Djokovic started the Masters 1000 against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and won the first set 6-4 before the Spaniard retired. He then beat Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-2 to set up a quarter-final showdown with ninth seed Taylor Fritz.
The Serb beat the American 6:0, 6:4 to secure a place in the semi-finals. Here he met Alexander Zverev and won a tense opener in a tie-break. He gave up the field at the start of the second set, but the German immediately rebounded. Djokovic kept his composure and ended up winning the second set 7-5 to reach the final in Cincinnati.
Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz struggled in the second round of the Western & Southern Open, where he beat Jordan Thompson in just three sets, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. He then picked up another three-set victory over 14th seed Tommy Paul 7–6(6), 6–7(0), 6–3 to book his place in the quarter-finals.
In the quarter-finals, the 20-year-old also dropped a set but still came back and edged Max Purcell 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Not without three sets and in the semi-final against Hubert Hurkach. The Pole won the first set 6-2, but Alcaraz retired the match point and won the second set in a tie-break. The Spaniard won the final set 6-3 to secure a place in his third Masters 1000 final in 2023.
Alcaraz leads 2-1 head-to-head against Djokovic. Their last meeting was in the Wimbledon final this year, when the Spaniard won 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
With both tennis players still fit, the match is expected to be tense again, as seen in the Wimbledon final.
Djokovic scored 10 aces throughout the tournament and scored 94 of 116 on his first serve. However, his second serve was not as good, with 12 double faults. Meanwhile, the 23-time TBS champion made 48 winners with 29 unforced errors.
At the moment, the Serb shows absolutely no signs of deteriorating in form and will aim to play in attack from the start. And Djokovic will really have to be as aggressive as possible if he wants to beat Alcaraz.
The Spaniard didn’t play as well on his first court as Djokovic did in Cincinnati, but he managed to win 114 out of 117 points. He committed 17 double faults and will have to watch out for his second serve against the Serbian, who is the best returning player on the circuit. This week, Alcaraz made 130 winners and 61 unforced errors.
Djokovic is always a threat in every tournament he takes part in, but Alcaraz is a formidable opponent. If the Spaniard has no fitness issues, he should beat the Serbian to claim his seventh title in 2023.
Forecast: Alcaraz wins in three sets.
Vyacheslav Gorbachev, Athletistic
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I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
