ATP Tour
Alcaraz leads Sinner by two sets to one after third-set statement in US Open final
Spaniard will return to World No. 1 on Monday if he lifts trophy
September 07, 2025
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images
Carlos Alcaraz in action against Jannik Sinner in the US Open men’s singles final on Sunday in New York.
By Andy West
Carlos Alcaraz has retaken control of the US Open final against Jannik Sinner with a scintillating third-set performance inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
After World No. 1 and defending champion Sinner claimed the second set, Alcaraz promptly raced to a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 lead in Sunday’s final. Alcaraz reeled off the first five games of the third set by expertly capitalising on any drop in level from his great rival, who now faces an uphill battle to defend his title.
Sorry, did somebody say VAMOOOOS?! 😮💨
Alcaraz soars through the third set 6-1… 🔥@usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/YGAywhKU6K
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 7, 2025
World No. 1 Sinner had also been largely outplayed in the opening set on Arthur Ashe Stadium, but he delivered a barrage of clean hitting in the second to peg back Alcaraz. The Spaniard made a red-hot start to the pair’s third consecutive meeting in a Grand Slam final, but he could not maintain his momentum long enough to avoid dropping a set for the first time at the 2025 US Open.
Whoever takes the trophy in New York will simultaneously ensure that they are No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday. Sinner has held top spot for 65 consecutive weeks, while Alcaraz, who is now within one set of his second title in New York, is aiming to return to a position he last held in September 2023.
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Sinner, who is on a 27-match winning streak at hard-court majors, is bidding to become just the seventh man in the Open Era to win three Grand Slam singles titles in the same season. The Australian Open and Wimbledon champion has already become the youngest man in the Open Era to play the final at all four majors in a season: Sinner also reached the final at Roland Garros, where he held three championship points before falling to Alcaraz in an all-time classic.
Meanwhile Alcaraz, who is chasing his sixth Grand Slam crown, would be the second youngest man to hit that tally in the Open Era after Bjorn Borg. This is the second time the 22-year-old Spaniard has played a US Open title match with the World No. 1 spot also on the line for both players: In 2022, he defeated Casper Ruud to lift his first major trophy and become the youngest No. 1 in PIF ATP Rankings history at 19 years old.
After the final was delayed by approximately 50 minutes due to security measures in place at Flushing Meadows, Alcaraz wasted little time taking control of the latest highly anticipated installment of his rivalry with Sinner. The Spaniard took the ball early on return from the opening game and his approach appeared to rush Sinner, who made an uncharacteristically high nine unforced errors in the opening set alone.
The 24-year-old Sinner did not make any obvious tactical changes to engineer a turnaround in the second set but simply began to outlast Alcaraz in the baseline exchanges and notched a decisive break to love in the fifth game. However, he was powerless to stop Alcaraz in the third set, when the Spaniard remarkably outhit his opponent by 11 winners to one.
A star-studded crowd has gathered to watch Sinner, who is attempting to complete the first successful US Open men’s singles defence since Roger Federer in 2008, and Alcaraz: Celebrities in attendance at Flushing Meadows include NBA star Steph Curry, rock icon Bruce Springsteen and football manager Pep Guardiola.
More to follow…