Djokovic defeats Alcaraz in Cincinnati

After a grueling final, Serbian Novak Djokovic ousted world number one Carlos Alcaraz in three sets of 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4), to win the Masters 1000 from Cincinnati on Sunday.

It took five match points and 3 hours and 49 minutes for the second seed to take revenge on the Spaniard who stole the throne from him five weeks earlier in the Wimbledon final. Djokovic, 36, has not entered a tournament since this defeat.

This is the third podium in Cincinnati for Noll, who is snatched at the end of a real marathon. The epic endurance test that the crowd feared to see came up short, as the Serb had to call the doctor at the start of the second round, right after his first loss.

But the 23-time Grand Slam champion held on, even coming back from a two-game deficit to score 4-4 in this second set, in a trade, prompting his opponent to make a mistake because he knows how to do it so well.

From the top of the 38 Masters 1000s, Djoko passed a 5-4 lead, putting his opponent under pressure, before a breathless first tiebreaker.

Alcaraz then offered a match point which was saved by Djokovic. In the aftermath, the No. 2 got a set point on the grid, which he failed to convert.

The second was the good one, at the end of a tense decisive match that foreshadowed the continuation of this giant shock.

Because the name of the winner was decided by the final tiebreaker, after Alcaraz saved four match points in a stifling tenth game that lasted nearly 13 minutes.

The Murcia native defended, taking advantage of his opponent’s fever on his serve, until a long ball from the baseline prompted Djokovic into a steady serve, bringing the two men level at 5-5.

And it was the Spaniard, also struggling with his serve, who narrowly regained the lead, taking a 6-5 lead.

But the Serb followed suit to force a final tiebreaker.

The decisive match, which Carlos Alcaraz started with a double fault, pointed to a millimeter. At the time, Djokovic tied his seventh consecutive point at 3-0.

Then the Spaniard gave himself one last comeback, tying at 3-3, without being able to overtake his opponent.

The fifth championship ball was good for Novak Djokovic, after a homeric final between the two best players in the world.