Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev battled in Cincinnati, but the Serbian still won, setting up the highly anticipated final between himself and Carlos Alcaraz.
Since we had the Wimbledon epic between Djokovic and Alcaraz, fans have wondered when we'll see them battle again. Alcaraz did his part with a spectacular comeback against Hubert Hurkacz, and Djokovic didn't disappoint either at the 2023 Cincinnati Masters.
Considering how competitive Djokovic is, it was pretty clear that the Wimbledon loss would only fuel him, and that's been quite evident this week. He's been spectacular so far in Cincinnati, and though today might have been a bit below that, he was still too strong for Alexander Zverev.
The German likes Cincinnati, at least as of recently. He won the event in 2021 and has been undefeated until today. Djokovic proved the antidote like so often it does, but it took a lot out of him.
The opening set was a close one that lasted well over an hour. Both players had excellent chances to avoid the tiebreak, but neither managed to convert them. Zverev, in particular, will be kicking himself for wasting a 40-0 advantage over Djokovic in the match's first game.
Had he broken him then, he might have won the opening set, and things might have gone differently. Djokovic's chances came at 6-5 when he had set points but failed to convert. He did win the opening set after a sensational tiebreak, though.
Zverev was pretty good in the tiebreak but couldn't buy a return, which frustrated him. The frustration boiled over in the first game of the second set, where he lost his serve for the first time in the match.
It wasn't also the last time he lost it because he actually broke back when Djokovic was supposed to serve out the match. The Serbian kept it comfortably until then, but a couple of errors took it all away.
Zverev was given a golden chance to turn around the momentum in his favour, but he stumbled in the next game. A 30-0 advantage turned to rubble with a Djokovic barrage that finished with a break, the decisive one. The final score was 7-6(5) 6-4 for Djokovic, who will face Carlos Alcaraz in the final tomorrow.
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