Novak Djokovic has a shot at revenge when he takes on Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati on Sunday.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion sealed his place in the title match after ousting Alexander Zverev 7-6(5), 7-5, in two tightly contested sets. Djokovic won 80% of his first service points and hit 18 winners en route to his latest victory. The only blip he suffered occurred when got broken when trying to serve the match out when leading 5-4 in the second set.
This week is the first time the 36-year-old has played on the Tour since narrowly missing out on the Wimbledon title last month. Earlier in the tournament he scored wins over Taylor Fritz and Gael Monfils without dropping a set.
“I’m very pleased with the way I’ve been playing,” Djokovic said during his press conference on Saturday.
“When I was serving for the match (against Zverev), I got tight. It’s kind of expected considering who I was playing. Sascha is in great form. With that powerful serve of his, in this kind of conditions where the balls are bouncing extremely high, it’s very quick, it’s so difficult to break the serve, which in return puts a lot of pressure on my service games. I felt that.”
Djokovic, who is a two-time champion in Cincinnati, will next take on Carlos Alcaraz where he has a shot of revenge. He lost to the Spaniard in a five-set thriller at Wimbledon which prevented him from equalling Roger Federer’s record for most men’s titles won at the Grand Slam. He currently trails their head-to-head 1-2 with his other loss occurring at the 2022 Madrid Masters. However, Djokovic won their clash at the French Open earlier this year.
“I guess it’s the ultimate challenge at the moment for me,” he commented on their rivalry.
“It’s going to be our first encounter on a hard court. It’s a very good test prior to US Open. Obviously different conditions. Here is best-of-three sets, US Open is best-of-five. It’s still facing the top player in the world now who is in form. ‘
“It’s the biggest challenge I could get, so I’m looking forward to it. The best way to prepare for New York.”
Alcaraz’s route to his latest final has considerably been more difficult than that of Djokovic’s. In the semi-finals, he battled back from a set down to beat Hubert Hurkacz 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-3. The top seed has been taken to three sets in every match he had played in Cincinnati this year and has spent more than 10 hours on the court.
Despite his tricky run, the world No.1 insists that fatigue will not be an issue for him when he locks horns with Djokovic. His win-loss record for the season currently stands at 53-5.
“I feel good. Probably people think that I am going to be tired in the final. But I feel good,” said Alcaraz.
“It doesn’t matter if I play a third set or long matches. I’m recovering really, really well with my physio and my team. I feel like I’m going to be playing the first match of the tournament. I feel great.” He added.
Djokovic has previously described his upcoming opponent as a player who has qualities in his game that are similar to every member of the Big Three. A trio of players who have dominated the men’s game in recent years which also includes Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, as well as Djokovic. However, Alcaraz has played down those comparisons by saying he wants to create his own legacy in the sport.
“It’s great, someone like Novak says these things about you. Someone who played against the best Rafa, against the best Roger, and says that I have some things about them, is great for me.” He said.
“But I don’t totally agree because I always say that I’m full Carlos Alcaraz. I just try to follow my own path. I always say that.”
Since 1990, Djokovic and Alcaraz are two of only four players to have registered 45 or more wins in Masters 1000 events before the age of 21. The others to achieve this milestone are Nadal and Andy Roddick.
The Cincinnati final is scheduled to take place not before 4:30pm local time on Sunday (9:30pm GMT).
