We wondered if Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz could reach the heights of the fabled “big three”, and already they have claimed a collective achievement that proved beyond Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Before a ball is even hit, Sunday’s US Open final has made history in the open era as the first time the same two players have contested a third consecutive grand-slam final in the same season. Aged 24 and 22 respectively, Sinner and Alcaraz are well on track to put together one of the great rivalries in the history of tennis.
This is a fitting finish to the 2025 grand-slam season. After Alcaraz’s triumph at the French Open and Sinner’s revenge at Wimbledon comes the decider at Flushing Meadows in this effective best-of-three-match series, with the world No1 ranking at stake.
It is no big shock that Sinner and Alcaraz have established the leading active men’s rivalry. During their teenage years it was clear to many within the tennis world that they were the players best equipped to move the sport forward into a new era.
Unquestionably, however, it is a surprise that they have become so dominant so soon. It was thought the retirements of Federer and Nadal, and the ageing of Djokovic, would allow others to taste some grand-slam success, such as an opportunity for Alexander Zverev to win a first major trophy at last or even a shock outsider.
In fact, Sinner and Alcaraz have progressed at a rapid pace and swept up the accolades. A look at the list of grand-slam champions in recent years shows a clear point at which the transition of power took place at the start of 2024, after the 24th and most recent of Djokovic’s titles at the 2023 US Open. In the eight majors since, the tournament has ended with the name of either Sinner or Alcaraz being engraved on the silverware.
Further summing up their dominance is that Sunday’s contest will mark their 15th match against each other. Given that Federer famously once admitted he would rather play anyone else other than Nadal in the early stages of their rivalry, it begged the question as to whether Sinner and Alcaraz are starting to feel the same.
“Yes and no,” Sinner said. “That’s what Roger said and I feel like we all think the same way, but I love these challenges. I love to put myself in these positions.
Sinner, the defending champion, defeated Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in their semi-final
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“He [Alcaraz] is someone who pushed me to the limit, which is great, because then you have the best feedback you can have as a player. We have faced each other quite a lot now lately, so things are getting a little bit different. Always when we step on court, we are aware of more things. But sometimes it’s also nice to not play against him.”
Similar sentiments have also been politely conveyed by Alcaraz in recent months. Sightings across the tour of warm greetings between the pair when they encounter each other behind the scenes would also suggest they are far from sick of each other, which may be a disappointment for those hoping for some needle akin to that between John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.
“Off the court, we bump into each other at times,” Sinner said. “I don’t know if we are happy or not but, no, I think it’s great. As I always say, we have a great relationship off the court, and everything is fine between him and me and also our teams. My team and his team, we are just working hard, but in the same time we are also normal, normal people.”
The 16-year age gap was plain to see as Alcaraz, right, defeated Djokovic 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to reach the final
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The concern for the chasing pack behind Sinner and Alcaraz is that they continue to improve, as observed by one another. It was rightly thought in the past that Sinner’s stamina was a little lacking, but a noticeable improvement has allowed him to sustain his high level of play throughout matches.
“I think physically he has improved a lot,” Alcaraz said. “He has spoken about the physical conditions that he had to improve, and I think in the last year or two he has improved a lot. His matches are really demanding physically that he’s able to play at 100 per cent during two, three, four hours. I think that’s the biggest improvement he has made.”
Despite already having five grand-slam titles to his name, Alcaraz was often prone to fluctuations that would result in him tamely conceding sets in the early rounds. This fortnight he has ironed out that flaw, progressing to the final of a major without dropping a set for the first time. A key factor behind this is a more reliable serve, which has only been broken twice in six matches.
“He has improved the serve a lot,” Sinner said. “I feel like he’s serving much better with the better pace, but the percentage is very high all the time. It is much more solid because maybe before there were more ups and downs. Now he’s very consistent.”
Still at such an early phase of their respective careers, it is quite feasible that Sinner and Alcaraz could go on to threaten the record held by Djokovic and Nadal for the most contested fixture in men’s tennis at 60 times. Alcaraz prefers not to look so far ahead, instead heeding a recent piece of advice given to him by Federer.
“One person [he later revealed this was Federer] once told me that you don’t have to think about 35 or 38 years old and still playing at that age,” Alcaraz said. “He told me you have to be focused on the next five years, from here to when I am 27. And then, when I get to 27, think about five years more. So it’s not about thinking to 15 or 20 years, it’s just thinking about five years maximum. We will see until what age I will try to take care of my body as good as I can. Now I just have a lot of years to come.”
US Open men’s final
Jannik Sinner v Carlos Alcaraz
Sunday, 7pm
TV Sky Sports Main Event