Carlos Alcaraz is now a two-time US Open champion, a six-time grand slam champion, and the new world No. 1. What his title run here in New York proved is that he’s only getting better too.
It’s the second time Alcaraz has won this tournament, repeating the feat that he first achieved in 2022. He defeated Italian Jannik Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in two hours and 42 minutes.
With the win, he replaced Sinner as the top player in the men’s world rankings.
The caliber of shot-making on display throughout the day was sublime and both men hit top gear on multiple occasions, although maybe not simultaneously as we would have liked.
Ultimately, it was Alcaraz who carried the initiative through much of the match. Only in the second set, when Sinner decided to just hit massive shots to the open sides of the court, did Alcaraz ever look on the defensive. It was clear that confidence was flowing through the Spaniard from the beginning of the match.
The set he dropped to Sinner was the only set he lost in the whole tournament, but he proved once again that he is becoming one of the most well-rounded players in the world.
The Spaniard only turned 22 in May, meaning that – since the US Open switched to a hard court in 1978 – he is now the first player to win multiple grand slam titles on all three surfaces before his 23rd birthday.
His sixth grand slam win means that only Björn Borg, with seven, has managed more ahead of turning 23. With the Australian Open to come in January, you would not bet against Alcaraz equaling the Swede’s record.
The Spaniard is already such a complete player and that was on full display today. His serve was unstoppable at times, he hit 42 winners to Sinner’s 21, he covered more ground than the Italian and he made no double faults.
He put 61% of his first serves in play, winning an extraordinary 83% of those points – a testament to his speed and power that simply had Sinner off kilter for much of the match. The third set, in which Alcaraz rolled 6-1, was a shocking level of dominance over a player of Sinner’s caliber.
There was no role in the trophy presentation for President Donald Trump, who was in attendance for the entirety of the match. Unlike at the Club World Cup final in July, the president watched the trophy presentation from his box, standing along with the tens of thousands of fans in attendance.
That’s a wrap of our live coverage of the US Open from Queens, thank you for following along and reading!
