Felix Auger-Aliassime’s U.S. Open dream run ended in disappointment at the hands of the No. 1 player in the world.

The Montreal native gave a valiant effort but lost 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Italian Jannik Sinner in the semifinal on Friday night in New York. 

After a gutsy performance that pushed Sinner to four sets, the Canadian said he would carry plenty of positives forward from Flushing Meadows.

“I just want to take a moment to soak in the tournament and everything that was good,” Auger-Aliassime told reporters.

“You obviously build your future with what’s good in you, and then you try to improve a little bit, step by step. So I’m just trying to take that all in.

“We were fighting out there. We had some good points. I was going toe to toe at times, some sets dominating. Of course, I feel competitive, but the future will tell how close I am” to Sinner’s level.

Sinner, the defending U.S. Open champion, will now face No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday. Alcaraz got there by defeating 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2 earlier Friday.

The two have won the last seven Grand Slam titles, and no matter which players wins this championship, Sinner and Alcaraz will have swept all four majors during the last two years by the time Sunday’s final ends. 

“It’s a very special day,” Sinner said about Sunday’s matchup. “It’s a very amazing final again.”

Sinner advanced to his fifth consecutive title match at a Slam. He beat Taylor Fritz at Flushing Meadows 12 months ago and Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open in January, then lost to Alcaraz at the French Open in June, before beating his rival at Wimbledon in July.

“Amazing season,” Sinner said.

Against Auger-Aliassime, Sinner was terrific in the opening set, merely so-so in the next, when the abdominal issue limited his ability to serve his best, according to one of his coaches, Simone Vagnozzi.

“Sometimes you’re tired and you can’t let your opponent see that. At a certain point in the second set, his level went down. And naturally, if your opponent sees that, he can take energy from that,” Vagnozzi said. “So you have to be good at masking your emotions and masking the physical issues Jannik had today.”

WATCH | Auger-Aliassime denied by Sinner:

Auger-Aliassime falls to world No. 1 Sinner in semifinals of U.S. Open

Top seed Jannik Sinner of Italy defeats Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The defending U.S. Open champion will face world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the final.

That forehand was key for the 25-year-old Canadian who was trying to reach his first major final and already had eliminated No. 3 Alexander Zverev, No. 8 Alex de Minaur and No. 15 Andrey Rublev.

When he closed that set with a 117 mph ace, Auger-Aliassime had grabbed 12 of 13 points and the match was all even.

“I was going toe-to-toe, at times,” Auger-Aliassime said.

After that set, Sinner left the court for medical attention and, while it wasn’t obvious what was going on, he looked just fine when he returned from the locker room. So did his play.

Later, he would say it was “nothing too bad” and “nothing serious,” without offering any specifics.

After managing only three winners, but six unforced errors, in the second set, Sinner was back to being Sinner in the third: 11 winners, four unforced errors. He broke thanks to a stumbling, awkward return of a 124 mph serve that somehow landed in, drawing a netted response from Auger-Aliassime.

More of that came in the fourth, when, after saving five break points early — he saved 9 of 10 throughout the evening — Sinner broke to move ahead 3-2. Just 25 minutes later, it was over, and Sinner had earned his 33rd win in his past 34 Grand Slam matches, which includes an unbeaten run of 27 on hard courts.

“He’s been dominating on hard courts,” Auger-Aliassime said, “but, I mean, kind of everywhere.”

Italian male tennis player.Sinner reacts after winning a point against Auger-Aliassime. (Elsa/Getty Images)Alcaraz dominates Djokovic

Alcaraz used his youth, athleticism and creativity to assert himself against the much more accomplished, but also much older, Djokovic and beat the 24-time major champion for a berth in his third consecutive Grand Slam final.

By the end, Djokovic seemed resigned to the result. The 38-year-old from Serbia reached the semifinals at all four Slams this season but exited in that round each time.

Two male tennis players. Carlos Alcaraz, right, hugs Novak Djokovic after winning their men’s semifinal match. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)

Alcaraz is seeking his sixth major title and second at Flushing Meadows. He defeated Sinner at the French Open in June and lost to his rival at Wimbledon in July.

Djokovic’s bid to become the first player in the sport’s history to get No. 25 was blocked again.