Djokovic exacts Wimbledon revenge, saves championship point in dramatic comeback to beat Alcaraz for Cincinnati Open win
Novak Djokovic gets his revenge. He did have to wait for 35 days for it, but it arrived in stunning fashion. On Sunday night, in front of a packed Centre Court crowd at the Lindner Family Tennis Center and amid the brutal Ohio heat, with temperatures soaring to 35 degrees, Djokovic saved a championship point against Carlos Alcaraz to script a dramatic comeback before converting on his fifth opportunity as he finally managed to exact his Wimbledon final revenge with a 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4) win in the Cincinnati Open final.
Having survived the longed ATP-1000 best of three sets final and the longest ATP level best of three sets final in the last 8 years (3 hours and 49 minutes), Djokovic lifted his third Cincinnati Masters title and a record-extending 39th Masters 1000 trophy.
Despite being out of action since that heartbreaking loss in London last month and having not played on US soil in two years, Djokovic was in sublime form in his run to the final where he did not lose a single set. But Alcaraz ended that run in the opening set of the blockbuster summit clash after he broke late in the set and gained complete control of the match with a break of serve early in the second set as well.
With Djokovic struggling amid the intense Cincinnati heat, Alcaraz looked favourite to wrap up the match in straight sets as he stood just two holds away from a win. But one sloppy service game from the Spaniard changed the match.
The Serb, who had just moments ago taken medicines after seen visibly struggling from exhaustion, stormed right back in to earn the break back at 4-4 and then saved championship point at 6/7 in the tie-break with a massive forehand to level the contest at 5-7, 7-6(7).
In the deciding set, Alcaraz blinked first, in his fourth service game before saving four championship points – two on serve and two to break back – to force a final tie-break for the title, where Djokovic reigned supreme.
It was the pair’s third meeting this season in the last two months with Djokovic winning twice. After the Serb won their French Open semi-final clash in June, where Alcaraz had suffered from cramps, the 20-year-old avenged the loss at the SW19, scripting an enthralling five-setter win. Overall, the head-to-head tie stands 2-2.