the final set, the balance of power was once again very even, with the world’s top two players both very good on serve. But Alcaraz was soon faced with several break points and finally cracked. Djokovic confirms the break and leads 5-3. In the last few games, the Spanish side was beginning to show signs of fatigue. This is no doubt due to the more than 10 hours spent on court this week (while the Serb has played only half as long). Nonetheless, Carlitos found the energy to save two match points on his serve, with, among other things, an end-of-court passing shot from elsewhere. He finds even more to save others, this time on the Serb’s serve. He goes for it with courage, mentally, with a few exceptional shots from his racket. Four match points are erased. In the next game, Alcaraz was once again dominated, but managed to reverse the trend and regain the lead thanks to an ace. A new tiebreak, Djokovic and Alcaraz engage in a final, extraordinary battle, with the world number 2 having the last word.