Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz celebrates with the trophy after successful the boys’s singles ultimate on the U.S. Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium, in Flushing Meadows, New York City, on Sept. 7, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
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 ultimate 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 resolve the champion.
The match’s begin was delayed for a few half-hour whereas hundreds of followers have been caught outdoors Arthur Ashe Stadium whereas going by further safety as a result of President Donald Trump sat in a sponsor’s suite. Perhaps the additional wait obtained the No. 1-seeded Sinner, who was the defending champion.
Right from the start, beneath a closed roof due to rain earlier within the day, No. 2 Alcaraz outplayed Sinner, reversing the outcome from after they performed for Wimbledon’s title lower than two months in the past.
Alcaraz’s leads over Sinner at the moment are 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 hard-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 more than my family,” Alcaraz joked, eliciting a smile from Sinner. “It’s great to share the court, to share the locker rooms, everything.”
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 were better than me,” Sinner informed Alcaraz. “I tried my best today. I couldn’t do more.”
Truth 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.
Except, in fact, towards the opposite.
U.S. President Donald Trump salutes in the course of the U.S. Open males’s tennis ultimate at Arthur Ashe Stadium, in Flushing Meadows, New York City, on Sept. 7, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
They have 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.
Both 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 greatest 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.
Since the beginning of the 2024 U.S. Open, Sinner had received 33 of 34 matches on the majors; Sunday was his fifth straight ultimate at these occasions. The loss? To Alcaraz at Roland-Garros.
Indeed, during the last 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 May. The loss? To Sinner on the All England Club, Alcaraz’s lone defeat in a Slam ultimate.
In 2025, Alcaraz now has extra titles (a tour-leading seven) than losses (his report is 61-6, additionally the very best in males’s tennis).
During his defeat at Wimbledon, Alcaraz was caught by a digital camera telling his group in Spanish: “From the back of the court, he’s much better than me.”
Perhaps that is why Alcaraz was aggressive Sunday together with his sledgehammer of a forehand — and on-target, too. Whenever even the smallest opening introduced itself, Alcaraz tried to barge on by 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 stomach muscle challenge in his semifinal. Sinner and considered one of his coaches mentioned it was nothing critical, which could be proper, however Alcaraz broke immediately 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 potential.
Paid off. Briefly.
In the primary set and third set, Alcaraz’s ratios have been 11 winners to 2 unforced errors. Truly exceptional. In the second, these numbers swung the opposite manner: 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 manner 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 significantly magical volley at a hard-to-believe angle struck simply earlier than the ball hit the courtroom — even Alcaraz himself favored 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 on.
Sinner, evidently, wasn’t as happy by these types 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 does not see that kind of stuff from anybody else.