What a show. These are the games that make you fall in love with a sport. Specifically, tennis. Cincinnati tournament, one of the Masters 1000, i.e. the most important tournaments after the Grand Slams. The final is between world number one, Carlos Alcaraz, and number two, Novak Djokovic. But the latter is a candidate to be number one in history.
They broke up at Wimbledon, where the Spaniard had triumphed. They meet again in Ohio, before the last Slam, that of New York. It is the revenge, which everyone was waiting for. Djokovic got there with great confidence, Alcaraz after various suffering matches. Djokovic won after three hours and fifty minutes. 5-7, 7-6, 7-6. After disallowing a rival’s match point. But it wasn’t just tennis. So much drama. So many ingredients that have inflamed this final. Just think that in the first set, at 2-2, Djokovic flies away at 4-2. Then, suddenly, heatstroke: it turns all red, it seems to be playing in apnea. He no longer puts a ball on the pitch. Ice cold towels, supplements, whatever is attempted by the Serb’s clan. But, before it takes effect, the first set is lost.
Take your time, Djokovic, go to the locker room. He tries to reset himself, to give his body time to react.
It does not work. Alcaraz takes up 4-2, the title seems mortgaged for the Spaniard. Instead? Here it is again, the Serbian. He takes away the young man’s service, gets back into the game. Until the tiebreaker. Balanced, played by two guys that couldn’t be tougher. The first chance is for the number one, he could win the tournament, but Djokovic throws his heart over the obstacle, showing that it takes courage, in life and in sport. He refuses to lose. And his reaction takes him to the third set. The exchanges, the dribbles, are fantastic. Hard, beautiful. Even with a lot of serve and volley, which you don’t expect. Djokovic also beats his tiredness. And a game like this can only end with another tie-break. “You never give up…” Djokovic will tell him during the awards ceremony, joking. Yet he manages to carry on, once, twice. Until you can serve to win. And the service doesn’t let it down. “It felt like a Grand Slam final. I hope we’ll meet again in a couple of weeks in New York…”.
Well, let’s hope that this last wish doesn’t come true: let’s hope that against one of these two champions there is someone dressed in blue. At least for variety. It’s a wish, but the Djokovic-Alcaraz rivalry must surely be motivational, be an inspiration to live experiences like this match.
2023-08-21 00:52:16
#Tennis #Djokovic #beats #Alcaraz #wins #Master #Cincinnati
