Novak Djokovic avenged his Wimbledon final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz with an enthralling three-set win over the world number one to take the Cincinnati Open title on Sunday.
Three months on from losing to the Spaniard in a five-set SW19 spectacular, Djokovic remarkably came from a set and a break down while also saving a championship point to prevail 5-7 7-6[7] 7-6[4] in just under four hours.
The world's two top-ranked players treated fans to the longest best-of-three final on the ATP Tour since 1990, and Djokovic affirmed that the gripping battle was one of the most exciting matches of his career to date.
"Crazy. Honestly, I don't know what else I can say. Tough to describe. Definitely one of the toughest matches I've ever played in my life, regardless what tournament, what category, what level, what player. It's unbelievable," the 36-year-old said on the court.
"Just overall, one of the toughest and most exciting matches I was ever part of and these are the kinds of moments and matches that I continue to work for day in day out. I was never in doubt that I can deliver the 'A' game when it mattered the most and [I am] just thrilled."
Following a break apiece for both men in the first set, Djokovic lost his serve again in the 11th game - despite saving two break points - as Alcaraz took the first set before breaking in the second on a catastrophic trio of successive double faults from the Serbian.
However, a spate of Alcaraz mistakes allowed Djokovic to break back for 4-4, and the Spaniard missed a championship point in the second-set tie-breaker as Djokovic took the showpiece to a decisive third set.
The momentum was fully on Djokovic's side at this point, and Alcaraz - who began to rack up the double faults - was broken in the seventh game, but he remarkably managed to claw himself level at 5-5 while the Serbian was serving for the title.
Djokovic squandered two championship points in that game and also missed four opportunities to break Alcaraz in the 11th, but after storming into a 3-0 lead in the tie-breaker, he never looked back.
Djokovic now has 39 Masters 1000 titles to his name, although Alcaraz remains at the top of the ATP Rankings by 20 points, and the former's triumph came after a player 17 years his junior won her first Masters crown.
Nineteen-year-old American starlet Coco Gauff enjoyed a more straightforward win over the Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova in the women's singles final, prevailing 6-3 6-4 in just under two hours.
Twice Muchova lost her serve in the opening set, and twice she broke back immediately, but Gauff was not to be denied and broke for the third time in the eighth game before seeing out a love hold.
The ruthless American stormed into a 5-2 lead in the second set with a double break, although she let three championship points slip through her grasp on serve, as Muchova reduced the deficit to 4-5.
However, as was the case in the first set, Gauff held her nerve when it mattered most, sealing a final love hold on a wide Muchova forehand to become a Masters winner for the first time.
The Cincinnati Open title caps off a magnificent week for the teenager, who had only just won her first WTA 500 crown at the Washington Open earlier this month. body check tags ::
