Cincinnati Masters: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Novak Djokovic Preview, Odds, Head to Head, Predictions

The Western and Southern Open finals feature two of the top tennis players in the world, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. This will be a splendid way to finish one of the biggest Masters tournaments in the world and a perfect intro for the upcoming US Open. On one side, we have the future of the sport, the youngster who doesn’t have any competition in his generation. On the other is the legend, the guy who won it all, and who probably is the best of all time up until now. We are sure that the fans will be delighted to watch this event. Stay tuned for the preview with odds and picks for the Western and Southern Open finals. 

Preview

Carlos Alcaraz (+135) comes in as the underdog here. He was also in the same position before the Wimbledon finals, and yet he managed to beat Nole, despite falling behind early on. He did have luck in London, but he definitely deserved to win. 

Carlitos isn’t as confident and convincing in North America as he used to be in Europe. After failing to win Toronto, he came to Cinci, where he lost a set to each of his rivals so far, Thompson, Paul, Pucell, and most recently, Hurkacz. He isn’t as sharp on the hard surface as on grass or clay, and that’s noticeable.

One other thing which we saw is a drop in Carlitos’ cardio. The season nears its end, and that’s normal, especially for a youngster who still doesn’t have too much experience on how to manage his energy bar.

Novak Djokovic (-185) was bound to collapse following Wimbledon’s loss, according to most pundits. For the moment, the Joker is going against that predictions, reaching the Cinci finals without a set lost. 

After beating Davidovich-Fokina in the first round with the Spaniard retiring, he was better than Monfils, Fritz, and most recently, Alexander Zverev. Novak endured all the bombs coming from the other side, with Zverez having 69% of the first serve successful and 80% of the points won in those situations. But Novak’s endurance and consistency had provided him a win, 7-6, 7-5.

We do need to notice Novak still makes plenty of unforced errors, and against Zverev, he had 13 and only 18 winners. That cost him the title in London and may again be a significant problem again. 

Head to Head Games

So far, Carlos has an edge over Novak, beating him twice in three events. The first meeting was in Madrid, where the young Spaniard won, 2-1. The second was this year at the Roland Garros finals, 3-1 for Novak, while the Wimbledon finals concluded with Carlos’ 3-2 victory. 

Predictions

Carlos wins, but he struggles. He also spent too much time on the court, and when we add up the games in Canada, his energy level is certainly lower than Novak’s. The young Spaniard had to play this tournament to stay in first place in the ATP rankings, and, reaching the finals, have secured that spot. He will be relaxed and without pressure against Novak, but still, we think that the Serbian has more chances to win this one. He prefers playing on hard surfaces much more than Carlitos, which is why we pick Novak for all the reasons mentioned. 

Pick: Novak to win -185