The emotion came pouring out of Novak Djokovic as he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in an epic Cincinnati Masters final.

It was not quite revenge for Djokovic after the disappointment of the Wimbledon final, but it wouldn't have been far off it.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner battled past Alcaraz over nearly four hours to win claim the Masters 1000 event 5-7 7-6 (7) 7-6 (4).

Djokovic ripped open his shirt after the victory as he returned to the US with a bang.

It was his first tournament in America since losing the 2021 US Open final to Daniil Medvedev, missing out on the calendar Slam.

Both Djokovic and Alcaraz had to defend Championship points to take the match to a final set tie-break.

Read more on Novak Djokovic

There was plenty of respect between the pair, who are comfortably the two best players in the world right now.

He said: "Crazy. Honestly, I don't know what else I can say.

"Tough to describe, (it's) definitely one of the toughest matches I've ever played in my life, regardless what tournament, what category, what level, what player.

"From the beginning until the end we've both been through so much, so many ups and downs, highs and lows, incredible points, poor games, heat strokes, coming back."

Most read in Sport

The tournament is a precursor to the US Open that starts in New York next Monday.

Alcaraz is the reigning US Open champion, winning the 2022 event with Djokovic banned from entering the country.

They will be number one and two seeds at Flushing Meadows, meaning a likely showdown in the final.

ncG1vNJzZmiskaG4tLzOq6tnm5%2BifLS8zquraKyVo7uqv45qbG1oYmaEcLrOr5ikZZSfvKy71aKaZqqZpcBuv8eiqa1lk5a%2FrbvSZpilm5Gnrrt5wqKlnKGeo661tYyrnKytnKl8