Jannik Sinner, of Italy, reacts after scoring a point against Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts after defeating Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
FILE - Winner Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, right, and Italy's Jannik Sinner hug after the final match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
Tennis fans line up to get into Arthur Ashe Stadium to watch Jannik Sinner, of Italy, and Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, play in the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the US Open tennis men's singles final Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Flushing, N.Y. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Tennis fans line up to get into Arthur Ashe Stadium to watch Jannik Sinner, of Italy, and Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, play in the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts after a rally against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Jannik Sinner, of Italy, returns a shot against Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
Joined by U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi,, Arabella Kushner, Jared Kushner, Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff, and Secretary of Treasury, Scott Bessent, President Donald Trump, center, salutes during the playing of the national anthem before the start of the men's singles final between Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, and Jannik Sinner, of Italy, at the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Jannik Sinner, of Italy, returns a shot to Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, celebrates after defeating Jannik Sinner, of Italy, in the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
President Donald Trump, right, Steve Witkoff, center, and U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi, watch play between Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, and Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, stretches as he attempts to returns a shot against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
Jannik Sinner, of Italy, returns a shot to Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Jannik Sinner, of Italy, reacts after scoring a point against Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
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Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts after defeating Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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FILE - Winner Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, right, and Italy's Jannik Sinner hug after the final match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
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President Donald Trump deplanes Air Force One as he arrives at LaGuardia Airport in New York, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Tennis fans line up to get into Arthur Ashe Stadium to watch Jannik Sinner, of Italy, and Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, play in the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
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President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the US Open tennis men's singles final Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Flushing, N.Y. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Tennis fans line up to get into Arthur Ashe Stadium to watch Jannik Sinner, of Italy, and Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, play in the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
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Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts after a rally against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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Jannik Sinner, of Italy, returns a shot against Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
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Joined by U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi,, Arabella Kushner, Jared Kushner, Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff, and Secretary of Treasury, Scott Bessent, President Donald Trump, center, salutes during the playing of the national anthem before the start of the men's singles final between Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, and Jannik Sinner, of Italy, at the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
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Jannik Sinner, of Italy, returns a shot to Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, celebrates after defeating Jannik Sinner, of Italy, in the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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President Donald Trump, right, Steve Witkoff, center, and U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi, watch play between Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, and Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
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Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, stretches as he attempts to returns a shot against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
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Jannik Sinner, of Italy, returns a shot to Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz reasserted his superiority over Jannik Sinner with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory Sunday in the U.S. Open final — the third Grand Slam tournament in a row where these elite, young rivals met to decide the champion — for his second trophy at Flushing Meadows and sixth overall at a major.
sat in a sponsor’s suite in Arthur Ashe Stadium and received a mix of cheers and boos when he offered a wave beforehand and again when he was shown on videoboards after the first set. The match’s start was delayed by about a half-hour because were still outside in line, trying to get through the extra security measures in place because of the presence of a sitting president at the tournament for the first time since Bill Clinton in 2000.
Perhaps the extra wait got the No. 1-seeded Sinner, who was the . Right from the beginning under a closed roof because of rain earlier in the day, No. 2 Alcaraz was better as he sought to reverse the result from when they met at the All England Club less than two months ago.
He did just that, putting his leads over Sinner at 10-5 in their head-to-head series, 6-4 in major trophies, and 2-1 in U.S. Open championships. Plus, this win allowed Alcaraz, a 22-year-old from Spain, to take away the No. 1 ranking from Sinner, a 24-year-old from Italy.
These two guys are so, so much better than the rest of men’s tennis at the moment.
They have combined to collect the past eight Slam trophies in a row, and 10 of 13. Novak Djokovic, whom Alcaraz eliminated in Friday’s semifinals, took the other three in that span.
Sunday’s showdown represented the first time in tennis history that the same two men played each other in three consecutive Slam finals within a single season.
This hard-court matchup followed after erasing a trio of match points on the French Open’s red clay in June, and in July.
Both Sinner, who had won his past 27 hard-court matches at majors, and Alcaraz offered glimpses of why they are so good, although it was rare that both were at their best simultaneously on this occasion.
Alcaraz was elite in the first, third and fourth sets, Sinner’s top efforts arrived in the second.
In sum, Alcaraz was better and for longer, ending up with twice as many winners, 42-21.
Since the start of the 2024 U.S. Open, Sinner had won 33 of 34 matches at the majors and Sunday was his fifth straight final at those events. The loss? To Alcaraz at Roland-Garros.
Indeed, over the last two seasons, Sinner is now 1-7 against Alcaraz and 109-4 against everyone else.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, has won 37 of 38 contests since May. The loss? To Sinner at the All England Club — also .
In 2025, Alcaraz now has more tournament titles (a tour-leading seven) than losses (his record is 61-6, also the best in men’s tennis).
During his defeat in Wimbledon’s final, Alcaraz was caught by a camera telling his team about Sinner in Spanish: “From the back of the court, he’s much better than me.â€
So perhaps that’s why Alcaraz was aggressive Sunday with his sledgehammer of a forehand — and on-target, too. Whenever even the smallest opening presented itself, Alcaraz tried to barge on through with that shot, going big early in points, which worked, either for an outright winner or forcing mistakes from Sinner.
Sinner had dropped a total of just one service game in his three matches leading into the final, but he did deal with an abdominal muscle issue in his semifinal Friday. Sinner and his coach said it was nothing serious, which might be right, but Alcaraz broke right away Sunday and five times in all.
To counteract the forehand effectiveness, Sinner made a tactical switch, going increasingly after Alcaraz’s backhand when possible. That both limited Alcaraz’s opportunities to strike a point-ending forehand and drew additional mistakes off the other wing.
Paid off for Sinner. Briefly.
In the first set and third, Alcaraz’s ratios were 11 winners to two unforced errors. Truly remarkable. In the second, those numbers swung the other way: five winners, 11 unforced errors.
An hour and 20 minutes in, it was a set apiece, after Alcaraz ceded one for the first time all tournament, allowing Neale Fraser to retain his distinction as the most recent man to win every set he played at the event — all the way back in 1960.
As Sinner worked his way into things, he would celebrate just about every point he gathered by looking at the corner of the stands where his two coaches and others, including Olympic champion ski racer Lindsey Vonn, were seated and pumped his right fist.
Ah, but it was Alcaraz who seemed to have more of the ticket-buyers on his side.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: . More AP tennis:
