The big question, at the end of a season in which their rivalry entered the stratosphere, is where it might go from here.
The answer is likely to lie in Sinner’s admission that he needs to adapt. Specifically, to be less one-dimensional – and more like Alcaraz.
Alcaraz is, at present, the only player with the weaponry and unpredictability to truly unsettle Sinner, armed with his mastery of drop shots and slices, and willingness to come to the net.
By contrast, Sinner leads the ATP Tour in the use of core shots (88%) – those which travel through the opponent’s baseline – meaning he plays with the least amount of variation of any player.
Quite often, he does not need to. Until he meets Alcaraz.
There have already been signs of a shift in Sinner’s approach since the US Open.
While only a snapshot, Sinner’s use of variation shots was an Alcaraz-like 25.9% in his opening match at the Vienna Open in October.
Their dominance does not look set to end any time soon.
Beyond their stranglehold on the majors, Djokovic is the only player other than Alcaraz and Sinner to claim more than 20 ATP Tour-level titles since the start of 2020. All three have won 24.
But at 38 years old, Djokovic remains without the outright record 25th major singles title he has been chasing since he equalled Margaret Court’s all-time total at the 2023 US Open.
Few would bet against anyone denying Alcaraz and Sinner another sweep of major final showdowns next year, but fans will be keen to watch for signs that point to a third challenger in the new season.
After losing to 19-year-old Joao Fonseca in the final of the Swiss Indoors last month, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina identified the Brazilian as the only player who can rival Alcaraz and Sinner.
Fellow top-20 players Ben Shelton, Jack Draper, Casper Ruud and Jakub Mensik will each hope to kick on after winning ATP Masters 1000 titles this year.
But for now, Alcaraz and Sinner continue only to measure themselves against the other.