Jannik Sinner created history for Italian tennis last season when he became the World No.1, at 22, clinching two slams in a single a year. Especially on the back of his phenomenal 73-6 singles record across events. He dethroned arch rival Carlos Alcaraz from the top spot who previously held the crown. It’s been more than 60 weeks that the Italian has managed to stay ahead of the competition on the list. However, it might not be the case anymore, come Sunday. Guess what? For the first time in a year, Alcaraz has now got the chance to reclaim his throne and push Sinner down. And he’s got the blueprint ready too.

Currently, Being in his third slam final of 2025, Carlos Alcaraz is looking like an unstoppable force at US Open. It became evident from his convincing, straight-set victory over 24-time slam king Novak Djokovic on Friday at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Spaniard has now made his intentions crystal clear ahead of his second summit clash in New York. Sinner has made it to the summit clash as well after besting Felix Auger Aliassime on Friday night. Before the Italian wrapped his match against the Canadian, however, Alcaraz was asked to express his strategy in case he meets Sinner.

Sharing his obvious plan, the five-time slam winner revealed, “If I play against Jannik, I am going to take things about the last matches that I have played against him. The last one or the last three matches, I am gonna take note. I will see what they did wrong or what I did great just to approach the final in a good way. Let’s see.”

For the uninitiated, Alcaraz and Sinner will meet in their third-straight slam final this season. Their initial encounter took place in Paris at the Roland Garros. In that 5-hour-29-minute marathon battle, the Spaniard pulled off one of the most iconic comebacks. Despite being three championship points down in the fourth set, Alcaraz pushed the result into a decider. In the fifth and final set, he eventually bested Sinner in a one-sided tiebreak contest.

However, Sinner made a statement win the next time they met during a slam final. At Wimbledon, the Italian dethroned Alcaraz to become the new king of grass. In the upcoming battle, the five-time slam winner will look for a revenge. On the other hand, Sinner will try to accomplish a rare US open milestone with WTA star Aryna Sabalenka.

Jannik Sinner looks to replicate 29-year-old record alongside quest to stay No.1

When it comes to defending one’s title in New York, it’s been not-so-common occurrence. Especially combining both the ATP and WTA pros. Precisely speaking, the US Open trophy has been won by the same man and woman in successive years only on three occasions. Jannik Sinner and WTA No.1 Aryna Sabalenka have got the chance to become the fourth pair to do so.

First time, it was done by Martina Navratilova and Ivan Lendl. They both won their respective singles titles at US Open in 1986 and then 1987. After them, Stefan Edberg and Monica Seles repeated this feat in 1991 and 1992 editions. The last time it happened was in 1996. Pete Sampras and Steffi Graf completed a title defense together after winning the trophy in 1995.

Most importantly, however, Sinner’s main focus will be to stay atop. Currently, he’s sitting on the No.1 spot with 11, 480 ranking points. On the other hand, Alcaraz is having 9,590 ranking points. Now here comes the catch. In the live rankings, the Spaniard has already moved ahead of Sinner, having 10,840 ranking points. In comparison, the Italian has been shrunk to 10,780 ranking points.

Simply put, if the result comes in favor of Alcaraz on Sunday at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, he can officially become No.1 again. The change will show up in the updated ATP rankings list on Monday. If Sinner wins, however, he will survive the acid test while keeping his position intact.

Don’t forget to follow our live US Open blog to stay updated with all the on-court action from New York.