‘Our rivalry started here’ – Alcaraz and Sinner set for Grand Slam trilogy in New York

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz were already recognized as the rivalries that would create the post-“Big Three” landscape before either player ever won a major title.

The first time ever that the US Open had an electric night was a sign of why.

After Alcaraz edged a five-set thriller in the quarter-finals that came close to 3am local time, the tournament tweeted, “If this match is the future of men’s tennis, we are in for a great era ahead.”

Sin-caraz was born.

The pair’s third successive Grand Slam showpiece return to Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday to take on the winner of this year’s US Open final.

Italian world number one Sinner, “I feel like our rivalry started here playing an amazing match.”

“We are now two different players with different levels of confidence.” See what’s coming, then.

In 2025, the embryonic potential of 2022 is realized.

Sinner, 24, and Alcaraz, 22, will win the fourth Grand Slam for the second time in a row when they square off in another final.

After suffering a devastating French Open defeat by Alcaraz, Sinner recovered by claiming the title of his Spanish rival at Wimbledon this year as Sinner defends his Australian Open title.

The pair will make it three Grand Slam finals in one season to compete in New York as men’s players in the Open era.

Sinner coach Darren Cahill stated to ESPN, “The matches they have played have been such high levels.”

Sinner has won 110 of his 120 matches (92%) and 10 titles on the ATP Tour in the past two seasons.

Even though he missed three months of this year due to a doping scandal, Sinner still has a chance of being eliminated from the top of the rankings, but a defeat on Sunday will place him in Alcaraz’ place.

His recent dominance has been emphasized by his comfortable victories over the US Open in the past few weeks.

In his 20 sets, Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime have each lost just two sets, with seven of them going 6-1.

His fitness is the only thing that remains to be seen. Sinner, who was forced to miss the semi-final of Cincinnati against Alcaraz due to illness, had a stomach bug during Friday’s semi-final, but he has since played it down.

His matches are physically very demanding, Alcaraz said.

The biggest improvement he has seen in recent years is that he can play at his full potential in two, three, or four hours.

Sinner can produce mechanical consistency thanks to his supreme technical ability, but his mentality also allows for this.

The mountain man from Italy doesn’t either rarely seem to be distracted by the court.

Sinner avoided being accused of doping in public as the discussion erupted, but he recovered quickly from the brutal French Open defeat suffered by Alcaraz.

After suffering a blow to many, Sinner bounced back at Wimbledon less than a month later.

Cahill told BBC Sport at Wimbledon, “We keep talking about the fact that he really gets into the mindset.”

The gap between the standout pair and the rest is significant, despite the slightest difference between the two during the years of 2024 and 2025.

Alcaraz has won 114 of his 133 matches (86%) and 10 titles overall.

The five-time major champion, however, has won six of their past seven meetings and a 9-5 advantage over them in their head-to-head record after Cincinnati.

Alcaraz did lose at Wimbledon, where Sinner’s subpar serve earned him the win.

Since then, Alcaraz has been a major target, and the work has paid off.

Alcaraz is currently in the top half of the leaderboard in service games won, just twice dropping serve in his six US Open matches.

Although he serves much better with a faster pace, Sinner said, “I think his percentage is always very high.”

Alcaraz’s natural talent is more prevalent than Sinner’s, as evidenced by his fluid movement and timing behind his artistic shot-making.

However, Alcaraz can lower more frequently, as we saw in the Wimbledon final.

It was also evident in Novak Djokovic’s, 37, humbling Australian Open quarter-final defeat, who had a hamstring injury but managed to outwit Alcaraz with his wily skills.

Alcaraz’s ability to get past Djokovic in straight sets in Friday’s semi-finals showed how mature he is now.

Alcaraz said, “I’m just getting to know myself much better and what I need off the court.”