Whenever Carlos Alcaraz was asked about clinching the world No. 1 spot from Jannik Sinner, he would shrug the thought off. On Sunday, though, he completed what he started at the beginning of the season. From the get-go, the Spaniard troubled Sinner with his crisp returns. Sinner had his first break point four minutes into the match, and, as was eventually evident, it was just the beginning.

However, the Italian re-focused to give Alcaraz his first losing set of the event as he took the second set. But Alcaraz kicked in his magic and rode the energy from a roaring Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd to sweep the title with 2-6, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6 in two hours and 42 minutes. As the 2022 US Open champion stood at the stage to return to his throne, he turned his game-mode off to bring smile on everyone’s faces.

In their third consecutive slam final face-off of the year, Carlos couldn’t let his rival go without bringing up these frequent meetings to the forefront. “Really, I just have to start with Jannik. It’s unbelievable what you’re doing during the whole season. Great level through every tournament you’re playing. I’m seeing you more than my family, so it’s great to share the court, share the locker room, share everything with you.

“Watching you improve every day, working really hard with your team, really great people around. So, just congratulations for everything you’re doing and great performance today and during the whole week.” His words even brought a smile to Sinner in defeat.

The two have met 15 times in their careers but this was their fifth meeting of the year. Alcaraz leads the H2H 4-1 this year and 10-5 overall. One of those wins came after Sinner had to drop out of the Cincinnatti Open early due to health concerns. With this win, Alcaraz clinched his sixth major overall and second US Open title. He also reclaimed the World No. 1 spot, ending Jannik Sinner’s 65-week reign atop ATP rankings and his 27-match win streak on hard-courts. Alcaraz last had the top ranking in September 2023.

He has also become the first player since the US Open switched to hard courts in 1978 to win multiple Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces before turning 23.

He was asked about his thoughts on reclaiming the No.1 spot a few times over the fortnight. The Spaniard was insistent that he tried not to think about it and let the pressure take over. Looks like he found a way around it!

But their rivalry is certainly something special. The two players have mentioned they aren’t close friends off the court, but they are always respectful towards each other. Often they describe their dynamic as something that drives them to their best. The witty banter is part of their charm, as Jim Courier coined, the ‘New Two’! Even Sinner’s coach agrees.

Jannik Sinner’s coach speaks on the rivalry

Seeing Sinner and Alcaraz push each other to their limits has raised conversations of the new duo to watch out for after the sport was just stepping out of its golden era. But while the two believe they are friendly off the court, Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill discussed what their relationship is truly like.

Speaking on FanDuel Sports Network, coach weighed in, “Carlos is a phenom. He’s a great guy. Off the court, he’s always smiling. What you see on the court is what you see off the court. Jannik and him, look, I wouldn’t say they’re best friends. But they are very friendly. There is a great friendly rivalry between the two players, which I think is healthy, and they are pushing each other. We’re practicing on the same court right next to each other, even today.”

Darren has been with Sinner since 2023 and has helped the Italian to all his GS wins. He’s seen him grow alongside Alcaraz. As he added, “And us as coaches can’t help but wander across to look at what they’re working on and see what Juan Carlos Ferreira was doing with Carlos’ game, and they’re exactly the same. I saw Ferreira looking across to our court to see what Jannik was doing as well. So I think the rivalry is really healthy and certainly great for tennis, considering we’ve just come off the golden era with Novak, Roger, Rafa, and also Andy Murray. So it’s great for tennis.”

The rivalry burst onto the scene at the Paris Masters in October 2021. After the then-18-year-old Alcaraz beat 20-year-old Sinner, the Italian said, “I hope we play a couple more times.” Alcaraz didn’t hesitate: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.” Fast forward to now, they’ve clashed 15 times on tour, with Alcaraz edging ahead 10-5.

Their head-to-head battles have been intense: three Grand Slam finals in 2025 alone (French Open, Wimbledon, US Open). Carlos put it perfectly, “I’m really happy to be able to build a really good relationship off the court but then a good rivalry on the court. It makes me improve every day, so thank you very much and congratulations.”

Sinner agrees, “I feel like it’s always great when we meet. We try to push ourselves and each other to the limits. He for me is a reference point of where I work.”

Their fierce rivalry now defines the season’s final slam. Alcaraz holds the World No.1, with Sinner close behind. The two are the only Slam champs this year on tour, with Sinner winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and Alcaraz taking Roland Garros and the US Open. Who knows what they’ll bring to the next season!