Alcaraz will seek his seventh title of the year, the fifth of Masters 1000
He leaves with a 2-1 advantage in his meetings with the Serbian
Carlos Alcaraz–Novak Djokovicnumber one against number two. He Cincinnati Masters 1,000 will have the best final possible after Alcaraz triumphed with the epic this Saturday against the Polish Hubert Hurkacz and Djokovic beat the German Alexander Zverev in the semifinals.
Alcaraz consolidated the first world position until the United States Open after saving a match point against Hurkaczwhile Djokovic won 7-6(5) and 7-5 at Zverev to equal Rafa Nadal and Ivan Lendl with 1,068 victories in the Open era, the third best mark ever.
The center court of the Lidner Family Tennis Center will host the reissue of the Wimbledon final, when Alcaraz reached the Olympus of tennis with his victory in five sets.
It will be the first final in this tournament for Alcaraz, who will seek his seventh title of the year and his fifth crown in a Masters 1,000after those of Miami and Madrid 2022 and those of Indian Wells and Madrid 2023.
First final in Cincinnati for Alcaraz, eighth for Djokovic
For Djokovic it will be the eighth final on the Cincinnati cement, with a negative balance of two wins for five losses. He was champion in 2018 and in 2020, when the tournament moved to New York due to the coronavirus pandemic, while he lost the finals in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015.
the swiss Roger Federer he was denied the title three times (2005, 2009 and 2015) and the British Andy Murray, two (2008 and 2011).
for now, Djokovic knocked out Zverev after an even match and lasted two hours and four minutes with which he cut a streak of nine consecutive victories for the German in this tournament.
Zverev, current number 17 in the world, was champion in Cincinnati in 2021 and did not participate in the 2022 edition as he was out due to the serious ankle injury suffered at Roland Garros against Rafa Nadal.
For Djokovic it was the 75th semifinal of his career in a Masters 1,000 and this year he only lost one game out of 19 on a hard surface. Only the Russian Daniil Medvedev beat him, in Dubai.
The Serbian increased his record to 8-4 against Zverev, who had beaten him in the last meeting, in the 2021 ATP Finals.
Demanding semifinal for Djokovic
The tiebreaker was necessary to settle the first set, won 7-5 by Djokovic after one hour and thirteen minutes without breaks. In the second sleeve, Djokovic got the break in the first gamebut Zverev came from behind in the tenth to level at 5-5.
However, the Serbian did not take long to react and achieved the ‘break’ in the following game that paved the way for him to the final. Djokovic was the protagonist of a funny anecdote with the public, as he served for the game when fireworks were launched in the nearby Cincinnati amusement park.
Djokovic asked for more time to remove the judge and, when he sentenced the round pass, threw a ball out of the stadiumtowards the amusement park, to release the tension.
This Sunday will be the day of the grand final with Alcaraz, just over a month after the Murcian defeated him in the Wimbledon final.
Alcaraz has a 2-1 advantage in the precedents with the Serbian. He beat him in the semifinals of the Masters 1,000 in Madrid 6-7(5), 7-5 and 7-6(5) in 2022, when he would be crowned champion.
This year, Djokovic won the Roland Garros semifinal 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 and 6-1before surrendering 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in the Wimbledon final.