Alexander Zverev narrowly missed out on a place in the final of the ATP Masters in Cincinnati. In the semi-finals, the Hamburg native lost to Novak Djokovic (Serbia/No. 2) 6:7 (5:7), 5:7 and thus conceded his seventh defeat in the eleventh duel with the Grand Slam record winner. Nevertheless, Zverev will go into the US Open (28 August to 10 September) stronger after his performance in Cincinnati.
On his way to the semi-finals, the 26-year-old had beaten Daniil Medvedev, among others, and thus celebrated his first victory against a top-10 player since his serious ankle injury last year.
The Cincinnati final will be a rematch of the high-class Wimbledon final that Djokovic lost to Spanish world number one Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz had won his semi-final in Ohio 2:6, 7:6 (7:4), 6:3 against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.
“He’s the ultimate challenge for me right now,” Djokovic said of Alcaraz: “Now we’re playing each other for the first time on hard court, it’s a very good test before the US Open. “
Zverev kept up well with Djokovic – although he gave away his serve at the start of both sets and found himself trailing. Zverev managed to break back to 5-5, but Djokovic was ahead in the decisive moments. After 2.06 hours, the 36-year-old converted his first match point.
