The US Open title is on the line in Sunday’s final, as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz compete for the last Grand Slam of the year, with the winner guaranteed to enter next week as world No. 1, SportsMole reports.
No men’s singles player has successfully defended the title at Flushing since Roger Federer won five consecutive titles from 2004 to 2008, and that is the challenge that the top seed must face against his in-form friendly rival from Murcia, who has not dropped a set all tournament in New York.
Sinner and Alcaraz will make more tennis history on Sunday when they face off for the 15th time on the ATP Tour in the US Open final.
The defending champion and top seed is the leading hard-court player on the men’s tour, having won 71 of his 75 matches on this surface since last year; however, three of his four losses have been against Sunday’s opponent.
Despite missing three months earlier this season due to a doping suspension, the world No. 1 has shown remarkable consistency, reaching three Grand Slam finals since returning to competitive action in Rome before the French Open.
Before the ban, he made back-to-back Slam finals in Australia this year and in the United States last year, meaning the 24-year-old has competed in five consecutive Major finals, highlighting his high performance levels.
By reaching the final on Sunday, Sinner joined Rod Laver, Federer and Novak Djokovic in achieving all four Slam finals in a single season; notably, he reached this milestone at the youngest age among all four.
The Italian superstar’s path to this final has been challenging, with Denis Shapovalov pushing him in the third round and Felix Auger-Aliassime posing an even greater threat in Friday’s semi-final, which lasted three hours and 21 minutes.
Sinner had to fight hard in both matches, however, and glass-half-empty fans might point to his injury scare against Auger-Aliassime, his shorter recovery after Friday’s semi and occasional lapses as signs of potential loss to his friendly rival.
Carlos Alcaraz reacts at the US Open on September 2, 2025
Alcaraz, for his part, has been on fire in New York this year as he bids for his sixth Grand Slam title at the venue where he claimed his first three years ago.
The second seed has played precise, efficient and entertaining tennis on his way to a second final in New York and a third consecutive appearance this year after the French Open and Wimbledon.
The fact that Friday’s two-hour, 23-minute victory over Djokovic is the longest match of the tournament is a credit to the 22-year-old.
When he briefly faltered early in the second set against Djokovic, some might have started recalling events Down Under when the Serbian recovered from a deficit to beat Alcaraz in four sets in Melbourne.
That Australian Open defeat was the Spaniard’s third on a hard court against the 24-time Slam champion, and the Spanish sensation entered Friday’s semis with a 0-3 record against the 38-year-old on the surface.
However, this version of Alcaraz is different gravy; he recovered from that early second-set dip to win the tiebreak and take the first two sets, effectively deflating the Serbian star.
