Carlos Alcaraz dominated defending champion Jannik Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to win his second U.S. Open championship and regain the World No. 1 ranking on Sunday in New York.
It wasn’t the sparkling tennis fans have come to expect between the two forces in the sport today — especially from Sinner, who won a set despite playing far from his best tennis. The match lacked their signature rallies, neither player served for a high percentage and Sinner had just one opportunity to break the second-seeded Alcaraz in the match that lasted two hours, 42 minutes.
Between them, they have won the past eight Grand Slam titles.
This is the second U.S. Open title for Alcaraz, his second major title of this season and his sixth career major at just age 22. Sinner, a 24-year-old Italian, had held the No. 1 ranking since May 27, 2024, and will give it back to Alcaraz when the new rankings are issued Monday.
“I tried my best today,” Sinner said during the trophy ceremony, acknowledging Alcaraz. “I couldn’t do more.”
The match was delayed by about 45 minutes because of extra security requirements due to the presence of President Donald Trump, a native of Queens. The schedule shift didn’t seem to faze Alcaraz, who immediately broke Sinner’s serve to set the tone.
Alcaraz, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, didn’t let up in the opener. The 22-year-old Spaniard dropped just three points on his serve, converted two of his four break opportunities and used an excellent forehand game and his fleet feet to allow Sinner to win just 15 of 30 points on his serve.
But in the second set, Sinner showed glimpses of coming around, yet Alcaraz still won 90 percent (9 of 10) of points on his first serve. Sinner won 73 percent (11 of 15). The difference in the set was Sinner saving his lone break point and going up a break on Alcaraz, who had not lost a set in the tournament entering Sunday.
Sinner couldn’t sustain any momentum, however, with Alcaraz steamrolling him in the third set. Alcaraz won the first five games, had 11 winners to one for Sinner, and won 25 of 38 points in the set.
And in the fourth set, the break by Alcaraz in the fifth game was all he needed. Sinner couldn’t muster another service break — not a surprise since there were only three against Alcaraz in the entire tournament. Alcaraz shut the door when, serving up 5-4, he delivered an ace to win.
On the day, Alcaraz had 10 aces to two for Sinner and no double faults. He won points on 83 percent of his first serves compared to 69 percent for Sinner and had 41 winners and 24 unforced errors. Those totals were 21 and 28, respectively, for Sinner.
Alcaraz knows the caliber of player Sinner is, however, and praised him while acknowledging their status as the New Two, taking the torch from the Big Three.
“It’s unbelievable what you’re doing during the whole season, great, great level during every tournament you’re playing,” Alcaraz said to Sinner. “I’m seeing you more than my family, so I mean it’s great to share the court, share the locker rooms, to share everything with you. Watching you improve every day, working really hard with your team, really great people around.”
Alcaraz earned $5 million for the victory, pushing him over $50 million in career earnings already. Sinner won $2.5 million.
Sinner and Alcaraz accounted for all four major victories this season — Sinner at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, Alcaraz and the French and U.S. opens.
They became the first players in the Open Era to meet in the title match at three majors in the same season.
Alcaraz last held the No. 1 spot on Sept. 10, 2023, when he relinquished it to Novak Djokovic after the Serbian won his fourth U.S. Open and 24th Grand Slam.
With the win, Alcaraz moves to 10-5 in his career against Sinner. This was the fifth meeting of the season between the two, all of them coming in finals. Alcaraz also won in Rome, Paris and Cincinnati, where Sinner retired because of an illness. Sinner won at Wimbledon.
–Field Level Media
