Tennis
Djokovic: “With Alcarath it’s like when we played at our best with Nadal”
After his victory at the Cincinnati Masters, Novak Djokovic praised Carlos Alcarat for his quality and emphasized that the games with him are at the level he played with Nadal at his best.
In a thrilling final of 3 hours and 49 minutes, Novak Djokovic, who was struggling with heat stroke, managed the big surprise against Carlos Alcarath and won the Cincinnati Masters 1-2 in sets.
The world number two, who has won 39 Masters trophies, idolized the Spanish tennis player, stressing that the matches he plays with him reminded him of the ones against Nadal.
“It was one of the most exciting and difficult games I’ve ever played in my entire career, mentally, emotionally and physically. It was a real roller coaster ride. I don’t think I’ve played many games like this in my career.” We can maybe compare it to the 2012 Australian Open final with Nadal. This time it was 3 sets but we played almost 4 hours. In the 3rd set I had many chances, even for a double break. The match point at 5-3 was incredible and a clue to what happened in that game.
About if he’s surprised at how mentally strong Alkarath is: “Now I’m not surprised. Maybe last year or the beginning of the year I was surprised by what he did, how he won the big games and the big tournaments. It was amazing what you can do with it.” The guy just has to take his hat off. He plays with so much maturity and handles the pressure extremely well for a 20-year-old. We mustn’t forget how young he is.
The feeling he gives me when I face him is like when I faced Nadal in the best time of both of us. Every point is a fight. It’s amazing what I experience with him there. All the games we played were like that.”
On his serve, which worried him in a few moments of the game: “I didn’t serve as well as I did in the rest of the tournament, but I also played under completely different conditions. I played 4 games at night and in the sun this afternoon. It was very hot and sometimes unbearable.” . My serve today made life difficult for me because I had to play more big rallies.
When you’re in a big tournament against one of the best players in the world, you can’t just sit back and stay focused all the time. When I’ve lost my serve and it’s 5-5 or after I’ve lost 15-40, it affects you mentally. But I’m very happy with how I played the next game and later the tie-break. Overall it was a great race with ups and downs.
Source: sport 24
