‘New and Old Emperors’ Alcaraz and Djokovic meet for the third time this year
For the third time this year, Carlos Alcaraz (No. 1-Spain) and Novak Djokovic (No. 2-Serbia) have met in a men’s tennis “new emperor” matchup.
Alcaraz defeated No. 20-ranked Robert Furkaczyk (Poland) 2-1 (2-6 7-6<7-4> 6-3) in the men’s singles semifinals on day seven of the Men’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour’s Cincinnati Open ($6.6 million purse) in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, today.
Djokovic’s 2-0 (7-6<7-5> 7-5) victory over Alexander Tsverev (No. 17-Germany) in the other semifinal set up the final.
Alcaraz and Djokovic will meet for the third time this year.
Their first meeting, in the semifinals of the French Open in June, saw Djokovic bounce back from muscle spasms with relative ease, eventually setting a new major record of 23 titles.
But in last month’s Wimbledon final, Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in straight sets, in a match that was billed as the “match of the century” and ended with the coronation of the “new emperor.
Add in their first meeting in the semifinals of last year’s Madrid Open, and Alcaraz leads the all-time series 2-1.
If Alcaraz beats Djokovic this time around, it will give him a clearer lead heading into the final major of the year, the US Open, which starts on August 28.
For Djokovic, it’s a chance to salvage some pride.
Currently, Alcaraz and Djokovic are separated by 600 ranking points.
If Djokovic wins this ATP Masters 1000 event, he will regain the top spot in the rankings.
The match between Djokovic and Alcaraz will take place at 5:30 a.m. ET on Nov. 21.
On the women’s side ($2,788,468 in prize money), No. 5-ranked Coco Goff (USA) reached her first WTA 1000 Series final with a 2-1 (7-6<7-2> 3-6 6-4) victory over World No. 1 Iga Cibionte (POL).
She also became the seventh teenager to reach the final of a WTA 1000 event. Goff, 19, was born in March 2004.
Last year, Goff reached her first major final at the French Open, where she had to settle for runner-up honors.
It was Sibyon Tech who defeated him in the final.
Goff was undefeated in the all-time series against the Frenchman, having lost seven of their last eight meetings.
In his post-match press conference, Goff emphasized that he was eager to get a clean sweep and pointed out that Djokovic has a “19-match winning streak” against Gael Montpellier (No. 211-France).
“I feel sorry for Gael, but I didn’t want it to be like the relationship between Novak and Gael,” Goff said after the match. I wanted to close the gap, and I hope I can do that in the future,” Goff said afterward, “I feel really good that I showed today that I can compete at the same level as the four-time major champion and No. 1 seed.”
Goff’s final opponent will be Karolina Muhova (No. 17 Czech Republic), who advanced with a 2-1 (6-7<4-7> 6-3 6-2) victory over Arina Savalenka (No. 2 Belarus).
Goff and Muhova are meeting for the first time.
Muhova defeated Savalenka in the semifinals of this year’s French Open, 카지노사이트넷 and she looks to have established herself as the ‘nemesis’ of the tournament.
Mujova leads the head-to-head record against Savalenka 2-1.