Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will be squaring off for the 15th time in their careers and in a third straight Grand Slam final when they battle for the U.S. Open title on Sunday afternoon.
Alcaraz leads the head-to-head series 9-5, although you can discount their most recent meeting at the Cincinnati Masters (Sinner retired due to illness after just five games). They have squared off once at Flushing Meadows, where Alcaraz won an instant classic 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3 in the 2022 quarterfinals. Their first two slam finals were split; Alcaraz won an epic five-setter at the French Open before Sinner lifted the Wimbledon trophy via a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 at decision.
Alcaraz’s 2022 New York win over Sinner propelled him to his first of what are now five major titles. He is in position for a sixth following victories over Reilly Opelka, Mattia Bellucci, Luciano Darderi, Arthur Rinderknech, Jiri Lehecka, and Novak Djokovic–all in straight sets. The second-ranked Spaniard is an awesome 45-2 in his last 47 matches dating back to the start of the clay-court swing.
“This is the best level or the best feeling that I have so far in a tennis tournament [this] year,” Alcaraz commented. “So I will try to continue like that.”
Unfortunately for the 22-year-old, Sinner has been every bit as good. The top-ranked Italian dropped a set to both Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime, but he was otherwise dominant en route to the championship round. Sinner is now one win away from a fourth consecutive hard-court Grand Slam triumph.
Back to the head-to-head matchup…. Sinner has had the upper hand of late. He should have won at Roland Garros (had triple-championship point in the fourth set) and he mostly cruised without too much trouble at Wimbledon following a slow start.
On a hard court, Sinner should have the edge. But he may have to get it done before it goes five, because it’s hard to bet against Alcaraz in a fifth set.
Pick: Sinner in 4
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.