Novak Djokovic won one of the best matches of his career, including securing a match point opportunity in the 2023 Cincinnati Open final.
The Serbian tennis player gave her best to win a tight 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 victory over world number 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Cincinnati Open.
The 36-year-old recovered after trailing by a set and a break before securing a match at 5/6 in the second set tiebreak before claiming her 39th career Masters title.
Despite squandering chances to win the match at 5-4 in the third set, she came back to turn things around after a hard-fought 3 hours and 49 minutes, in which both players displayed some beautiful shots and great mental toughness. The final was the longest three-set final in ATP tournament history since the 1990 season.
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“Crazy. Honestly, I don’t know what else to say. Hard to explain. For sure, one of the most difficult matches I’ve ever played in my career, regardless of any tournament level, any category, any player I face. It’s amazing,” said Djokovic.
“From start to finish, we both went through a lot, a lot of ups and downs, great points, bad games, then came back.”
The second seed was clearly struggling with the Cincinnati heat and was unable to find answers against Alcaraz. However, a poor service game by the first seed at 4-3 in the second set finally opened up opportunities and this was what the second seed needed to turn things around.
Entering the third set tiebreak, the 20-year-old tennis player was physically difficult, including experiencing cramps. The Serbian tennis player finally converted the fifth match point opportunity and fell to the court to celebrate the victory.
The meeting in the Cincinnati Open final was their third meeting in the last two months and their head to head was a 2-2 draw. After Novak Djokovic won their meeting at the French Open, Alcaraz returned the favor by winning their meeting in the Wimbledon final.
