Carlos Alcaraz reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking with victory over Jannik Sinner in the U.S. Open men’s final, earning his second title at Flushing Meadows on Sunday.

Sunday’s match marked the third straight Grand Slam final contested between the two rivals, highlighting their growing dominance in men’s tennis. The 22-year-old’s triumph extended his head-to-head record against Sinner to 10-5.

Alcaraz, from Spain, captured the opening set 6-2 by controlling the play from baseline strokes to deft volleys. Sinner responded to the skillful set with a second set win 6-3 with consistency and aggressive returns.

Momentum picked up sharply for Alcaraz in the third.

Alcaraz dazzled the New York crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium with several trick shots, regaining control with a 6-1 set win. He closed out the fourth set 6-4 after less than three hours of play.

Alcaraz entered the stadium ranked second behind Sinner and left with the No. 1 spot and $5 million, the largest single payout in Grand Slam history. With the win, Alcaraz became the youngest man since Björn Borg to win six major championships.

The victory placed Alcaraz in the rare company of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as one of four men to win multiple Grand Slam titles on hard, grass and clay courts.

After the match, Alcaraz thanked his opponent and joked, “I am seeing you more than my family!”

The match in the New York stadium drew high-profile attention, including attendance by President Donald Trump, who underscored the event’s visibility beyond tennis and caused a rumble of mixed reactions.

It had been over two decades since the last sitting president attended the U.S. Open; however, Trump has made it a point to visit high-profile sporting events in his presidency. In February, he attended the Super Bowl with similarly mixed reactions.

Sinner and Alcaraz’s head-to-head rivalry became a central storyline in the sport this year alone. Alcaraz defeated Sinner in the Australian Open final before losing to him at Wimbledon. The match on Sunday broke the tie and reinforced Alcaraz’s top position in men’s tennis.

His consistency across the board and quick thinking during sets continue to spark conversations about Alcaraz’s lasting impression in the sport, distinguishing him from most of his peers. At 22, he’s on his sixth Grand Slam win and has shown no signs of slowing the pace down.

The U.S. Open capped its season, defined by the rivalry between Sinner and Alcaraz, hinting at future matchups. As the Australian Open is set to open the 2026 calendar, both players are expected to remain central figures in the sport, sprinting for trophy wins.

When Jannik Sinner had put away chances in Sunday’s Wimbledon final, he finished the drill. He ensured any windows of opportunity for Carlos Alcaraz were slammed shut before they could mature into another Grand Slam meltdown.

Sinner recovered from losing the first set to the grass court 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to dethrone his nemesis on tour.

Sinner, the world No. 1, is the first Italian to win on the men’s side at Wimbledon and snapped Alcaraz’s 20-match streak in London dating back to 2023.

“End of the day, it doesn’t really matter if I won or lost [in Paris], it was just as important [after the] tournament to understand what you did wrong,” Sinner said after the match. “That’s exactly what we did. We tried to accept the loss and just keep working. I’m so grateful that I’m healthy and I have great people around me.”

Sinner’s primary weapons are his power, strength and speed – and he flexed the full repertoire against Alcaraz. His performance over the final three sets looked close to the level of play he reached previously to start the French Open final against the 22-year-old Spaniard, before that momentum wasted away late.

This time around, Sinner dropped the first set, and it looked – initially – like he was going to drop his sixth straight match to Alcaraz. That’s when multiple looks to his coaching box during the changeover led to what appeared to be a schematic changeup of sorts.

Sinner started approaching the net more to combat Alcaraz’s drops and forced ball placement the rest of the battle, running his opponent from corner to corner with a swift forehand. A more consistent serve helped, too.

One of the most mechanically sound players on tour, Sinner’s shots weren’t as crisp last time out against Alcaraz, but that changed on the worn grass at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Several times in the final set, Sinner pressed the issue and fired a couple of leaping backhand missiles toward an unguarded Alcaraz.

