Alcaraz and Djokovic meet Sunday in a rematch of the Wimbledon final

MASON, Ohio: Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will meet Sunday for the Western & Southern Open in a rematch of their Wimbledon final. The top-ranked Alcaraz erased a match point in the second set and rallied past unseeded Hubert Hurkacz 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the first men’s semifinal Saturday. Then, No.

2 Djokovic defeated Alexander Zverev, the 2021 tournament champ, 7-6 (5), 7-5 to earn a shot at his third title in the US Open tuneup. Alcaraz won six straight points in the second-set tiebreaker to reach his eighth final of the season. He beat Djokovic last month at Wimbledon to win his second major title and deny the 36-year-old Djokovic his 23rd.

Alcaraz, 20, is the youngest Cincinnati finalist since 19-year-old Pete Sampras in 1991. He is trying to become the youngest champion since Boris Becker won at 17 in 1985. Despite going to a third set in each of his four matches this week, Alcaraz says he’ll be ready for the final.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m playing third sets or long matches, I’m recovering really well,” Alcaraz said. “I feel like I’m going to play the first match of the tournament. I feel great.” Last week in Toronto, Alcaraz needed two tiebreakers to beat Hurkacz after losing the first set.

“Playing against Hubert is always tough,” Alcaraz said, “We played until the final ball. I was really happy to get that win today. He’s one of the best servers in the tour.” Djokovic, 36, is the oldest Cincinnati finalist in the professional era, dating to 1968, surpassing 35-year old Ken Rosewell in 1970.