Carlos Alcaraz is the US Open 2025 champion
Alcaraz beat defending champion Jannik Sinner 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4 in final
Alcaraz wrapped up victory in two hours and 44 minutes
Carlos Alcaraz produced a superb display to dethrone Jannik Sinner at the US Open, beating his great rival 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4 in Sunday's final.
Alcaraz and Sinner were meeting in a third consecutive grand slam final after the former won a five-set triumph at Roland-Garros and the latter earned revenge at Wimbledon.
And but for a brief blip in the second set, Alcaraz was close to unplayable as he wrapped up victory in two hours and 44 minutes, clinching his sixth grand slam title.
Alcaraz started as he meant to go on, breaking in the very first game following an ill-advised backhand slice from Sinner. The Spaniard did so in front of thousands of empty seats at Arthur Ashe Stadium, with many fans yet to take their seats even after the start time was pushed back by 30 minutes due to additional security measures.
Dominating baseline exchanges with a series of cross-court forehands, Alcaraz got a double break in game seven to leave Sinner looking flustered, though the Italian responded in set two.
A more aggressive approach from Sinner was rewarded with a break to love in game four, sealed by a lovely passing shot up the line, and that proved enough to get him back to 1-1.
But that was only a temporary setback for Alcaraz, who took the third set emphatically as errors crept into Sinner's game, with the Italian guilty of overcooking several deep forehands.
Sinner saved two break points in the first game of set four, with Alcaraz refusing to let up in his pressure, and the final break of the match came when Sinner double-faulted and struck a forehand long to go down 2-3.
Alcaraz was determined to wrap up his victory in style, and after Sinner saved two championship points – the second with an excellent backhand return – he served a wonderful ace to the outside of his opponent.
Alcaraz the all-rounder
Alcaraz's triumph was his second at Flushing Meadows, the scene of his first major title in 2022.
Since the US Open switched to hard courts back in 1978, Alcaraz is the first player to win multiple grand slam finals on all three surfaces before turning 23 years old, having also won Wimbledon in 2023 and 2024, and the French Open in 2024 and 2025.
At the age of 22 years and 125 days, Alcaraz is also the second-youngest man to collect six major titles, with only Bjorn Borg (22 years, 19 days) doing so at a younger age.
Alcaraz's latest victory will see him overtake Sinner at the top of the ATP World Rankings, but having won both Roland-Garros and the US Open finals against Sinner as the second seed, he is just the second player to defeat the ATP number one in multiple major finals in a single season, after Rafael Nadal did so against Roger Federer in 2008.
Just as impressive as Alcaraz's triumph was the manner in which he accomplished it. He only dropped one set en route to the title, mirroring the achievement of his idol Nadal in 2010.
Alcaraz was untouchable on serve in the latter stages of Sunday's final, which he finished with an 83% success rate on first-serve points, compared to 69% for Sinner.
He only dropped three games on serve throughout the tournament (won 98 of 101) becoming just the second player to win a grand slam while doing so.
Pete Sampras previously accomplished the feat on two occasions, at Wimbledon in both 1994 (103 of 106) and 1997 (116 of 118).
Sinner powerless to resist
One had to feel for Sinner at times on Sunday, with some sensational shots from Alcaraz leaving the world number one unable to respond.
Sinner has now lost 10 of his 15 head-to-head meetings with Alcaraz at ATP level, having also lost via retirement when the rivals met in the Cincinnati Open final last month.
In fact, Sinner has lost seven of his last eight meetings with Alcaraz since the start of 2024, having won the previous two. His only victory in that span came in the Wimbledon final in July.
Each of Sinner's last five losses to his rival have now come in finals (Beijing 2024, ATP Masters Rome 2024, Roland-Garros 2025, Cincinnati 2025 and US Open 2025).
Sinner might feel he could have been more aggressive throughout Sunday's showpiece, having struck 20 fewer winners than Alcaraz (21 to 41). The 24-year-old also committed 28 unforced errors to his opponent's 24, while only generating one break point.
He will almost certainly get a chance for revenge, however, as tennis' new 'Big Two' looks to be here to stay.
The last eight grand slam titles have been shared between Sinner and Alcaraz, with the duo becoming just the second pair to share every major title in men's singles through successive years, after Nadal and Federer in 2006 and 2007.
