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 remaining for his second trophy at Flushing Meadows and sixth general at a significant. This was the third Grand Slam match in a row the place these elite, younger rivals met to resolve the champion.
The match’s begin was delayed for a couple of half-hour whereas 1000’s of followers have been caught outdoors 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 bought 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 collection, 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 pink 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 court docket, to share the locker rooms, every thing.”
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 have been higher than me,” Sinner instructed Alcaraz. “I attempted my finest at the moment. I couldn’t do extra.”
Reality is, these two guys are so, so a lot better than the remainder of males’s tennis in the mean time. Their traits are distinctive, their strengths a number of, their video games untouchable in the mean time.
Besides, after all, towards 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 supplied glimpses of why they’re so good, though it was uncommon that each have been at their finest concurrently.
Alcaraz, who ended up with twice as many winners, 42-21, was very good 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 remaining at these occasions. The loss? To Alcaraz at Roland-Garros.
Certainly, over the past two seasons, Sinner is now 1-7 towards Alcaraz — and 109-4 towards 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 remaining.
In 2025, Alcaraz now has extra titles (a tour-leading seven) than losses (his file is 61-6, additionally the very best in males’s tennis).
Throughout his defeat at Wimbledon, Alcaraz was caught by a digital camera telling his staff in Spanish: “From the again of the court docket, he’s a lot better than me.”
Maybe that’s why Alcaraz was aggressive Sunday together with his sledgehammer of a forehand — and on-target, too. At any time when even the smallest opening introduced itself, Alcaraz tried to barge on by way of with that shot, going large early in factors, which labored, both for an outright winner or forcing errors from Sinner.
Sinner had dropped a complete of only one service sport in his three matches main into the ultimate, however he did cope with an belly muscle challenge in his semifinal. Sinner and one in all his coaches stated it was nothing severe, which is likely to be proper, however Alcaraz broke immediately Sunday and 5 occasions in all.
To counteract the forehand effectiveness, Sinner made a tactical swap, going more and more after Alcaraz’s backhand when doable.
Paid off. Briefly.
Within the first set and third set, Alcaraz’s ratios have been 11 winners to 2 unforced errors. Really exceptional. Within the second, these numbers swung the opposite method: 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 latest man to win each set he performed on the occasion — in 1960.
As Sinner labored his method into issues, he would have fun factors by pumping a fist towards the field the place his coaches and others, together with Olympic champion ski racer Lindsey Vonn, have 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 notably magical volley at a hard-to-believe angle struck simply earlier than the ball hit the court docket — even Alcaraz himself appreciated 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 robust 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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