Djokovic beats Alcaraz to win Cincinnati Open
Jumps to second in men's tennis rankings
Tuesday, 22 August 2023
MASON, Ohio, Aug 21 (Agencies): Novak Djokovic outlasted Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling rematch of their Wimbledon final, winning 5-7, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4) on Sunday to take the Western & Southern Open.
In a match that lasted 3 hours, 49 minutes, the longest best-of-three sets final in ATP Tour history (since 1990), the No. 2-seeded Djokovic avenged his loss last month to the top-ranked Alcaraz and earned his 95th career title, passing Ivan Lendl for third among men in the professional era, dating to 1968.
In the women's final, seventh-seeded Coco Gauff became the first teenager in more than 50 years to win the Western & Southern Open with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Karolina Muchova.
Meanwhile, ahead of the draw for the US Open on Thursday, Novak Djokovic jumped to second in the men's tennis rankings after outlasting world number one Carlos Alcaraz to win the Cincinnati Open.
In his last warm-up event for the season's final major, Djokovic took some revenge on Sunday on the 20-year-old Spaniard who won their final at Wimbledon on July 17.