Carlos Alcaraz to face Novak Djokovic for Cincinnati Open title | Tennis News – Times of India
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Since clinching his second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, the Spanish world number one, Alcaraz, has navigated through precarious situations. His Ohio journey has required him to go the distance in all his matches, including a challenging quarter-final encounter against qualifier Max Purcell.
In the opening set against Hurkacz, Alcaraz displayed a blend of dazzling shotmaking and occasional puzzling errors, allowing his opponent to surge to a 3-0 lead. The entertaining set ultimately swung in Hurkacz’s favor as he secured it by breaking Alcaraz for the second time.
During the second set, Hurkacz was on the cusp of victory with a match point while leading 5-4 and returning serve. However, his forehand misfired, granting Alcaraz a lifeline. Alcaraz masterfully drew Hurkacz to the net with a drop shot and followed it up with an impressive cross-court winner, leading to a tiebreak.
In the tiebreak, Hurkacz initially gained a strong 4-1 advantage. But Alcaraz, the 20-year-old prodigy, elevated his game to a higher level. He unleashed a powerful forehand winner to secure a 5-4 lead, and later pounced on a serve that Hurkacz couldn’t return, forcing a decisive third set.
Taking firm control in the final set, Alcaraz secured his first break of the match at 3-1 when a forehand from Hurkacz found the net. Amidst Alcaraz’s surge, Hurkacz’s racket met the court in frustration while a charged-up Alcaraz joined the crowd in roaring encouragement.
With flawless execution, Alcaraz sealed the victory on his first match point, executing a perfectly placed volley. This monumental win propelled him into his eighth final of the year. Despite spending more than 10 hours on the court over the week, Alcaraz expressed feeling invigorated and ready for the challenges ahead.
“People think that I going to be tired in the final, but I feel good,” he told reporters.
“It doesn’t matter if I play a third set, long matches, I’m recovering really, really well with my physio, with my team. I feel like I’m going to play the first match of the tournament. I feel great.”
DJOKOVIC TOPPLES ZVEREV
In the night match, Alexander Zverez put pressure on Djokovic’s serve in the first game of the match but failed to convert any of his three break point chances as the 23-time Grand Slam champion served his way out of trouble.
Those missed opportunities would haunt Zverez, who would not see another break opportunity in a first set, which Djokovic captured with an unreturnable serve in the tiebreak.
Djokovic broke Zverev in the opening game of the second set and it appeared that might be all he would need to secure the win but he played a poor service game at 5-4 and was broken after hitting an errant forehand.
He would bounce back quickly, however, breaking Zverev in the next game after running the tall German from corner to corner until his forehand failed to clear the net.
Despite noise from a nearby fireworks show, Djokovic managed to serve out the match on his second opportunity to set up the generational clash between the ATP’s two highest ranked players.
“It’s amazing for the sport to have the number one and number two players facing each other in the final of a big event,” Djokovic said in an on-court interview.
“This is what I guess everybody wanted and expected at the beginning of the tournament so here we are.”
Djokovic, who won the Masters 1000 tournament in 2018 and 2020, has played Alcaraz three times.
The Spaniard won their first meeting in the Madrid semis in 2022 while Djokovic triumphed over a cramping Alcaraz in the French Open semis this year, leading to Alcaraz’s memorable five-set Wimbledon victory in July.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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