Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic talked about the Cincinnati Open final against Carlos Alcaraz while stating that facing the Spanish star is the “Ultimate Challenge” for him right now.
Their last meeting was at the Centre Court, in London, where 20-year-old Alcaraz ended the Serb’s 14-match winning streak at Wimbledon and became the first player other than Djokovic to win the title since 2018.
The Serb decided to go on vacation after his Wimbledon defeat while the Spaniard was competing in the Canadian Open just after 25 days.
The two are set to lock horns once again on Sunday and Djokovic is looking forward to facing the youngster on the hard court.
“Well, I mean, I guess it's the ultimate challenge at the moment for me,” Djokovic said on facing Alcaraz. “We faced each other in the last three events. Roland Garros, clay. Wimbledon, grass. Now hard court.
“It's going to be the first encounter on a hard court. It's a very good test prior to US Open. Obviously different conditions. Here best-of-three, US Open best-of-five. It's still facing the top, top player of the world now who is in form.
“It's the biggest challenge I could get, so I'm looking forward to it. Now it's the best way to prepare for New York,” Djokovic said.
The 36-year-old feels that his encounters with Alacaraz are slowly turning into a rivalry and he is enjoying it.
“This is what everybody wanted and expected at the start of the tournament. Now here we are. It seems like it’s turning into a rivalry. I’m loving it,” Djokovic said.
It must be noted that after losing the Wimbledon final to Alcaraz, the Serb expressed hope to meet the 20-year-old soon again, specifically the US Open.
“I hope we get to play in US Open. Why not? I think it’s good for the sport, No 1 and No 2 in the world facing each other in almost a five-hours, five-set thriller,” Djokovic said.