On Sunday, August 20, the men’s and women’s final matches of the super tournament in Cincinnati (USA) took place. The fair sex was the first to enter the court. And the composition of the participants of the decisive match was a certain surprise. The seventh racket in the world, Corey Gauff, was down the top half at the back of the grid. In the semifinal, the 19-year-old Gauff finally defeated the leader of the WTA rankings, Iga Sviontek, 7: 6 (7: 2), 3: 6, 6: 4. “Finally” is used because the American lost all seven previous meetings with Swiatek without winning a single set. And only now Corey was able to correct the nightmare stats.
I saw a quote: “Knock me down nine times, but I’ll get up at tenth.” This is a Cardi B song. But in my case: “Throw me down seven times, but I’ll get up on the eighth” (laughs). Iga played very well on match points. But I didn’t think so. Just because she’s number one in the world, it’s important to focus only on her own half of the pitch. She knew that she was playing a little louder today. She went on to the last second,” Gauff commented on her success in an on-court interview.
Corey Gauff celebrates victory over Iga Swiatek in the semifinals of the WTA-1000 tournament in Cincinnati 2023. Another big surprise was the entry into the final of racket number 17 in the world Karolina Muchova, who was not even seeded. In the semifinals, the 26-year-old Czech unexpectedly won a strong victory over the second number of the WTA rating Arina Sobolenko – 6: 7 (4: 7), 6: 3, 6: 2. It is already known that about the terrain Mukhova is capable of much. At Roland Garros this year, she Carolina reached the final, where she lost to Sviontek. However, on hard, she did not have such important successes.
“It’s unbelievable! It was a very tough battle. But now I’m excited, very excited. This is my first WTA-1000 category final. I really like it here in Cincinnati. I hope to see you tomorrow and that some fans will continue to support me. Even despite that I play with Corey,” Mukhova said on court after reaching the final.
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Gauff and Mukhova could not rely on the experience of previous head-to-head encounters simply because it was their first fight. The American entered the game better. She took someone else’s serve in the second game and took the 2-0 lead. But she then she lost the upper hand. In the third game, Corey committed three double faults, as a result of which Mukhova made a reverse break, after which the Czech equalized the score – 2:2. However, the next two games again went to Gauff, who tried to take risks even on his opponent’s serve. Having led 4:2, the American once again seemed to have lost the initiative. In game seven, Corey hit two double faults and Carolina issued a second break. But the Czech did not achieve more: at first she gave in her game again, after which Gauff filed below zero: 6:3 in 44 minutes.
In the second set, the unbreakable players reached the score 2:2, although Mukhova missed two break points in the fourth game. This seems to have knocked down the Czech. She dropped the next three games, two of them on her serve. In each of these games, she several times she was “exactly”, but each time Gauff turned out to be a little more stable. However, the American at 5:2 could not claim the title: Carolina saved three match points! She then took the game from her, but could not arrange the second miracle. Gauff won the last game to nil (the opponent acted unsuccessfully at the reception) and celebrated the victory. The final score is 6:3, 6:4 in 1 hour 57 minutes.
“It’s unbelievable. After everything that happened at the beginning of the summer, especially in Europe, I’m just happy to be living in this moment. I spent many nights alone, crying, trying to figure it out. I still have a lot to figure out. And I thank God that he covered me then. Biggest thanks goes to my parents. My mom is my emotional support. My dad… He’s the reason I’m here now. The reason I play tennis. He’s the reason I I think I can do it. And Carolina… I’ve always looked at you and said you’re an amazing player. It’s good to see you healthy on tour. I think you’ll keep fighting. I’m sure we’ll have many more tournaments like this and, I hope , on a court even bigger than this,” said the winner at the awards ceremony. Then, 19-year-old Corey Gauff won his third title of the season and the fifth of his career. For the first time, the American athlete turned out to be the strongest of the “thousand” On Monday, she will rise from seventh place in the WTA ranking to sixth. And Karolina Muchova, who made it to the final, will break into the top 10 for the first time in her career.
And closer to midnight Moscow time, the men arrived at the court. And there are no surprises anymore. The participants in the final were those tennis players from whom this was expected: Carlos Alcaras and Novak Djokovic, the first two numbers in the ATP ranking. Although Alcaraz came within a step of defeat in the match with Hubert Hurkach in the semifinals, he saved match point-2:6, 7:6, 6:3. And Djokovic faced powerful opposition in the person of Alexander Zverev, but still turned out to be a little better – 7: 6, 7: 5.
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“This is great. It’s incredible for the sport that the number one and number two in the world meet again in the final of a big tournament. This is what everyone wanted and expected at the beginning of the tournament. And here we are,” he said. Djokovic after reaching the semifinals. His previous match with Alcaraz took place just over a month ago. But that meeting is already considered one of the pearls of world tennis. In the Wimbledon final, Carlos defeated Novak in five sets, and the The true decoration of the match was the 27-minute fifth game of the third installment, in which the Spaniard managed to break.
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After this match, Alcaraz starred in a personal confrontation with Djokovic: 2-1. They met for the first time in the semifinals of the Madrid Masters in 2022. Then the Spaniard scored a decided victory: 6: 7 (5: 7), 7: 5, 7: 6 (7: 5), while the Serb he was not in the best shape. And in the Roland Garros semifinals – 2023, Carlos already lost the opportunity to provide decent resistance after receiving a serious injury at the beginning of the third set – 6:3, 5:7, 6:1, 6:1 in favor of Novak.