Unlike the last match, it was Alcaraz playing under pressure for the majority of three hours on court after Sinner won the second set and began to tighten his grip on the outcome. This was by design according to Sinner’s team, who revealed before the match they wanted to make Alcaraz play the entire court and disrupt patterns this time around.

Several fist pumps later, another break of serve in the fourth set, it was Sinner shaking the hands of The Princess of Wales to commemorate his first major on grass.

Carlos Alcaraz said he always believed that he would be able to come back as he rallied from two sets down and saved three match points to beat the No. 1 tennis player in the world, Jannik Sinner, 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) to win his second straight French Open title Sunday.

Alcaraz trailed 5-3, 0-40 on serve in the fourth set but recovered to win his fifth Grand Slam title after five hours, 29 minutes, the longest French Open men’s final in the Open era and the second-longest men’s Grand Slam final ever.

“The match is not finished until he wins the last point,” Alcaraz said in his post-match news conference. “A lot of times people came back from match point down in the final of a Grand Slam or even in other matches. I just wanted to be one of those players who saved match point in the Grand Slam final and ended up winning. … I just believed all the time. I never doubted myself, even in those match points down. I thought, just one point at a time. Just one point, and then after one point, try to save that game and keep believing. That’s what I thought.”

It’s the first time in nine attempts that Alcaraz has come from two sets down to win a match. He is also the eighth man in the Open era to successfully defend the Roland Garros title and is the first man to save match points and win a Grand Slam final since Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2019.

“I’m not going to say that I was believing that he was able to recover from that 5-3, love-40,” Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, said. “But one more time with Carlos, everything is possible, and he did it again. Amazing achieve[ment].”

Alcaraz is now 5-0 in Slam finals and extended his head-to-head advantage over Sinner to 8-4.

Carlos Alcaraz showed tremendous sportsmanship after his opponent, Lorenzo Musetti, was forced to retire with injury in the French Open semifinal.

Musetti, coming off two upsets of top-20 ranked players in the world, took the first set from Alcaraz. Alcaraz won the close second set and the third set 6-0 when Musetti appeared to suffer an injury. After going down 0-2 in the fourth set, Musetti motioned to the player’s box that he was done.

Instead of celebrating his victory, Alcaraz stood on the court and applauded his opponent, while encouraging the crowd to do the same.

“Stay strong Lorenzo! I hope you make a quick recovery,” Alcaraz said on X. “Nobody wants to win like that, but I’m very happy to be back in the final at Roland Garros!”

Musetti’s injury appeared to be to his thigh. His clear pain disrupted what was one of Musetti’s best tournament performances of his ATP career.

Alcaraz, the second-ranked player in the world, will go on to face the winner of the match between Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic.

Alcaraz is the defending champion of the French Open, and despite a shaky start in the semifinal, he will go on to defend his title.

The 20-year-old is still the number one ranked in the world for men’s tennis. Carlos Alcaraz beats Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Wimbledon men’s final, as he also secured his second Grand Slam title. Here is the final moment of their match, as it lasted almost five hours in an intense back and forth.

In a five-set thriller, Spain’s Alcaraz defeated the record holder Djokovic 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, and 6-4 while the Serbian came up short with only 6-1 and 6-3 wins. The 36-year-old has a record with 23 Grand Slam titles, but Alcaraz winning against him is a whole new feat for him.

Alcaraz won his first major title in 2022 for the U.S. Open, becoming the youngest number one ranked in men’s tennis globally ever at 19 years old. It was also his fourth grass event ever as a professional tennis player, as he outlasted Djokovic in a match lasting four hours and 42 minutes.

The Serbian great had not lost at the All-England Club since 2017, as Alcaraz broke his 34-match winning streak at Wimbledon.

“It’s a dream come true for me,” Alcaraz said after the match. “As I said before, of course, it’s great to win, but even if I would’ve lost, I would be proud of myself in this run, making history in this beautiful tournament, playing a final against a legend in this sport.”

