ATP Tour
Jannik Sinner has set a blockbuster winner-takes-all US Open final with Carlos Alcaraz after a gritty 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Felix Auger-Aliassime Friday night at Flushing Meadows, where he captured his 300th career match win.
Both World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings - which Sinner has held for 65 consecutive weeks - and the last title of the 2025 Grand Slam season will be on the line when the world’s Top 2 players meet Sunday from 2 p.m. EDT/8 p.m. CEST. It will be the first time in the Open Era that two players have contested three major finals in the same season.
In a match even closer than the scoreboard suggested, Sinner had to dig deeper than at any stage in the tournament, fighting off nine of 10 break points against the 25-year-old Canadian, who refused to be bullied from the backcourt, matching the Italian's power with a defiant and aggressive gameplan, that included 31 net approaches.
“[It’s been an] amazing season, obviously,” said Sinner, who is the fourth man in the Open Era to reach the final of all four majors in the one season. “Grand Slams are the most important tournaments we have throughout the year, and finding myself again in another final this year, especially the last one of the season, with an amazing crowd, doesn't matter when you play. It doesn't get any better.
“Me and Felix, we played the last tournament [Cincinnati, where Sinner lost just two games] and he is a completely different player. He was serving much better, hitting every shot much better. So it was a very tough match today, but obviously I’m very, very happy.”
Auger-Aliassime levelled the semi-final after dropping just one point on serve during an inspired second set, after which Sinner, who had earlier shown signs of abdominal discomfort, left Arthur Ashe Stadium for treatment. Despite serving at reduced speed in the third set, Sinner played some of his cleanest tennis of the match, making just four unforced errors to his opponent's 10.
The free-swinging Auger-Aliassme imposed himself from the baseline early in the fourth set and also found success at net, earning five break points across the Italian's first two service games after a series of entertaining rallies. But after Sinner survived an 11-minute game to hold for 2-all, the 24-year-old claimed the decisive break in the next game and rode his big-match temperament to the finish line.
Sunday’s final between Sinner and Alcaraz will be a déjà vu moment for the 22-year-old Spaniard, who faced similar stakes against Casper Ruud in the 2022 US Open decider, which brought Alcaraz his first major title and marked his debut as World No. 1.
The final also ensures a Grand Slam shutout for the second consecutive season, with an eighth consecutive major title guaranteed to finish in the hands of either the Italian or Spaniard.
Sinner set a fifth consecutive final meeting with Alcaraz in events in which they have both been in the draw. Alcaraz has won three of those finals (Rome, Roland Garros, Cincinnati, when Sinner retired ill); Sinner triumphed in the Wimbledon final, denying the 22-year-old a third consecutive title on the hallowed lawns.
Alcaraz leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry 9-5 and has won their past three meetings on hard courts.
The final will also have big implications in the battle to claim ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours. Should Alcaraz win the final and pad his current 1890-point lead in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin by a further 700 points, Sinner will face an uphill battle to finish back-to-back years at No. 1.
After reaching the US Open semi-finals for the second time, Auger-Aliassime has surged 14 places to No. 13 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, his highest mark since August 2023. He is 34-18 on the season according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss index
Looking ahead to his fifth meeting of the year with Alcaraz, Sinner said that was confident he would be fully fit and that he relished another meeting with his great rival.
“It’s nothing too bad,” he said of the issue that required treatment during the match. “I served after always a little bit faster again, so no, it's nothing serious.
“I feel like our rivalry has started here really, playing an amazing match. We are two different players now, different confidence, too. So let's see what's coming. We've played quite a lot this year, so we know each other very well.”
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