Novak Djokovic has once again proved why he is called the GOAT of the tennis. The Serbian was showered with plaudits following his epic three-set win against always sensational Carlos Alcaraz in the Cincinnati Open Championship match. Former ATP #1, Andy Roddick is one of the many waxing lyrical about the 23-time Grand Slam Champion.
Producing an absolute classic, both Alcaraz and Djokovic supplied a high-octane contest on Sunday as they pushed each other to limits in an under 4-hour Cincy final.
Djokovic save a MP in the second set tiebreak while the Spaniard saved 4 MPs in the decider before the 36-year-old became the fifth time lucky to wrap up a 5-7, 7-6(9-7), 7-6(7-4) win in 3 hours and 49 minutes.
A resilient Novak once again held his ground to impress both his fans and detractors – many of which felt he was done dusted already in the first set – but he bounced back to turn things around by slowly taming his 20-year-old foe.
In an interview with Tennis Channel, Roddick, admitted that he assessed Djokovic fatigued and done before he resuscitated to clamp back at the 2-time Grand Slam Champion.
“Novak digging deep, I thought he was cooked in the match, but then all of a sudden you look up and it is three hours and 50 minutes total time and he looks better than he did in the first set,” he said.
The 2003 US Open Champion later added: “Novak is an absolute specimen. At 36 years old to be able to go out and do that, especially recovering [after suffering early on].
“Once the sun went down, it changed something. So it was the sun, it was the heat. Then once the conditions became a little more muted, he took some breaks, he figured out a way to ask permission to go and change his clothes.
“The umpire said ‘okay’. We can talk all night about whether or not that was the right call, but like we can’t be mad at Novak for asking the question. It’s the umpire’s job to enforce the rules.
“He shouldn’t take direct criticism from that and I hope he doesn’t. But finding a way to get through that one way or the other [was brilliant].”
When asked if he sees the Western and Southern Open final as the greatest best of three-set match he had ever witnessed, the 1-time GS winner replied: “I don’t know if it is, but also don’t think you are nuts for saying that at all. I don’t think that’s hyperbolic at all.
“That’s one of the most physical, well-executed battles full of drama with a crowd that was absolutely just there for it.”
He continued: “It was just everything you would have wanted. We hype up a lot of match-ups and we get carried away sometimes. I don’t know that the hype could have been overstated for this one,” concluded Roddick.