Novak Djokovic dived to the ground in relief after defeating No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the Western & Southern Open final on Sunday night. The game, which lasted 3 hours, 49 minutes, was the longest in Western & Southern Open history and featured a brilliant performance from the top-ranked players in the world.
The Western & Southern Open champion, Novak Djokovic, described the title match on Sunday as one of his all-time best contests and stated it had the atmosphere of a Grand Slam final.
Djokovic expressed his thoughts about his match with Alcaraz: “The feeling I have on court reminds me a bit of when I was facing Nadal when we were both at the prime of our careers. Just one of the most exciting and toughest matches mentally, emotionally and physically matches that I’ve had in my career.”
Novak Djokovic says Carlos Alcaraz reminds him of playing Rafa in his prime:
“The feeling I have on court reminds me a bit of when I was facing Nadal when we were both at the prime of our careers. You feel like you’re not gonna get even 5 free points.”
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 21, 2023
Novak Djokovic in 2023
WWWWLWWLWL At the moment ranked no.2, the Serbian played his last match on the 20th of August when he overcame world no.1 Carlos Alcaraz 5-7 7-6(7) 7-6(4) in the final in Cincinnati to win his 95th career title.
This season the Serbian has achieved an overall 38-5 match record. The Serbian clinched 4 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open, French Open and Cincinnati. The Serbian got to the final in Wimbledon.
Djokovic has scheduled to compete next at the U.S. Open (U.S. Open). He will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 28th of August.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2023
LWWWWWWWWL Now the world no.1, Carlos played his last match on the 20th of August when he was defeated by world no.2 Novak Djokovic 5-7 7-6(7) 7-6(4) in the final in Cincinnati (draw).
Currently, during this year Alcaraz owns an overall 53-6 match record. The Spaniard has won 6 titles in 2023 in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, London and Wimbledon. Alcaraz was the runner-up in Rio de Janeiro and Cincinnati.
Alcaraz is scheduled to compete next at the U.S. Open (U.S. Open). He will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 28th of August.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz fought against each other 4 times. Their actual record is 2-2. Previously, the last time they locked horns, Novak Djokovic won 5-7 7-6(7) 7-6(4) in the final in Cincinnati (Western & Southern Open) on the 20th of August 2023.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
