In the 90 minutes between Jannik Sinner’s defeat by Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open final and his post-match debrief, his mind had already shifted. Rather than dwelling on the pain of losing his US Open title and No 1 ranking, he was thinking about the future.
Sinner felt his game was too predictable, even one-dimensional, compared with Alcaraz, whose deep toolbox of shots left him uncomfortable and unable to find rhythm on the court. As a result of that discomfort, Sinner made a decision. The 24-year-old resolved to make significant changes to his game in pursuit of becoming a better, more complete tennis player and keeping up with his rival, even if he might suffer in the short term.
“I’m going to aim to maybe even lose some matches from now on, but trying to do some changes trying to be a bit more unpredictable,” Sinner said. “Because I think that’s what I have to do, trying to become a better player.”
It was a remarkable admission, particularly considering Sinner’s own dominance in recent years. Over the past 52 weeks, the Italian holds a 51-1 record against opponents not named Alcaraz and is 74-1 against everyone but Alcaraz on hard courts since November 2023. He has spent the past two years destroying opponents, compiling 65 consecutive weeks at No 1. However, Alcaraz has now won seven of their past eight meetings. Only one player has forced him to make those changes.
This is firstly a reflection of his Spanish opponent’s greatness, already one of the best players in the game’s history, whose career continues to move at a historic pace. His first grand slam title at the US Open established him as the first teenage ATP No 1 in history, and now with his second success in New York he is the second‑youngest man to win six majors. At 22, he is also the fourth man to win multiple major titles on all three surfaces. He still has so much room for improvement.
Unlike most of his other triumphs, there were no rollercoaster battles against lesser opponents or seemingly impossible comebacks against his toughest adversaries. He simply performed at a supreme level throughout the tournament, dropping his only set of the fortnight to Sinner. He was sublime in the final, letting rip with his forehand, which dictated the baseline exchanges throughout.
His peerless defensive abilities made the court feel so small for Sinner and, as the losing finalist admitted, his variety of shot just makes the Italian uncomfortable. “I feel I can do everything on court, to be honest: slices, drop shots, topspin, flat,” Alcaraz said.
One of the most significant factors in his success was his serve. For a long time, Alcaraz’s serve was the one ordinary part of his game. It was imprecise and inconsistent, particularly on important points, making it vulnerable against the best players. Alcaraz won his first US Open in spite of his serve, conceding 24 service games throughout the tournament. This time, he lost his serve just three times. Since 1991, only Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 1997 has conceded fewer service games en route to a major title. It provided him with a platform for the rest of his game to flow and is a terrifying development for future opponents.
Sinner’s response to his defeat also showed why these two players will continue to tower over the rest of the tour for years to come. Although he did not feel he needed to make such significant changes to his playing style, Alcaraz’s reaction to losing against the Italian at Wimbledon was similar.
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As soon as he left Centre Court, Alcaraz was also thinking about the improvements he needed to make in order to be better prepared for his next meeting with Sinner. “I spent two weeks before Cincinnati just practising some specific things about my game that I felt like I need to improve if I want to beat Jannik,” Alcaraz said.
This dynamic between them, the determination to outperform their rival, will also help them to stay ahead of everyone else. As was the case with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic before them, their increasingly frequent battles will mould them into better players as long as they are both at the top of the game. There is no room for complacency.
Although they had already split the previous five grand slams between them, ahead of the French Open, Alcaraz and Sinner had never faced each other in a major final. They have now become the first men in history to contest three major finals in a calendar year. By New York, the prospect of a final between them felt inevitable, as if nothing but a freak injury or occurrence could stop it.
Many things can happen in the future, but as things stand the gap is widening and for the rest of the players hoping to one day lift the biggest trophies in the sport, life is only becoming more complicated.
