If it was a dramatic come-from-behind win for Novak Djokovic on Sunday at the Centre Court of the Linder Family Tennis Centre in Ohio, the defeat in the Cincinnati Open final was brutal from Carlos Alcaraz, who at one point in the match held championship point. And although he survived as long as possible in the match where Djokovic bounced back to his supreme best, fending off four championship points himself, he blinked in the fifth try allowing the Serb to exact his Wimbledon revenge after coming through his “toughest test”. The loss, eventually, left Alcaraz crestfallen.
Just 35 days after a thriller of a five-setter tie in Wimbledon final at the SW19 where Alcaraz claimed his maiden title in the Grand Slam tournament against Djokovic, the two produced yet another enthralling contest, with the 36-year-old emerging on top this time after battling from a set and a break down amid his struggles in the intense Cincinnati heat.
After saving match point in the second set tie-break, Djokovic gained an early break in the third. But Alcaraz did not refuse to go down without a fight. He denied Djokovic on four championship points en route to breaking back, but the Serb held his nerves in the tie-break again to eventually win the match.
While Djokovic broke into jubilant celebration, ripping off his shirt and soaking in the appreciation from the crowd, Alcaraz was left in tears before he buried his face in the towel.
The two-time Grand Slam winner later got emotional again when he addressed the crowd after receiving the runner-up trophy. “It’s going to be tough for me to talk right now but I’ll try to do my best. First of all, I want to congratulate Novak once again,” he started. “It’s amazing sharing the court with you, playing you, learning from you. This match was really close but I learned a lot from a champion like you so congratulations to you and your team.”
The Spaniard was seen in tears again as he paid a heartfelt tribute to his team and his brother.
He said: “To my team, we are working really really hard to stay in this stage, to play these kinds of matches, these finals. I’m grateful to have a team like you guys, to work with you. I want to say thank you not only in the professional part, but even in the personal part you are a great example for me that I learn from every day so I want to say thank you to all of you. And then I have my brother here as well. It’s great to have you here, supporting me every day, to make me be a better person every day, learning from you as well. So thank you very much for being with me.”
‘Toughest match! Crazy!’
Although Djokovic was completely at loss of words having overcome an intense final where he struggled from the brutal Cincinnati weather and had to take medicines to counter exhaustion, he was full of praise for the kind of contest that Alcaraz put up.
“Crazy. Honestly, I don’t know what else I can say tough to describe definitely one of the toughest matches I’ve ever played in my life regardless of what tournament, what category, what player,” the world No. 2 told TV cameras before the trophy presentation.
“From the beginning till the end we’ve both been through so much, so many ups and downs highs and lows, heatstrokes coming back, overall one of the toughest and most exciting matches I was ever part of, these are moments in matches I continue to work for. I was never in doubt I could deliver the A game when it mattered the most.”
