AFCON 2025
By Chima Azu
Novak Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Cincinnati Open in an epic encounter which lasted for three sets (5-7, 7-6, 7-6). He claimed the trophy and got back his revenge after he lost the Wimbledon title to the Spaniard who denied him a record 24 Grand Slam title in the all England club.
It was a battle between the world number one and two which always promises fireworks and it lived up to every bit of the expectation. It was also the longest match in the tournament’s history which lasted for 3 hours 48 minutes. Djokovic broke the Spaniard in the fifth game and held his serve to go 4-2 up in the first set. Alcaraz broke back in the seventh game and held his serve to level it at 4-4; he also did likewise in the eleventh game and served out the first set at 7-5.
Alcaraz started the second set on a brighter note by breaking the Serb early but Novak rallied back and both players held on by taking the second set into a tie-break. Novak continued his unblemished record during tie-breaks by winning the second and taking the match into a decider.
However, the third set was cagier in the first couple of games up until the seventh and Dkojovic broke his opponent, held his serve to take the lead to 5-3 but Alcaraz showed why his the world number one with some gutsy play to level the game at 5-5 even with Novak having a set point.
The final set went into a tie-break and Novak showed his mental strength as usual in tie-breaks by holding his nerve to win the decider. He got back his revenge after the loss in Wimbledon few weeks ago to win his 68 trophy in total. The win meant a lot to Novak as he couldn’t hold back his feeling; he ripped off his shirt in an outburst of emotions with a loud roar. It is a good time to win with the US Open just few weeks away and the world number two will be going into the competition in fine form and will be hoping to claim his 24th Grand Slam.
