New York, Sep 8: Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner, the game’s premier hard-court player, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, to claim his sixth major title and second at the US Open.

The 22-year-old Alcaraz hit all the high notes and kept his rival at bay across the pair’s 15th career meeting and third consecutive Grand Slam final, locking up his triumph in two hours, 42 minutes.

Alcaraz and Sinner have dominated the majors since the start of 2024, winning each of the last eight, but it is the Spaniard who has taken hold of his iconic rivalry with Sinner, snagging seven of the pair’s last eight meetings, five of their last six finals, and two of the three major finals they contested in 2025.

US Open triumph makes Alcaraz the second youngest male player in history to claim six major titles, and enables a triumphant return to the top of the ATP rankings. Alcaraz will begin his 37th week at No. 1 on Monday, returning to the top spot for the first time since September 2023.

Moreover, Alcaraz has become the fourth player in history to have won multiple major titles on all three surfaces (two on hard, two on clay and two on grass). He joins Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Mats Wilander on the list.

Sinner, who was on a 27-match winning streak at hard-court majors before Sunday, was bidding to become just the seventh man in the Open Era to win three Grand Slam singles titles in the same season.

By reaching the final in New York, the Australian Open and Wimbledon champion had already become the youngest man in the Open Era to play the final at all four majors in a season: Sinner also reached the final at Roland Garros, where he held three championship points before falling to Alcaraz in an all-time classic.

Alcaraz was crisp from the get-go, and as a result, Sinner’s troubles started early, the Italian facing his first break point just four minutes into the final.

Four more minutes—and a few jaw-dropping slingshot forehands later—and Alcaraz had already drawn first blood, taking the 1-0 advantage just nine minutes in.

Firing on all cylinders, Alcaraz engineered another break for 5-2 and served out the opening set in a tidy 37 minutes, US Open reports.

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Not to be outdone, Sinner clicked back into focus to start the second set and took the play to Alcaraz, registering the critical break for 3-1 with a forehand that sailed past Alcaraz for a clean winner. The break held up, as Sinner reeled off five consecutive holds to become the first man to take a set from Alcaraz at this year’s Open.

Sinner was powerless to stop his opponent in the third set, when the Spaniard raced into a 5-0 lead and finished it off having remarkably outhit his opponent by 11 winners to one.

Sinner's struggles to hold serve continued into the fourth set, and the Italian was forced to fend off two break points in the opening game. The pressure ultimately told in the fifth game, however, when Alcaraz broke serve for 3-2 and a lead that he never relinquished.

(IANS)

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