Just a month after Carlos Alcaraz’s astounding triumph at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic fought back from the jaws of defeat to produce a comeback victory in tennis’s new rivalry as the two best players in the world demonstrated the dynamic range of their resilience throughout a sensational instant classic.
Novak Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz, 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4) on Sunday to avenge his Wimbledon final loss and capture the Western & Southern Open title in Cincinnati, Ohio. Their head-to-head series is now tied at 2-2.
Despite struggling badly with stifling heat conditions, facing a championship point and then squandering four of his own, Djokovic recovered to win his third Cincinnati title by outlasting Alcaraz in a battle that lasted three hours and 49 minutes.
Playing in his first tournament on US soil since 2021, the 36-year-old Serb rallied from a set and a break down against Alcaraz, while saving a championship point to claim his third Cincinnati Open title and the 95th ATP Tour title of his career.
“Definitely one of the toughest matches I’ve ever played in my life. Regardless of what tournament, what category, what player.” an exhausted Djokovic said after the match. “It did feel like a grand slam final even more than that to be honest. Every match that we play against each other goes the distance.”
Djokovic collapsed on his back before tearing his shirt off after the thriller. With temperatures hovering close to 90 degrees, the 36-year-old Djokovic survived the tournament’s longest men’s match since 1990 to become the oldest man to win the championship. At three hours, 49 minutes, the match was the longest best-of-three set final in ATP tour history (since 1990).
The Serbian player looked disheveled by the intense humidity at the tail end of the first set. He was barely reacting when Alcaraz hit a backhand winner to grab the opener.
“You just have to put your hats down to a guy like that, who plays so maturely, handles the pressure so well for a 20-year-old,” Djokovic said. “We cannot forget how young he is. That’s something that is so impressive about him. The feeling that I have on the court reminds me a little bit when I was facing Nadal when we were at our prime of our careers. Each point is a hustle. Each point is a battle.”
“It’s a crazy match that we’ve been through today. Roller coaster of a match,” Djokovic said in his post-match press conference. “I don’t think I’ve played too many matches like this in my life.
Djokovic has now won 39 ATP Masters 100 titles. After Cincinnati had slipped away from him for much of his career, the 36-year-old has now won the title three times. While Alcaraz will maintain his No. 1 ranking next week, Djokovic will sit just 20 points from the 20-year-old in the ATP rankings and he is likely to reclaim the No. 1 ranking after the US Open.
“Anybody who’s watching on the stadium or on the TV has seen that this rivalry just gets better and better. Amazing player, tons of respect for him,” said Djokovic.
The victory further underlined Djokovic’s ability to get creative and escape danger. After Djokovic initially led 4-2 in the opening set, Alcaraz found his range and powered through the set. As Alcaraz rose to the challenge, Djokovic struggled in the suffocating heat.
Alcaraz raced out to a 4-2 second-set lead. It appeared he might cruise to the finish line as his 36-year-old opponent looked roasted in the Ohio sun. Alcaraz had Djokovic on the ropes in the second set, leading 4-3. A combination of misses including four unforced errors gave Djokovic new life. To cool down from the heat, Djokovic took a prolonged bathroom break.
But as he has done much throughout his career, Djokovic found a way in. First he held on just long enough in the second set to find his range again.
Then, after retrieving the second set break and forcing a tiebreak, Djokovic saved a match point before taking the set by relentlessly grinding Alcaraz down. In the second-set tiebreak, Djokovic saved a championship point and went on to force a deciding set after winning a 25-shot rally.
During the break before the third set, a frustrated Alcaraz pounded a hand against the plastic drinks container next to his chair, requiring a medical timeout to tape his finger.
As the afternoon heat went away, Djokovic took his momentum into the third set. The Serb puffed his chest in Alcaraz’s service games throughout the final set. The Spaniard finally seemed to yield at 3-3 in the third, relinquishing the first break of the set.
Instead, the match descended into complete chaos. As Djokovic established a 5-3 lead, Alcaraz made his last stand. He would save four championship points with a variety of outlandish last-ditch effort winners as Djokovic’s serve faltered under the pressure. As the quality of the match hit astronomical heights, Alcaraz secured the break and forced a decisive tiebreak. With his back against the wall, Djokovic took an early lead and then finally refused to let it go. He took the trophy at 7-4 in the tiebreak.
At the same time that Djokovic celebrated with his team, Alcaraz teared up in his seat before sharing an emotional moment with his brother, Alvaro, who he thanked during his speech. Through Alcaraz’s pain and Djokovic’s joy, the mutual respect between them only continued to grow. “Boy, you never give up. Jesus Christ.” said Djokovic.
What was the key that turned the tides for Djokovic? Serving and volleying on his second serve, usually unthinkable.
Novak Djokovic served and volleyed six times behind his second serve, winning every point. The deep court was failing Djokovic early in the match. Longer baseline exchanges took their toll in the blistering Cincinnati sun. The Serbian suffered from heat exhaustion after only a handful of games and changed gears to attack the net with approach shots. This would allow for shorter rallies to conserve energy.
No other strategy he employed came close to winning 88 per cent (7/8) of the time. Alcaraz served and volleyed 10 times, winning eight, with all of them being behind his first serve.
It was a cheeky counter to Alcaraz’s deep return position. Djokovic hit a heavy kick second serve to Alcaraz’s backhand return. This pushed Alcaraz back further and was able to get inside the service line for easy volleys. Not coincidentally, all six of Djokovic’s serve and volley attempts behind his second serve were to take advantage of Alcaraz standing extremely deep to return serve.
The advantage of Djokovic’s heavy second serve is that it takes much longer than normal to reach the returner, allowing Djokovic’s superb court position for his first volley well inside the baseline. The kick serve also blasts out of the opponent’s strike zone, giving the returner little pace to work with back at the server.
Alcaraz’s Achilles’ heel in the match was his return of serve. Djokovic only committed 18 return errors, while the Spaniard collected more than double that amount with an astonishing 37 return errors, including 25 from his reliable forehand.
Alcaraz could not figure out where to stand to return, especially against Djokovic’s second serve. Sometimes, he was making contact close inside the baseline, and other times well behind the baseline. He never settled on a return serve location that looked comfortable.
Djokovic’s fourth title of the season moves him to 38-5 on the year, having also won Adelaide 1, the Australian Open and Roland Garros. The Serbian will enter the US Open just 20 points behind Alcaraz in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
Djokovic was playing in his first tournament on US soil since his US Open final loss against Daniil Medvedev in 2021. Djokovic is unvaccinated against Covid-19 and had previously been unable to enter the country for the past two years.
However, vaccine requirements for non-US travelers were lifted earlier this year, allowing Djokovic to compete in Cincinnati.
Up next for both players is the US Open, which begins on August 28 in New York. Djokovic will look to capture his 24th career singles grand slam title and surpass Margaret Court for the most all-time – men’s and women’s..
He will look to add a 24th Grand Slam trophy to his collection at the upcoming U.S. Open, which runs from Aug. 28-Sept. 10.
“That would be nice for the crowd, I don’t know about me.”
Stay tuned for more breaking tennis coverage and updates.
Featured Image courtesy of Western & Southern Open/ Wickerham
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