Another Grand Slam title will be decided between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz when they meet in the US Open final. Alcaraz reached the championship match after defeating Novak Djokovic, while Sinner advanced by eliminating Felix Auger-Aliassime.
This will be the eighth consecutive Grand Slam title claimed by either Sinner or Alcaraz. The Spaniard has won Roland Garros in 2024 and 2025, as well as Wimbledon in 2024. While the Italian captured the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025, the 2024 US Open, and most recently Wimbledon, where he defeated Alcaraz in the final.
Despite trailing 5–9 in their head-to-head record, Sinner said he welcomes the challenge of facing Alcaraz, noting that the Spaniard consistently pushes him to his limit and brings out the best in his game.
“I love these challenges. I love to put myself in these positions. He’s someone who pushes me to the limit, which is great, because then you have the best feedback you can have as a player,” Sinner said Friday in a press conference. “We’ve faced each other quite a lot lately, so things are getting a little bit different”.
Sinner added that while their matches often involve detailed tactical preparation, he also embraces the rivalry as something that elevates the sport. “Always when we step on court, we are aware of more things, because he or me, we try to prepare the match tactically and in different ways. But sometimes it’s also nice to not play against him. It’s nice, but as I always said, it’s great for the sport having rivalries, having hopefully great matches in front of us,” he said.
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Alcaraz joins Nadal in exclusive group after beating Djokovic to reach US Open final
Sinner addresses injury scare against Auger-Aliassime
After dropping the second set 6–3 to Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner gave fans a brief scare when he left the court accompanied by a trainer. However, the Italian quickly eased concerns, explaining that it was nothing serious heading into the US Open final.
“I just felt a small twitching after a serve at 4–3 in the second set,” Sinner said. “After the treatment, I was feeling much, much better. At some point I didn’t feel anything anymore. I was serving back to normal pace, so it was all good. Nothing to worry about. I preferred to go off court just to be cautious, but it’s all good”.
Battle for No. 1
Sinner reached the world No. 1 ranking on June 10, 2024, and has held the top spot for 65 consecutive weeks, even during a three-month suspension after a positive doping test. But his reign could come to an end on Sunday if he falls to Alcaraz in the US Open final.
A victory would give Alcaraz his sixth career Grand Slam title and return him to No. 1 for the first time since September 10, 2023. The Spaniard also has a special connection to the U.S. Open, where he claimed his first title in 2022 by defeating Casper Ruud in a match that also decided the top ranking. That win made Alcaraz the youngest player in ATP history to reach world No. 1.
