Novak Djokovic had to block out the annoying distracting of an amusement park fireworks display to finally conclude a 7-6 (5), 7-5 win over Alexander Zverev on Saturday which put him into a Cincinnati Masters final against Carlos Alcaraz.
The two-hour victory set up a repeat of last month’s Wimbledon final won by the 20-year-old Alcaraz, world No. 1 to Djokovic’s No. 2.
Djokovic won a lengthy opening set against Germany’s Zverev which lasted for an hour and a quarter but picked up the pace in the second set.
But the nerves of the 23-time grand Slam winner were tested as he failed to serve out victory leading a set and 5-4.
The 36-year–old immediately broke back and wound up the evening a game later to progress to the title match.
“I played a very poor game, but I bounced back and sealed the deal in the 12th game of the second set,” the two-time champion here said.
“I could have done some things better, but I’m pretty happy about winning in straight sets.
“A final with the world No. 1 and No. 2 facing each other is I guess what everyone wanted – so here we are.”
