Carlos Alcaraz lost the Cincinnati Masters final on Sunday to Novak Djokovic, in a mini rematch of sorts of the Wimbledon 2023 final. The match was hotly contested as Djokovic won 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 with not much to choose again between the two superstars. In the post-match speeches, it is Djokovic who once again managed to bring smiles to everyone’s faces with a great sense of humor.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion spoke after Carlos Alcaraz did as the Spaniard called his rival a true champion and someone he always looks up to and learns from constantly. The mutual respect was evident when it was the World No.2’s turn to say a few words. Novak Djokovic made an indirect reference to his biggest archrival, Rafael Nadal when comparing him with Carlos Alcaraz.
Novak Djokovic reserves funniest praise for Carlos Alcaraz
Djokovic began by lauding Alcaraz’s rise in tennis, saying that what many players could never achieve in their entire career, the 20-year-old has managed to do in just 3 years. What followed afterwards left not only the crowd but even Alcaraz in splits. The Serbian jokingly said that Alcaraz never gives up and while that he is something that’s nice, but it’s extremely painful for Djokovic since he doesn’t get easy points to win.
The World No.1 then interjected that he is Spanish. That made Djokovic come up with the famous line ‘Spanish never die!’ He was then reminded of Rafael Nadal, claiming that he has heard that line or rather, experienced in many times in his career thanks to him. The Serbian went on to thank his team as well and credited them for sticking with him in difficult times while remembering his family, who is away from him at the moment.
Novak Djokovic signed off by saying he didn’t mind facing Carlos Alcaraz again in the US Open coming up soon, possibly in the final as that might be great for the crowd, although not for him personally. He was quoted as saying –
“Boy you never give up man. Jesus Christ. I love that about you but sometimes I wish you play a few points just like this you know.
“Okay, I’ve heard (Spanish never die!) that before, or I’ve experienced this before. Maybe not like this or maybe yes I don’t know, I really don’t know anymore.”
Alcaraz grateful for Djokovic comparing him to Nadal again
After the presentation, Novak Djokovic tipped off his hat to Carlos Alcaraz by saying that whenever he plays him, he gets the feeling like he got when he was playing Rafael Nadal in their prime. The young Spaniard responded to the extended comparison with his legendary countryman by saying in the post-match press conference that he is on a ‘good path’ –
“For me, obviously it’s great that he knows that every time he’s going to play against me, it reminds him of playing against Rafa or against the best ones because that means we are on a good path.
“I’m working very well, but today was tough to deal with everything that Novak put me through. For me, it’s great to hear these things from Novak, [who] has played iconic matches, storied matches.
“He said some matches against me were [some] of the toughest that he has played, it’s great. That means that my team and myself, we are doing the great work, we are in a good path. [Because of] matches like this one, we know that we have to still work in the same way that we are doing.”
Novak Djokovic won nearly $1.02 million along with the Cincinnati title. While Carlos Alcaraz took away half of that amount home. Both the players have qualified for the year-ending ATP Finals and are likely to play next at the upcoming US Open Championships. If Alcaraz does not defend his title, it would automatically make Djokovic the World No.1 again, just months after Alcaraz overtook him in the ATP rankings.
