Tim is a freelance sports writer specializing in cricket and tennis.
Follow
Aug 15, 2024,06:59am EDT
Updated Aug 15, 2024, 07:11am EDT
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates a point during the Cincinnati Open final against Novak Djokovic.
CINCINNATI, OH – AUGUST 20: Carlos Alcaraz of [+]
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Carlos Alcaraz doesn’t lose many finals. He’s got the Iga Swiatek streak in him in that respect. Over the last two years, the Spaniard has only been beaten three times in his previous 13 winner takes all shootouts. Two of those were the most devastating best-of-three set reverses possible. Novak Djokovic’s 7-6 7-6 victory at the Paris Olympics earlier this month rendered the 21-year-old speechless. He ‘spoke’ with tears instead.
The other crushing loss of Alcaraz’s tennis career was the Cincinnati Open final of 2023. Djokovic embarked on a comeback that showed his commitment to bringing down the march of the young twentysomethings just weeks after being dethroned by Alcaraz at Wimbledon. It took the longest final in ATP Tour final history since 1990 – 229 minutes – for the new prince to cede to his greatest rival having been a set and a break up. His reaction was one of brutal heartbreak again.
Alcaraz is here to be king of the Queen City, and it’s a mission that is made significantly easier as Djokovic isn’t playing any hard court tennis until he arrives for his U.S. Open title defense at Flushing Meadows. The World No. 3 wants to move up two places by the end of the year and the chances are there for him. He is currently 450 points behind Jannik Sinner who has not enjoyed the best of results or health recently.
What’s been most impressive about the four-time Grand Slam singles champion is his ability to tough out the two big blue tick wins at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2024. The Spaniard has said as much. “I’ve been playing great tennis, but probably most of the matches I won, I won them without playing great tennis, or I felt like I didn’t play really great tennis. So the way that I approach every match, I stay there strong mentally in some situations, I’m really, really happy about that,” mused the No. 2 seed.
A significant obstacle in the second half of the hardcourt swing has already been removed with the elimination of Daniil Medvedev. There is definitely a shift in mentality from Alcaraz, a change in gear since the rather abject loss he endured to Medvedev a year ago in New York. Alcaraz spoke of his new-found maturity after winning a second Wimbledon, citing that it was “unacceptable” to give up in that four-set loss on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
His clutch points during both victory and defeat are now far more positive. Across the course of the Wimbledon defense, the journey to the final was an epic struggle against the likes of Frances Tiafoe, Medvedev and Tommy Paul, just as his five-set battle with Sinner was in Paris. Winning ugly and getting across the line was the target. No wonder Juan Carlos Ferrero said that he would love his charge to win 30 major titles. The ability to find solutions to difficult moments has gone up a notch. Even after blowing eight break points in the gold medal match at the Olympics, Alcaraz refused to lose his serve. That would not have been the case in matches past.
The business of the day is to win in Cincy. Alcaraz had to suffer a lot to get to the 2023 shootout here too. The Murcia man spent over 15 hours on the court across the five matches with a deciding set in every one. There shouldn’t be an issue in navigating his way past French veteran Gael Monfils in his opener. After that, he will have to sweat the hard stuff with potential obstacles in the form of Holger Rune, Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz and perhaps Sinner or Alexander Zverev.
Jannik Sinner congratulates Carlos Alcaraz after losing their 2024 French Open semi-final
PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 07: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain [+]
Getty Images
This will be Alcaraz’s third shot at the Western and Southern Open having lost to Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals of the 2022 event as a 19-year-old. That was another lung-buster lasting over three hours. The dream performance against Djokovic at Wimbledon is almost an outlier as so many of Alcaraz’s recent victories against the elite have felt like Olympic wall climbing in high winds.
If he’s still standing on the evening of 19 August, then Alcaraz will be in the best shape possible to double up at the U.S. Open to add to his two SW19 titles. There’s going to be no poker game between “The Kid” and “The Man” this time around. To rewire a Djokovic phrase, the Spaniard is growing up fast enough to prove 21 is the new 31.
SportsMoney Playbook: Sign up for SportsMoney Playbook for the latest sports news and analysis of valuations, signings, gambling and billionaire owners.
Email address
Sign Up
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service, and you acknowledge our Privacy Statement. Forbes is protected by reCAPTCHA, and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Tim Ellis
Follow
Tim Ellis is a London-based freelancer who reports on breaking news and hot… Read More
Editorial Standards
Corrections
Reprints & Permissions
© 2024 Forbes Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
AdChoicesPrivacy StatementDo Not Sell My Personal InformationDigital Terms of SaleTerms of ServiceContact UsReport a Security IssueJobs At ForbesReprints & PermissionsForbes Press RoomAdvertise
