ATP Tour

Reliving Djokovic & Alcaraz's Cincinnati epic: 'One of the most remarkable finals'

As Novak Djokovic returns to the Cincinnati Open for the first time since 2023, he comes back to a place that elicits fond memories.

Some of Djokovic’s top moments at the Linder Family Tennis Center include his ATP Masters 1000 debut in 2005, thrilling semi-final wins over Rafael Nadal in 2008 and 2009, a championship-match win over Roger Federer, and many more along the way.

But of all Djokovic’s trips to Cincinnati, one moment stands out above the rest — his 2023 final against Carlos Alcaraz.

“It was one of the most remarkable finals I was ever part of,” Djokovic told Laureus Sport. “Many people said it was one of the best matches they have ever seen at the Masters 1000 level.”

The 2023 Cincinnati Open was Djokovic’s first tournament played in the United States since the US Open two years earlier and came in the midst of another incredible season, during which the Serbian captured the year’s first two majors at the Australian Open and Roland Garros.

Eager to get back to his winning ways on American soil and build momentum for the year’s final major, the second seed galloped to the final with relative ease, refusing to drop a set in matches against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Gael Monfils, Taylor Fritz, and Alexander Zverev.

This set up a championship clash with Alcaraz, who was not only the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings at the time, but also the man who had derailed Djokovic’s chances of a Calendar Grand Slam in the Wimbledon final just two months earlier.

_{^{Novak Djokovic & Carlos Alcaraz ahead of their Cincinnati final in 2023. Photo: Cincinnati Open}}

The rematch delivered.

At the start, the showdown between the World No. 1 and No. 2 seemed destined for a similar result to their previous meeting at Wimbledon, where Alcaraz overcame the Serbian across five sets. With Djokovic showing visible signs of struggle in the gruelling Cincinnati heat, Alcaraz jumped out to a set-and-break lead that seemed insurmountable, even for a player of the Serbian’s standard.

But despite the deficit, Djokovic was able to fight his way into a second-set tie-break, and after saving championship point at 5/6, Alcaraz hit two unforced errors into the net from 7/7, sending the match to a decider.

A resilient Djokovic raised his fist as he headed to the bench with the momentum on his side, but the match was really just getting started. Neither player in their wildest dreams could have predicted the one-hour, 39-minute epic that laid ahead in the third set.

After securing the first break of the third set, Djokovic seemed all but destined for an extraordinary comeback win and a third Cincinnati title, but the World No. 1 refused to go down without a fight. Alcaraz saved four championship points of his own to force the match back on serve and into a deciding tie-break.

But as day turned to night in Ohio, Djokovic was not to be denied, and a wayward Alcaraz return at 6/4 in the tie-break sent the Serbian sprawling to his back in triumph, basking in the glory of a three-hour, 49-minute instant classic that would go down as the longest best-of-three final in ATP Tour history.

“I don't think I've played too many matches like this in my life,” Djokovic said in his post-match press conference. “Maybe I can compare it to [against] Nadal at the 2012 Australian Open that went the distance. Obviously three sets today, but almost four hours. One of the most exciting and toughest mentally, emotionally, physically matches that I've ever had in my career.”

That exhaustion was on full display in the moments after the match. After shaking hands with Alcaraz, Djokovic turned back to the crowd and unleashed a signature roar and shirt rip off that, to this day, remains one of his most electric post-match celebrations he has ever delivered.

Watch Djokovic vs. Alcaraz 2023 Final Highlights:

The gruelling match brought Alcaraz to tears in what was at the time his first loss in a Masters 1000 final. But by the time the trophy ceremony rolled around, the Spaniard had regrouped, still feeling sorrow in the loss yet pride in what the two had produced on court that Sunday.

“I feel proud of myself, honestly. I [was] talking and I don't know why I was crying because I fought until the last ball. I almost beat one of the greatest of all time from our sport,” Alcaraz said. “It's crazy to talk about it right now, but I left the court really, really happy [with] what I did.”

For Djokovic, the win marked his record-extending 39th Masters 1000 title, but even more importantly, a supreme boost of confidence heading into the final major of the year in New York.

“After the match, I felt a huge relief, but also a huge wind in my sails,” Djokovic told Laureus Sport this week. “It was an incredible confidence boost for New York.”

Indeed it was. Djokovic would channel the momentum from his Cincinnati thriller into a dream run at the US Open that ended with him capturing his 24th and most recent major title. The match remains a crown jewel of the Serbian’s legendary 2023 season that stacks up among the best of his career.

As Djokovic returns to the site of that crown jewel three years later, he will hope to produce another performance worthy of his Cincinnati legacy.