"A lot of players never manage to reach those heights in their entire career" - Novak Djokovic showers praise on Carlos Alcaraz 

Novak Djokovic produced a sensational comeback during the championship match in Cincinnati on Sunday (August 20), saving a match point to defeat arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz in an encounter that lasted nearly four hours.

With his victory, Djokovic secured his 39th ATP Masters 1000 triumph and will now be heading into this year's US Open as the slight favorite. Speaking during the trophy ceremony following the match, the 36-year-old showered praise on his younger opponent — who had come out on top during their last match at Wimbledon.

"You are an incredible person and a champion, congratulations on an amazing career. A lot of players never manage to reach those heights in their entire career," he said during his winner's speech

The World No. 2 then paid his respects to Alcaraz's team, who have worked tirelessly over the last two years to propel the 20-year-old to the pinnacle of the sport. The Serb also insisted that he and the entire tennis universe were lost for words at Alcaraz's ability and charisma at this point.

"I would like to return the respect to Carlos and his team," he said. "I think we all lost praise words for what you are doing on the court and off the court."

He proceeded to wish the Spaniard good luck for the rest of the season.

"Good luck to you and your team for the rest of the year," the Serb concluded.

With his triumph, Djokovic has placed himself in a good position to take back the World No. 1 spot from Alcaraz soon. While the 36-year-old will not be defending any points at the US Open due to his absence at the event last year, his younger rival will have 2,000 ATP ranking points at stake as he mounts his title defense in New York in the coming weeks.

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz have faced each other 4 times on the ATP tour thus far

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz faced off in a five-set final at Wimbledon this year

Novak Djokovic finally redeemed himself in his match-up against the aggressive Alcaraz, playing some incredibly clutch tennis to beat him in Cincinnati. With the win, the Serb brought his head-to-head record against the Spaniard to a 2-2 deadlock.

Alcaraz had previously defeated Djokovic in a scintillating five-set affair at this year's Wimbledon final, in what many regarded as a changing of the guard. However, with his latest victory over the 20-year-old, the Serb has made it abundantly clear that he does not intend to relinquish his reins over the top of men's tennis quite yet.

The two first met in Madrid last year in a three-set thriller, which went in Alcaraz's favor in a similar scoreline to their Cincinnati bout. Their second match at this year's Roland Garros, in comparison, turned out to be underwhelming as the young Spaniard was outmatched physically by his much more experienced opponent in four comprehensive sets.