By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, August 26, 2025
Picture credit score: Clive Brunskill/Getty
NEW YORK—The primary Flushing Meadows conflict between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz was a historic evening flight to morning.
Alcaraz out-dueled Sinner 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3 in an epic 2022 US Open quarterfinal in a match that started on a Wednesday evening and climaxed at 2:50 a.m. on Thursday morning.
The pair carried a raucous evening crowd—and followers everywhere in the world—on a wild experience that spanned 5 hours, quarter-hour and was the second-longest US Open match in historical past.
Immediately, a ruthless Sinner shredded Czech Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 launching his US Open title protection with pure domination.
Sinner arrange an intriguing second-rounder vs. proficient Aussie Alexei Popyrin, who received the 2024 Canadian Open then surprised Novak Djokovic on the US Open weeks later.
“I really feel in a good condition bodily. Has been some good follow days, particularly final couple,” Sinner mentioned afterward. “Yeah, I really feel bodily in a great place.
“Additionally good first-round match, so I’m very pleased. Let’s see what’s coming.”
Many within the tennis world hope what’s approaching September seventh is a showdown between No. 1 Sinner and No. 2 Alcaraz within the US Open remaining in what could be the second straight Sincaraz main remaining.
That conflict would conjure vivid recollections of their 2022 marathon that propelled Alcaraz to the US Open remaining the place he defeated Casper Ruud to safe the No. 1 rating.
So how has the Sinner-Alcaraz advanced since their maiden Flushing Meadows assembly?
Reflecting on that match, Sinner mentioned each have been extra hitters than the polished gamers they’ve each turn out to be within the three years since.
“We have been attending to know one another clearly and in numerous methods, however we additionally didn’t know precisely what to anticipate sooner or later,” Sinner mentioned of Alcaraz. “It’s the identical now. You don’t know what’s occurring, now with us now on.
“I really feel like once we have been very, very younger, it was, you recognize, like a sort of match the place you simply go on courtroom and simply hit, you recognize.”
Depth is the distinction within the rivalry now, Sinner mentioned. Each males have developed extra choices subsequently it’s extra of a tactical check than a matter of attempting to beat the opponent to the punch from the baseline.
Alcaraz, who held a 5-0 lead on this month’s Cincinnati remaining when Sinner retired on account of sickness, has posted a 40-2 run since April.
The second-seeded Spaniard snapped Sinner’s 26-match hard-court profitable streak in Cincinnati, whereas extending his ATP Masters 1000 profitable streak to 17 matches. Alcaraz holds a 9-5 profession edge over Sinner although Sinner received their final main match within the Wimbledon remaining.
The world’s Prime 2 have squared off 10 occasions since that US Open quarterfinal with their matches now turning into like bodily chess—every man tries to anticipate the others transfer prematurely for a vital counter-attack.
“Now I really feel like we now have to organize tactically, we now have to organize it additionally emotionally and mentally,” Sinner mentioned. “It’s every thing totally different, as a result of, you recognize, up to now three years, we confronted one another many occasions, and each match we play it’s totally different, if we watch the tactical aspect.
“So we make changes. However for positive it was an vital match to see additionally that our peak could be very fascinating to see additionally from the skin. It was for positive one of many key matches, even when we have been very younger.”
