Novak Djokovic has made a habit of creating history every time he is on court and the Serbian superstar has created a bit of history yet again. After his hard-fought win against Carlos Alcaraz at the Cincinnati Masters, Djokovic has now won three of the longest Masters level finals. These three victories have come against three of the biggest players in tennis, Carlos Alcaraz, Andy Murray and Djokovic’s biggest rival, Rafael Nadal. The Serbian was a part of the longest ever Masters match as well, but ended up on losing side against Rafael Nadal at the semi-finals of the Madrid Open.
Djokovic is often seen struggling both physically and mentally during his matches but overcomes his struggles to comeback and win. The Serb has shown a tendency in his career to get better as the match progresses and hence it is not a surprise that he won all three of the longest finals at Cincinnati, Miami and Shanghai.
Novak Djokovic masters the Masters finals
Novak Djokovic faced off Andy Murray in the 2012 Shanghai Masters final. Djokovic and Murray were the world number 1 and 2 respectively, and produced one of the best finals in Masters history, which lasted for 3 hours and 21 minutes. The Serb eventually won 7-6, 6-7, 3-6 to win his maiden Shanghai Masters having saved 5 championship points.
At the Miami Open 2011, Djokovic came back from losing the first set to beat the then world number 1 Rafael Nadal to win the championship. This victory made it 24 games unbeaten for Djokovic in 2011, which was a very successful year for the Serbian superstar.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz put on a classic at the Cincinnati Masters 2023, in what is widely regarded as one of the best Masters final of all time. Alcaraz, at the back of beating Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, took the first set 7-5 before losing next two sets on tiebreak. Djokovic won the match 5-7 7-6(7) 7-6(4) in what was the longest Best of Three Masters Final ever at 3 hours and 49 minutes.
1️⃣👉 championship point saved
⏰👉 3hrs 48mins
3️⃣9️⃣th👉 Masters 1000 title 🏆The longest match in tournament history, @DjokerNole prevails 5-7 7-6(7) 7-6(4) in a classic we’ll never forget!@CincyTennis | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/DZrVn0IfAW
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 21, 2023
The absence of Roger Federer, in this list of longest finals, might come as a surprise to many tennis fans’ but Federer does not often play long matches. The Swiss maestro had a tendency to be aggressive and not stick to the baseline, hence did not need to play such long matches.
Longest match between Djokovic and Federer
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have played some of the most iconic matches in tennis history. The duo have faced off in multiple finals and produced amazing tennis for the fans. US Open matches in 2010 and 2011 were thrilling as Djokovic saved multiple match points on both occasions to go on and beat Roger Federer.
The longest and probably the greatest match between the duo came at the Wimbledon final 2019. The match lasted for 4 hours and 57 minutes, the longest final in Wimbledon history. The Serb beat the Swiss 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6(4), 4-6, 13-12(3) with a 10 points tiebreak in the last set.
