Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz continued their dominance of men’s tennis by reaching the US Open final, which the latter won.
Alcaraz is number one in the ATP rankings following his success in New York, returning to the summit immediately after his victory.
He defeated Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the top seed fell just short of defending his US Open title.
The Italian has now lost his 65-week reign as world number one, along with his 27-match winning streak at hard-court Grand Slams.
Sinner did, however, manage to defend his Australian Open title earlier this season, while he also won the title at Wimbledon.
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty ImagesWhat Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz may have done if Roger Federer was still playing
He defeated two-time defending champion Alcaraz in London, although the Spaniard was successful in their French Open final this season.
They’ve now met in three successive Grand Slam finals, with their latest efforts leaving Jimmy Connors really impressed.
He said on the Advantage Connors podcast: “What I like about these two guys, Sinner and Alcaraz, is that they know it’s their time.
“Even if [Rafael] Nadal and [Roger] Federer were still around too, they would want to say move over boys. I like that. They have raised their game to that level. The other guys out there playing did not do that.
“They were waiting around for them to retire or something to happen and say it’s my turn now. Well, maybe it’s not.
Photo by Tim Clayton via Getty Images
“But these two guys, they are head and shoulders now above everybody else and they play like it every time they go out there. That’s not to say they will win every time they walk on the court, if they do that would be incredible!
“But what I am saying is that when it comes down to the big matches and the big tournaments they are in different parts of the draw and this is what you are looking for, that final which is Sinner versus Alcaraz.”
Where do Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz rank among greats for ATP titles?
Tennis fans will unfortunately never know what would happen if the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz met the likes of Federer and Nadal in their prime.
The latter duo, along with Novak Djokovic, dominated men’s tennis for a lengthy period, with very few players able to knock them off their perch over the years.
PlayerTitlesJimmy Connors 109 Roger Federer 103 Novak Djokovic 100 Ivan Lendl 94 Rafael Nadal 92Carlos Alcaraz23Jannik Sinner20ATP title leaders plus Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
It would, of course, also have been very interesting to see such players compete against American icon Connors.
It is indeed Connors who tops the pile for the most-ever ATP titles, with Federer and Nadal joining him in the top five.