- World No. 2 tennis player Novak Djokovic, is pleased with his contribution to the exciting Cincinnati Masters final
- This will be their third meet-up this season
- They met at the French Open semi-final and the historic Wimbledon finals
World No. 2 tennis player Novak Djokovic, is pleased with his contribution to the exciting Cincinnati Open final featuring his now favourite opponent, Carlos Alcaraz.
This will be their third meet-up this season after the French Open semi-final and the historic Wimbledon finals.
Several quarters agree that Alcaraz’s victory over Djokovic at Wimbledon was a passing of the baton moment and the Serbian could stage a powerful comeback.
The Spaniard will be the top seed at a Slam for the third time this year and Djokovic can cut the gap to No. 1 Alcaraz with a title win but cannot seize the top slot this week.
Although Djokovic held back from saying he wanted another chance to meet Alcaraz, he said that this was the conclusion that everyone was hoping for.
Speaking shortly after beating Alexander Zverev in the Cincinnati semi-finals, Djokovic said that it is a great concept this year to have him and Alcaraz face off.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. Photo/The Australian
“It’s great. It’s amazing for the sport, No. 1 and No. 2 in the world facing each other again in the final of a big event. This is I guess what everybody wanted and expected in the beginning of the tournament, so here we are,” reports Tennis365.
This week, Alcaraz has played on the court for an astounding 10 hours and 40 minutes, more than double the amount of time Djokovic has played.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina retired in the first set after appearing to be so far behind the pace that his coach urged him to stop losing ground and retire. As a result, Djokovic easily advanced to the final in just under five hours overall.
He also quickly dispatched home hope Taylor Fritz and Gael Monfils, proving that his short time on the court wasn’t all down to good breaks.
On his comeback to the tournament, Djokovic took longer to defeat Zverev but has yet to drop a set.
Even though Alcaraz claims he is in good health, is healing well, and won’t be affected by his week when he faces Djokovic for the Cincinnati title, the player has played four three-set matches.
He claimed that, physically, he feels as though he is about to take the field for the tournament’s opening match.
Alcaraz booked yet another stunning round of Cincinnati finals after beating Hubert Hurkacz.
Carlos Alcaraz at Cincinnati Open. Photo/Eurosport]
He says that he will disappoint many people expecting him to retire in the final but he has a clean bill of health from his team.
“Probably the people can think that I’m going to be tired in the final, but I feel good. It doesn’t matter if I play in third sets, long matches. I’m recovering really, really well with my physio, with my team. I feel like I’m going to play the first match of the tournament. I feel great,” Alcaraz said.
While Alcaraz is just competing in his 18th Masters tournament, Djokovic is going for his 39th victory, which would break the record for most titles won at the ATP 1000 level.
With Alcaraz already holding a 2-1 advantage in their head-to-head, it is not unexpected that the matchup between No. 1 and No. 2 is difficult to predict.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login