Carlos Alcaraz used his powerful serve and superior on-court quickness to get the best of his rival Jannik Sinner and take the U.S. Open title with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 triumph. It was the third consecutive Grand Slam final that featured the two superstars meeting in the championship round.
Alcaraz was the clear underdog on the hard-court surface, which was considered to be Sinner's best. However, Alcaraz was looking for revenge after getting beaten in the Wimbledon finals in July.
The victory was the 22-year-old Spaniard's sixth Grand Slam triumph, and his second in the U.S. Open. In addition to gaining revenge over his rival for the loss in London, the win in New York allowed Alcaraz to regain the No. 1 ranking in the world. Alcaraz has faced Sinner 15 times and he has a 10-5 record against the Italian superstar. When the two men have met in Grand Slam events, Alcaraz has a 6-4 advantage.
The two men appear to be great friends, and they paid respect to each other in the post-match interview. “I'm seeing you more than my family,” Alcaraz joked. “It's great to share the court, to share the locker rooms, everything.”
Sinner responded by saying that Alcaraz was simply the better player in this match. “You were better than me,” Sinner said. “I tried my best today. I couldn't do more.”
Going into this championship event, Sinner had won 33 of his last 34 Grand Slam matches. The only loss was to Alcaraz in this year's French Open. Similarly, Alcaraz has won 37 of his last 38 matches and his only loss was to Sinner.
None of the other players in men's tennis appear to be close to Alcaraz or Sinner.
Alcaraz alters his strategy in U.S. Open
When the two superstars met at Wimbledon, Alcaraz seemed content to hit from behind the base line throughout much of the match. Sinner's overall power seemed to get the best of Alcaraz in that match.
As a result, Alcaraz was far more aggressive in the U.S. Open final. Instead of staying behind the baseline, he was advancing forward whenever he could. Alcarazwas dictating the pace of the match and Sinner had to react to his forays.
Alcaraz was able to come up with early winners in points or force mistakes from his rival. That turned out to be the biggest difference in the championship match.
