‘Perfect’ Carlos Alcaraz defeats ‘predictable’ Jannik Sinner to win second US Open title - live

As the cameras started to pan away and the trophy ceremony wound down, Carlos Alcaraz received a tap on the shoulder. He turned around to find Jannik Sinner, who had climbed the steps up to the stage to offer the new US Open champion and World No 1 his congratulations one last time.

There is a deep sense of respect between the young men who have now equally split the last eight grand slam titles between them. But, as in all great rivalries, there is also a healthy dose of obsession to their patterns and behaviours when it comes to looking to beat the other.

Immediately after losing the Wimbledon final to Sinner, Alcaraz turned his focus to getting his own back in New York. The 22-year-old sat down with his coach, the former World No 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, and pored over the two most recent matches against Sinner at Wimbledon and Roland Garros.

Jannik Sinner’s remarkable winning run in hard-court grand slam matches is over. The Italian had claimed victory in 27 consecutive matches across the Australian and US Opens before Carlos Alcaraz dethroned him in a crushing win at Flushing Meadows.

Alcaraz, who claimed the US Open title with a 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4 win, explained how defeat to Sinner in the Wimbledon final had triggered a reshaping of his training regime and a performance of fiery serves and excellent stroke play ensured he came out on top.

Former World No 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is the coach of Carlos Alcaraz, says the 22-year-old has been more “mature” during the US Open, leading to his most-complete grand slam performance and sixth major title.

“I think he's growing up. It's the way, you know, you turn more years, it's the way of life, natural things that it comes,” Ferrero said.

“I think we are very clear what he has to improve on court and off the court, and I think he's more mature to believe that that's these kind of things he can improve much better for the future.

“Carlos has maybe more variety on his game, and he can do more, like, slice, go to the net, and do more things than maybe Jannik, but I think it helps a lot to change a little bit the way of the games. I would say that the match was perfect for Carlos and the performance was unbelievable.”

Aces: Sinner, 2 | Alcaraz, 10

Double Faults: Sinner, 4 | Alcaraz, 0

First Serve % In: Sinner, 54/112 (48%) | Alcaraz, 54/89 (61%)

Win % on 1st Serve: Sinner, 37/54 (69%) | Alcaraz, 45/54 (83%)

Win % on 2nd Serve: Sinner, 28/58 (48%) | Alcaraz, 20/35 (57%)

Net points won: Sinner, 19/26 (73%) | Alcaraz, 20/27 (74%)

Break Points Won: Sinner, 1/1 (100%) | Alcaraz, 5/11 (45%)

Receiving Points Won: Sinner, 24/89 (27%) | Alcaraz, 47/112 (42%)

Winners: Sinner, 21 | Alcaraz, 42

Unforced Errors: Sinner, 28 | Alcaraz, 24

Total Points Won: Sinner, 89 | Alcaraz, 112

Jannik Sinner reflects on now being in the position of chasing Carlos Alcaraz after having led the world rankings for the past year.

“I'm going to change a couple of things on the serve, just small things, but you know, they can make big differences. Then we see how it goes. I'm looking forward to play again these matches.

“Something new is now I'm not No. 1 anymore, so you know, it also changes a little bit that you chase. It's different. Then we see.”

Roger Federer’s record of being the last man to defend the US Open title is safe for another year.

Federer won five in a row between 2004 and 2008 - and there has not been a repeat winner since.

Carlos Alcaraz also snaps Jannik Sinner’s winning run at the hard-court grand slams, after winning two Australian Opens, last year’s US Open, and then returning to this year’s US Open final, Jannik Sinner has won 27 matches in a row on hard-courts at grand slam level.

Federer remains at the top, after reaching 40 wins in a row between 2005 and 2008.

Carlos Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, revealed how they studied past matches against Jannik Sinner following the defeat and Wimbledon and trained with purpose of beating the Italian at the US Open.

“Let's say we watch little bit the matches, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. We try to see the little things that we can improve to play against Jannik,” Ferrero said.

“I think it was very important, because we maybe practiced for 15 days, like, very focused on the details that we have to improve to play against Jannik.

“We know that in this kind of surface, on hard courts, Jannik is always very difficult to play and winning a lot of matches.

“I think it helps a lot, because [Carlos] realised what he has to improve a lot, and I was very focused on it.”

Jannik Sinner had held the World No 1 ranking since reaching the top spot in June 2024, holding the position for 65 consecutive weeks, and including the three months he was sidelined for serving a doping ban.

But with his victory at the US Open, Carlos Alcaraz is back at World No 1. The Spaniard returns to the top for the first time since September 2023.

The first time he turned World No 1, Alcaraz also won the US Open, having beaten Casper Ruud to win his first grand slam title in 2022.

d. Reilly Opelka 6-4 7-5 6-4

d. Mattia Bellucci 6-1 6-0 6-3

d. [32] Luciano Darderi 6-2 6-4 6-0

d. Arthur Rinderknech 7-6(3) 6-3 6-4

QF d. [20] Jiri Lehecka 6-4 6-2 6-4

SF d. [7] Novak Djokovic 6-4 7-6(4) 6-2

F d. [1] Jannik Sinner 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4

Time on court: 14 hours, 39 minutes

Sets won: 21-1

Carlos Alcaraz said he started thinking about how he could beat Jannik Sinner at the US Open straight after his Wimbledon final defeat.

“Right after the match I just thought that I need to improve some things if I want to beat him,” Alcaraz said.

But right after the match it felt like, okay, when I start practicing, I just wanted to practice this, this, this, and this.

“I just thought about the specific things I want to improve if I want to beat Jannik. So I just spent two weeks before Cincinnati just practicing specific some things about my game that I need or I felt like I need to improve if I want to beat Jannik.”