5 days ago
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FLUSHING, Queens -- Carlos Alcaraz reasserted his superiority implicit Jannik Sinner with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 triumph Sunday successful the U.S. Open last - the 3rd Grand Slam tourney successful a enactment wherever these elite, young rivals met to determine the champion - for his 2nd trophy astatine Flushing Meadows and sixth wide astatine a major.
President Donald Trump sat successful a sponsor's suite successful Arthur Ashe Stadium and received a premix of cheers and boos erstwhile helium offered a question beforehand and again erstwhile helium was shown connected videoboards aft the archetypal set. The match's commencement was delayed by astir a half-hour due to the fact that thousands of fans were inactive extracurricular successful line, trying to get done the other information measures successful spot due to the fact that of the beingness of a sitting president astatine the tourney for the archetypal clip since Bill Clinton successful 2000.
Perhaps the other hold got the No. 1-seeded Sinner, who was the defending champion. Right from the opening nether a closed extortion due to the fact that of rainfall earlier successful the day, No. 2 Alcaraz was amended arsenic helium sought to reverse the effect from erstwhile they met astatine the All England Club little than 2 months ago.
He did conscionable that, putting his leads implicit Sinner astatine 10-5 successful their head-to-head series, 6-4 successful large trophies, and 2-1 successful U.S. Open championships. Plus, this triumph allowed Alcaraz, a 22-year-old from Spain, to instrumentality distant the No. 1 ranking from Sinner, a 24-year-old from Italy.
These 2 guys are so, truthful overmuch amended than the remainder of men's tennis astatine the moment.
They person combined to cod the past 8 Slam trophies successful a row, and 10 of 13. Novak Djokovic, whom Alcaraz eliminated successful Friday's semifinals, took the different 3 successful that span.
Sunday's showdown represented the archetypal clip successful tennis past that the aforesaid 2 men played each different successful 3 consecutive Slam finals wrong a azygous season.
This hard-court matchup followed Alcaraz's triumph implicit Sinner aft erasing a trio of lucifer points connected the French Open's reddish clay successful June, and Sinner's triumph implicit Alcaraz connected Wimbledon's writer successful July.
Both Sinner, who had won his past 27 hard-court matches astatine majors, and Alcaraz offered glimpses of wherefore they are truthful good, though it was uncommon that some were astatine their champion simultaneously connected this occasion.
Alcaraz was elite successful the first, 3rd and 4th sets, Sinner's apical efforts arrived successful the second.
In sum, Alcaraz was amended and for longer, ending up with doubly arsenic galore winners, 42-21.
Since the commencement of the 2024 U.S. Open, Sinner had won 33 of 34 matches astatine the majors and Sunday was his 5th consecutive last astatine those events. The loss? To Alcaraz astatine Roland-Garros.
Indeed, implicit the past 2 seasons, Sinner is present 1-7 against Alcaraz and 109-4 against everyone else.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, has won 37 of 38 contests since May. The loss? To Sinner astatine the All England Club - besides Alcaraz's lone decision successful a Slam final.
In 2025, Alcaraz present has much tourney titles (a tour-leading seven) than losses (his grounds is 61-6, besides the champion successful men's tennis).
During his decision successful Wimbledon's final, Alcaraz was caught by a camera telling his squad astir Sinner successful Spanish: "From the backmost of the court, he's overmuch amended than me."
So possibly that's wherefore Alcaraz was assertive Sunday with his sledgehammer of a forehand - and on-target, too. Whenever adjacent the smallest opening presented itself, Alcaraz tried to barge connected done with that shot, going large aboriginal successful points, which worked, either for an outright victor oregon forcing mistakes from Sinner.
Sinner had dropped a full of conscionable 1 work crippled successful his 3 matches starring into the final, but helium did woody with an abdominal musculus contented successful his semifinal Friday. Sinner and his manager said it was thing serious, which mightiness beryllium right, but Alcaraz broke close distant Sunday and 5 times successful all.
To counteract the forehand effectiveness, Sinner made a tactical switch, going progressively aft Alcaraz's backhand erstwhile possible. That some constricted Alcaraz's opportunities to onslaught a point-ending forehand and drew further mistakes disconnected the different wing.
Paid disconnected for Sinner. Briefly.
In the archetypal acceptable and third, Alcaraz's ratios were 11 winners to 2 unforced errors. Truly remarkable. In the second, those numbers swung the different way: 5 winners, 11 unforced errors.
An hr and 20 minutes in, it was a acceptable apiece, aft Alcaraz ceded 1 for the archetypal clip each tournament, allowing Neale Fraser to clasp his favoritism arsenic the astir caller antheral to triumph each acceptable helium played astatine the lawsuit - each the mode backmost successful 1960.
As Sinner worked his mode into things, helium would observe conscionable astir each constituent helium gathered by looking astatine the country of the stands wherever his 2 coaches and others, including Olympic champion skis racer Lindsey Vonn, were seated and pumped his close fist.
Ah, but it was Alcaraz who seemed to person much of the ticket-buyers connected his side.
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