NEW YORK — Carlos Alcaraz reasserted his superiority over Jannik Sinner with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory Sunday within the U.S. Open closing for his second trophy at Flushing Meadows and sixth total at a significant. This was the third Grand Slam match in a row the place these elite, younger rivals met to determine the champion.
The match’s begin was delayed for a few half-hour whereas 1000’s of followers had been caught exterior Arthur Ashe Stadium whereas going by way of additional safety as a result of President Donald Trump sat in a sponsor’s suite. Maybe the additional wait received the No. 1-seeded Sinner, who was the defending champion.
Proper from the start, beneath a closed roof due to rain earlier within the day, No. 2 Alcaraz outplayed Sinner, reversing the consequence from once they performed for Wimbledon’s title lower than two months in the past.
Alcaraz’s leads over Sinner are actually 10-5 of their head-to-head sequence, 6-4 in main trophies, and 2-1 in U.S. Open championships. Plus, this 2-hour, 42-minute win allowed Alcaraz, a 22-year-old from Spain, to remove the No. 1 rating from Sinner, a 24-year-old from Italy.
This tough-court matchup adopted Alcaraz’s victory over Sinner after erasing a trio of match factors on the French Open’s crimson clay in June, and Sinner’s victory over Alcaraz on Wimbledon’s grass in July.
“I’m seeing you greater than my household,” Alcaraz joked, eliciting a smile from Sinner. “It’s nice to share the courtroom, to share the locker rooms, every part.”
Sunday’s showdown represented the primary time in tennis historical past that the identical two males performed one another in three consecutive Slam finals inside a single season.
“You had been higher than me,” Sinner instructed Alcaraz. “I attempted my finest right now. I couldn’t do extra.”
Reality is, these two guys are so, so significantly better than the remainder of males’s tennis for the time being. Their traits are distinctive, their strengths a number of, their video games untouchable for the time being.
Besides, after all, in opposition to the opposite.
They’ve mixed to gather the previous eight Slam trophies, and 10 of 13. Novak Djokovic, whom Alcaraz eradicated on Friday, took the opposite three in that span.
Each Sinner, who had received his previous 27 hard-court matches at majors, and Alcaraz provided glimpses of why they’re so good, though it was uncommon that each had been at their finest concurrently.
Alcaraz, who ended up with twice as many winners, 42-21, was excellent within the first, third and fourth units; Sinner’s high efforts arrived within the second.
For the reason that begin of the 2024 U.S. Open, Sinner had received 33 of 34 matches on the majors; Sunday was his fifth straight closing at these occasions. The loss? To Alcaraz at Roland-Garros.
Certainly, during the last two seasons, Sinner is now 1-7 in opposition to Alcaraz — and 109-4 in opposition to everybody else.
Alcaraz, in the meantime, has received 37 of 38 contests since Could. The loss? To Sinner on the All England Membership, Alcaraz’s lone defeat in a Slam closing.
In 2025, Alcaraz now has extra titles (a tour-leading seven) than losses (his report is 61-6, additionally the perfect in males’s tennis).
Throughout his defeat at Wimbledon, Alcaraz was caught by a digital camera telling his crew in Spanish: “From the again of the courtroom, he’s significantly better than me.”
Maybe that’s why Alcaraz was aggressive Sunday together with his sledgehammer of a forehand — and on-target, too. Every time even the smallest opening introduced itself, Alcaraz tried to barge on by way of with that shot, going huge early in factors, which labored, both for an outright winner or forcing errors from Sinner.
Sinner had dropped a complete of only one service recreation in his three matches main into the ultimate, however he did take care of an belly muscle concern in his semifinal. Sinner and one in every of his coaches mentioned it was nothing severe, which is likely to be proper, however Alcaraz broke instantly Sunday and 5 occasions in all.
To counteract the forehand effectiveness, Sinner made a tactical change, going more and more after Alcaraz’s backhand when attainable.
Paid off. Briefly.
Within the first set and third set, Alcaraz’s ratios had been 11 winners to 2 unforced errors. Actually outstanding. Within the second, these numbers swung the opposite means: 5 winners, 11 unforced errors.
An hour and 20 minutes in, it was a set apiece, after Alcaraz ceded one for the primary time all match, permitting Neale Fraser to retain his distinction as the newest man to win each set he performed on the occasion — in 1960.
As Sinner labored his means into issues, he would have a good time factors by pumping a fist towards the field the place his coaches and others, together with Olympic champion ski racer Lindsey Vonn, had been seated.
Ah, nevertheless it was Alcaraz who appeared to have extra ticket-buyers on his aspect.
They regaled him with standing ovations. For one significantly magical volley at a hard-to-believe angle struck simply earlier than the ball hit the courtroom — even Alcaraz himself preferred that one, saying “Wow!” and breaking into a large grin. For one particular overhead smash to a nook with the tailing motion of a firefly.
And so forth.
Warriors star Stephen Curry, sitting within the Arthur Ashe Stadium seats between spouse Ayesha and his father, Dell, raised his arms after which rested his arms on his head after a powerful trio of pictures by Alcaraz within the fourth set.
Sinner, evidently, wasn’t as happy by these kinds of strokes.
He bounced his racket off the bottom and caught it after one misplaced level. He exhaled and shook his head after one other.
Sinner merely doesn’t see that form of stuff from anybody else.
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