Carlos Alcaraz kisses the championship trophy after defeating Jannik Sinner (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
“It was one of the first goals I had during the season, to try to recover the No.1 as soon as possible or end the year as the No. Sinner managed just 10 points off Alcaraz’s first serve in the match. Sinner came into the final with a hard-court Grand Slam record of 27-0. The 24-year-old Italian, who had not been at his best physically throughout the tournament, vowed to be less predictable with his play going forward even if it came at the cost of some matches. The last time Alcaraz found himself in a similar position—falling short in a match he desperately wanted to win—was 12 months ago after losing the gold medal clash to Novak Djokovic at the Paris Olympics. The 22-year-old also lost in the second round of the US Open to Botic van Zandschulp and managed to win only one tournament two months later in Beijing. The 24-year-old raised hopes in the second set, but the dissonance in his play throughout New York, not just in the final, began to surface.
In the beginning, we thought it did not matter if he won or I won. It was not lost on Alcaraz and his team. In New York, he lost only one set, to Sinner in the final.
Sinner also said that his run to the final showed how much he needed to push out of his comfort zone against a player like Alcaraz. “When you always do the same things like I did during this tournament, I didn’t make one serve-volley, didn’t use a lot of drop shots, and then you arrive at a point where you play against Carlos where you have to go out of the comfort zone,” he said. He ripped forehands cross-court, shifted angles by the slightest margins to catch his opponent just short, and served at near-manic speeds. “I studied the Wimbledon final with my coaches. We spoke about what we could have done better in that match when I face him another time. We noted everything and we worked on it. I just wanted to do the right things. If I did the right things and he played an unbelievable match, it was okay, but at least I did the right things. On his return to competition in Cincinnati, Alcaraz, who has a tendency to drift in and out of matches like a weak radio signal, charged to the title, dropping just two sets along the way. His next title came in Rotterdam in February, but it was not until Monte Carlo in April that he truly found his rhythm again. Alcaraz broke Sinner in the opening game to set the tone for the match. When he broke in the second game of the third set, he looked very much in charge again, bullying the Italian with his power and placement.
What Alcaraz produced on Sunday at Flushing Meadows to notch his 13th straight win was something Sinner was not prepared for. On Sunday, playing his fifth successive major final, Sinner was outsmarted by Alcaraz in four sets.