Carlos Alcaraz enjoyed the double of winning the U.S. Open and displacing Jannik Sinner as the world No. 1 on Sunday. Sinner had no answer to Alcaraz’s box of tricks.
Carlos Alcaraz claimed his second U.S. Open title and the world No.1 ranking after beating Jannik Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Sunday evening. The Italian ceded his position as the world’s top-ranked player to his great rival and was always second-best.
Events unfurled to the rhythm of only one racket. In cinematic terms, Sinner was the Salieri to Alcaraz’s Mozart. President Trump’s security arrangements held up the blue carpet arrival of the two best players in the world for almost 50 minutes, and hundreds of spectators outside missed the 22-year-old’s brilliant opening act.
The Alcaraz and Sinner trilogy in major finals began with an epic French Open final that came in at a whopping five hours and 29 minutes. That blockbuster, which Alcaraz won after a Houdini escape, has been followed by two solid sequels. Sinner subdued an out- of-sorts Spaniard at Wimbledon in four sets, and Alcaraz returned the favor here.
While Sinner only survived by the skin of his teeth at SW19 after Grigor Dimitrov retired hurt at two sets up in their last 16 clash, Alcaraz has been wearing an invincibility cloak for the 15 days of the main draw at Flushing Meadows. He lost only one of 22 sets played, and even that was down mainly to an unlikely wobble on his first serve that brought Sinner briefly back into the contest at one set all. After that, Alcaraz brought the hammer down with his otherwise impenetrable delivery, which was broken only three times across the tournament.
There was still the magic in the hands at the net and incredible pick-ups that made the player himself light up with the widest of smiles. This is the Alcaraz who is unbeatable, a man who cut out the vacillating streaks in his game that derailed him in Melbourne and Wimbledon. There is a growing maturity in his match play and yet he still retains that childlike joy in playing. It’s a ferocious one-two punch behind a full-on smile.
In New York, Alcaraz turned up the volume and speed, hitting 42 winners in the final – double that of his opponent – while retaining full control and focus. He caresses the ball, as if manoeuvring it around the trees at Augusta or flopping it onto the green. The famous golf swing celebration isn’t out of place either.
Sinner was never really himself. The first serve deserted the 24-year-old, constantly crashing into the net, while he would wave goodbye to another 130 mph bullet coming in the other direction. Even Sinner’s groundstroke attacks rarely knocked over the skittles in Alcaraz’s playground. The comeback was on in the second set as Sinner pounced, but then he reverted to a subdued staccato. There was no massive attack and no other break points, apart from that perfect return game cameo that gave him a foothold.
Alcaraz broke his rival no less than five times, running away with the third set 6-1. He was bewitching in his stroke play, drawing excitable reactions from the likes of Steph Curry, Spike Lee and compatriot Sergio Garcia. In the Sinner camp, Lindsey Vonn wore a furrowed brow for most of the match. This was a slalom course that her friend couldn’t navigate.
Despite these two lapping the rest of the pack in the men’s game, Alcaraz appears to have a stranglehold in their recent meetings. He is 7-1 against the Italian over the last two seasons, although some of those matches, including Beijing and Roland Garros, could easily have tilted the other way.
Alcaraz lost his way at Wimbledon from the beginning with his service percentage below 60 in the five-set epic with Fabio Fognini and only 51 percent in the final. Sinner had similar problems here and came into the contest with a 57 percent reading. It got worse on the day that really mattered.
Alcaraz now leads the race to Turin at the ATP finals by over 2,500 points, but it’s the number one ranking that shines brightest. Sinner and Alcaraz have won the last eight slams with a perfect split of 4-4.
There is nothing to choose between them, but there was a consistency, clinical edge and an abracadabra touch that made this performance the best Alcaraz has played in a major final, barring that 2024 demolition of Novak Djokovic on Centre Court. Another trip to Ibiza is yet to be confirmed.
