NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have played so often, and with so much at stake lately, that they both know the other’s game so well.
So is the No. 1-seeded Sinner, a 24-year-old from Italy, happy to be facing No. 2 Alcaraz, a 22-year-old from Spain, on Sunday at the U.S. Open for the championship, the first time in tennis history the same two men will meet in three consecutive Grand Slam finals within one season?
Well, yes and no.
“We are aware of maybe more things, because him or me, we try to prepare the match tactically and in different ways,” said Sinner, who dismissed any concern about an abdominal muscle issue that arose in his semifinal win over Felix Auger-Aliassime. “But sometimes, it’s also nice to not play against him.”
President Donald Trump planned to attend the final; no White House occupant has been at Flushing Meadows since Bill Clinton in 2000.
This hard-court showdown — with the winner also taking the top ranking — follows Alcaraz’s victory over Sinner erasing a trio of match points on the French Open’s red clay in June for his fifth Grand Slam title and Sinner’s victory over Alcaraz on Wimbledon’s grass in July for his fourth.
“It’s great for the sport having rivalries,” said Sinner, trying to become the first man to repeat as the champ in New York since 2008, when Roger Federer won his fifth U.S. Open in a row. “I’m someone who loves these challenges, and I love to put myself in these positions.”
Sinner has been close to unbeatable the last two seasons — except against Alcaraz, who leads their head-to-head series 9-5.
Sinner is into a fifth straight Slam final, dating to his title at the U.S. Open a year ago, and he’s 33-1 at majors in that span, the lone blemish against Alcaraz in Paris.
Since the start of 2024, at all events, Sinner is 1-6 against Alcaraz and 109-4 against all other opponents.
Since the start of this May, Alcaraz is 36-1, with the loss coming against Sinner at the All England Club — also Alcaraz’s first defeat in a Slam final. Alcaraz leads the tour in wins (60) and titles (six) in 2025 and has reached the finals at his past eight tournaments.
“It’s something that I’m working on, just the consistency on the matches, on the tournaments, on the year, in general. Just not having up-and-downs in the match. Just the level that I start the match, just wanted to keep that level really high during the whole match,” Alcaraz said Friday after beating Novak Djokovic.
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