This was a rematch of the 2023 French Open Semifinal, as the world’s number one and number two went against each other in Alcaraz and Djokovic. That time, the 36-year-old won in four sets, with the 20-year-old dealing with cramps at Roland Garros. The Spanish tennis player also started slow in Wimbledon, as he lost his first set 1-6 to the Serbian, but wasn’t affected by previous cramping issues.

“After the first set, I thought, ‘Carlos, increase the level. Everyone could be disappointed,'” Alcaraz said, drawing laughs from the crowd. “I have to congratulate Novak, it’s amazing to play against him. What can I say about him? He is unbelievable. You inspire me a lot.”

However, Alcaraz rebounded on the second set and found his footing, lasting about an hour and 25 minutes before tying it up. Normally, Djokovic takes care of his opponents in that range with 15 consecutive tiebreak wins. However, Spain’s superstar beat those odds, and the legend’s streak of tiebreak wins in the second set, winning 7-6 (8-6).

That was sort of the turn of the tide, as Alcaraz took that win and ran with it into the third set, one that lasted about an hour in its own right. The 20-year-old led 3-1 but then Djokovic found his rhythm after the sixth break point but just couldn’t get close enough, as this match lasted about 26 minutes. After 32 points and 13 deuces, Alcaraz got the 4-1 lead that led to him winning the set 6-1 over the 36-year-old.

Djokovic entered the fifth set with a 10-1 record in five-set matches at Wimbledon, as he also briefly left the court ahead of the fourth set. The veteran’s experience came in handy for the final stage, but with the young star focused and determined, Alcaraz was able to get his first Wimbledon trophy in the end, winning the last set 6-4.

The Serbian was happy for him and said he was impressed with how well the Spaniard adjusted to playing on grass.

“As for me, obviously you know I never like to lose matches like this, but I guess when all the emotions are settled I have to still be very grateful because I won many, many tight and close matches in the past year,” Djokovic said. “Maybe I should’ve lost a couple of finals that I won, so I think this is even-steven.”

For Alcaraz, he pulled off a rare feat in a comeback not many, if anyone, has done even as the top-ranked player. Achieving this feat over Djokovic puts him among the greats already at such a young age, potentially signaling a changing of the guard between generations.

After five grueling sets, Carlos Alcaraz finally put away Jannik Sinner to win his U.S. Open quarterfinal early Wednesday morning and advance to the semifinals. The third seed in the tournament still has a chance of becoming the youngest No. 1 in the history of men’s tennis following two straight victories in five sets.

“I always say you have to believe in yourself all the time,” Alcaraz said after the match. “The hope is the last thing that you lose.”

Beginning at 9:35 p.m. on Wednesday and ending at 2:50 a.m. on Thursday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Alcaraz’s match against Sinner took five hours and 15 minutes, making it the second longest in U.S. Open history and the latest to finish. The Spanish 19-year-old was coming off a five-set victory against 15th seed Marin Čilić.

Alcaraz took the first set Wednesday in fairly convincing fashion but lost the next two to Skinner in brutal tiebreaking fashion over the course of several hours. Facing match point, he came back to win the last two as night turned into early morning in an enduring upstart performance.

“I still don’t know how I did it,” Alcaraz said.

With current No. 1 Daniil Medvedev and perennial contender Rafael Nadal out of the tournament following early defeats, Alcaraz is one of a handful of players who could take over the top position with a win in the tournament. Though Nadal could technically still earn the spot, Alcaraz and fifth seed Casper Ruud control their own destinies in semifinal matchups Friday afternoon.

To make it to the final, Alcaraz will have to defeat American player Frances Tiafoe, who is making his own storied run in the tournament after defeating Nadal in the Round of 16 and becoming the first Black man to make it to the semifinals since Arthur Ashe himself in 1972.

Meanwhile, Ruud will 27th seed Karen Khachanov, the least familiar face in the quartet who defeated 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta in the Round of 16. If Alcaraz and Ruud both win their semifinal matchups, they will play in the final for the world’s top ranking.