Alcaraz, by the way, reacted to Djokovic’s words, who spoke positively of Carlos reaching the final. “It’s great that a player like Novak says things like that about you. The one who played against Rafa, against Roger and says that I have something similar to them, it suits me great. But I don’t entirely agree, because I always say that I am Carlos Alcaraz. My style of play is not the same as that of Rafa, Roger and Novak, ”he said at a press conference.
Djokovic also recalled previous encounters with a 20-year-old opponent. “Party with Alcaraz? At the moment, this is the most difficult task for me. We met at my last tournaments: on the ground at Roland Garros and on the grass at Wimbledon. Now we are waiting hard. This will be the first meeting in hard. I think it will be a very good test before the US Open. Of course, conditions in Cincinnati are different than in New York. Also, only three sets can be played here. Now I will face the best player who is also in good shape. This is the biggest challenge I could get, I’m looking forward to it. Now this is the best way to prepare a trip to New York”, said the Serb at a press conference after reaching the final.
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At the beginning of the match, the opponents did not give themselves a chance on their serves. In the fifth game, Djokovic allowed Alcaraz, who never stopped risking on the reception, to reach the “exact”, but no more. And in the sixth game, the Spaniard, serving, could not avoid errors in the draws, and the Serb was able to bring his serve to zero – 4:2. However, Carlos was not embarrassed and in the next game he responded with a break, and Novak received a warning at break point for taking too long before serving. And after that, Alcaraz won his game at zero – 4:4. Then the players took another game on serve (5:5), and in the 11th game, Djokovic began to make mistakes, gave his opponent a double break point, saved the situation, but did not leave the third break point. break. 6:5 in favor of the Spanish. Filing for the game, Carlos used the first set point: 7:5 in 1 hour and 4 minutes. The break before the second set lasted seven minutes – Djokovic spent quite a bit of time in the quarters under the grandstand. Thunder struck in the third game: the Serb, who did not feel well in hot weather, committed three double faults, allowing the opponent to take a break, after which he took a medical break, during which the doctors gave him they gave meds.
However, the game soon resumed and Alcaraz, having recovered a break point in the fourth game, secured the advantage – 3:1. But Djokovic wouldn’t be Djokovic if he gave up in such a situation. The Serb, albeit not immediately, found hidden reserves in himself and in the eighth game took someone else’s serve, giving the opponent only one point. The Spaniard played this game extremely weak, often making mistakes, and the score was tied – 4:4. The opponents then took two more games on the field and the set went to a tiebreaker. Novak made the first mini-break, but Carlos soon recovered. At 6:5, Alcaraz missed the match point on the reception, after which Djokovic finished him off from the second set point: 7:6 (9:7) in 1 hour and 10 minutes. Before the start of the decisive set, Alcaraz already needed the help of a physiotherapist, due to the state of his right hand. Djokovic, on the other hand, went to the second break to go to the bathroom, which is generally not allowed in a three-set format. And four-time TBS champion Jim Courier, whose words were quoted in Tennis Updates on Twitter, explained that in the heat this restriction is not so strictly observed, so that the player can change clothes. In this case, it is not considered a bathroom break.
Be that as it may, when the game resumed, at first there were no breaks. During the fifth game, Carlos hit two double faults, but also saved two break points. And in the seventh game, Novak finished off the opponent – from the fifth break point! The Serb led 4:3 with a break, then took his game, but in the ninth game he lost two match points at the reception – Alcaraz played one of them with an incredibly beautiful dribble. And in the tenth game, some kind of madness was going on: Going for the title, Djokovic dropped a double break point, then missed two match points himself (one of them, after a double fault), but his opponent converted the second. break point – 5:5! In fact, both tennis players had to start from scratch.
The madness didn’t end there: In game 11, Novak missed four break points. True, in the 12th, serving, he was able to transfer the game to a tiebreaker. His Alcaraz started with a double fault. The Spaniard began to have cramps in his right hand, but recovered, was able to continue the fight and, responding with a mini-break, leveled the score: 3: 3, then 4: 4. However, Djokovic dodavil young opponent, having the next three draws. 5:7, 7:6 (9:7), 7:6 (7:4) in 3 hours and 50 minutes: this is the result of this crazy final, which ended with the victory of the 23-time TBS champion.
Thus Djokovic won his fourth title of the season and the 95th of his career. This is Serbia’s 39th trophy in the Masters tournaments. According to this indicator, it is the best in history. Rafael Nadal won the Masters 36 times, Roger Federer – 28. But in terms of the total number of titles, Novak is third. Jimmy Connors (109) and Federer (103) are ahead.
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In the coming week, two “250-nick” will take place in the US. The ATP will hold the tournament in winston salemeand WTA – in cleveland. Unfortunately, one of the most intriguing matches of the first round failed – the meeting between the rising star Mirra Andreeva, who at the age of 16 has already managed to visit the Wimbledon top 16 for adults, and the 43-year-old world tennis player. legend, seven-time TBS Champion Venus Williams. The American withdrew from the tournament due to injury (tendonitis in the left knee). And Andreeva will play with the German Tamara Korpach.
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And on August 28 the US Open starts, which, as usual, will be the last major of the season. Follow all the events in the “Championship”.
