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Novak Djokovic won the Western and Southern Open for the third time in Cincinnati, beating Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in a thriller with tiebreaks deciding the last two sets.

The top two players in the world went head to head in a rematch of last month's Wimbledon final but this time Djokovic emerged with a 5-7 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-4) victory.

Djokovic, 36, said on court the nearly four-hour match was one of the toughest matches he has played in.

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."