There is a lot at stake when No. 1 Jannik Sinner meets No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the U.S. Open men’s final on Sunday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.Sinner, a 24-year-old from Italy, is trying to become the first repeat men’s champion at Flushing Meadows since Roger Federer won five championships in a row there from 2004 through 2008.He’s also bidding for his third Grand Slam title of the season, after the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and fifth of his career.Alcaraz, a 22-year-old from Spain, is seeking his sixth major trophy overall and second of 2025, after the French Open. His first Slam title came in New York in 2022 as a teenager.
Sunday’s showdown represents the first time in tennis history that the same two men played each other in three consecutive Grand Slam finals within a single season. According to Opta, Sinner is the fourth player in the Open Era to reach the Men’s Singles final at 5+ consecutive Major events after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – Sinner is the youngest of the four to achieve the feat.
With Djokovic losing to Alcaraz, the 2025 US Open final is also now the first season where one of the Serbian superstar, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer have not reached a Men’s Singles final at a Grand Slam event since 2002.
Sinner and Alcaraz have met 14 timess so far in their careers but it wasn’t before 2025 that they went toe-to-toe in a Major final… and now they have made it a sensational hat-trick. Their only previous meeting at US Open came in 2022, the first time the world of tennis truly got a taste of what is to come in their rivalry. Alcaraz won 6-3 6-7(7) 6-7(0) 7-5 6-3 against Sinner in the quarterfinal, in one of the modern-day great matches.
This hard-court matchup follows Alcaraz’s victory over Sinner erasing a trio of match points on the French Open’s red clay in June, and Sinner’s victory over Alcaraz on Wimbledon’s grass in July. So this is a tiebreaker of sorts. Plus, the winner will be at No. 1 in the rankings on Monday. Sunday’s match is Sinner’s fifth final in a row at the biggest events in tennis, a run that began with his title at the U.S. Open a year ago. Since the start of that tournament, he has won 33 of 34 matches at the majors. The loss? To Alcaraz at Roland-Garros.
Here’s a look at the past meetings between the current superstars of the men’s game:
2025, ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (Outdoor Hard)
Final: Carlos Alcaraz 5-0 Jannik Sinner (Ret’d)
2025, Wimbledon (Outdoor Grass)
Final: Jannik Sinner 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 Carlos Alcaraz
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2025, Roland Garros (Outdoor Clay)
Final: Carlos Alcaraz 4-6 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(2) Jannik Sinner
2025, ATP Masters 1000 Rome (Outdoor Clay)
Final: Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(5) 6-1 Jannik Sinner
2024, Beijing (Outdoor Hard)
Final: Carlos Alcaraz 6-7(6) 6-4 7-6(3) Jannik Sinner
2024, Roland Garros (Outdoor Clay)
Semifinal: Carlos Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3 Jannik Sinner
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2024, ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (Outdoor Hard)
Semifinal: Carlos Alcaraz 1-6 6-3 6-2 Jannik Sinner
2023, Beijing (Outdoor Hard)
Semifinal: Jannik Sinner 7-6(4) 6-1 Carlos Alcaraz
2023, ATP Masters 1000 Miami (Outdoor Hard)
Semifinal: Jannik Sinner 6-7(4) 6-4 6-2 Carlos Alcaraz
2023, ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (Outdoor Hard)
Semifinal: Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(4) 6-3 Jannik Sinner
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2022, US Open (Outdoor Hard)
Quarterfinal: Carlos Alcaraz 6-3 6-7(7) 6-7(0) 7-5 6-3 Jannik Sinner
2022, Umag (Outdoor Clay)
Final: Jannik Sinner 6-7(5) 6-1 6-1 Carlos Alcaraz
2022, Wimbledon (Outdoor Grass)
Round of 16: Jannik Sinner 6-1 6-4 6-7(8) 6-3 Carlos Alcaraz
2021, ATP Masters 1000 Paris (Indoor Hard)
Round of 32: Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(1) 7-5 Jannik Sinner
(WIth AP and ATP inputs)
