US Open: World No. 1 spot in focus as Alcaraz, Sinner set for historic final

New York, Sep 7 (IANS) Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the undisputed kings of men’s tennis, will battle once again at the US Open finale, with the men’s singles title and the world No. 1 ranking on the line.

Sinner has held the top spot in the ATP rankings for 65 weeks since his debut at No. 1 last June. Alcaraz is seeking to repeat his US Open triumph and secure the No. 1 ranking by finishing first.

The summit clash will mark the third consecutive time this season Sinner and Alcaraz faced off in a major final—a feat never before achieved in the Open Era—and the 15th time they’ve matched up overall, a remarkable number considering Sinner is just 24 and Alcaraz only 22.

Sinner and Alcaraz have swept the past seven majors, ensuring a second consecutive calendar-year shutout. While the Italian began the major season with a triumph at the Australian Open, Alcaraz snatched the Roland Garros trophy in dramatic fashion, saving three championship points against Sinner. Then, Sinner struck back at Wimbledon for his second Slam of 2025.

Sinner is chasing his fifth Grand Slam title, Alcaraz his sixth. No one besides the two men has captured a major championship since Novak Djokovic won here in 2023.

Sinner has owned the top spot in the ATP rankings since he debuted at No. 1 last June, with his reign currently at 65 weeks. Out of the 29 No. 1s in history (since 1973), only four others lasted at least 52 weeks in their debut stint: Roger Federer, Jimmy Connors, Lleyton Hewitt and Novak Djokovic.

Alcaraz is aiming to return to the top spot in the rankings he last held in September 2023. The Spaniard famously became the youngest world No. 1 in history at 19, when he beat Casper Ruud in the 2022 final. He went on to earn year-end No. 1 honours and to date has spent a total of 36 weeks at No. 1.

Entering this year's US Open final, the ATP Tour's Live Rankings list Alcaraz 60 points clear of Sinner, 10,840 to 10,780. But that will count for nothing if Sinner scores the 700 points on offer in the trophy round.

Alcaraz enters the final with a 9-5 lead in his ATP Head-to-Head series with Sinner, and their New York showdown will be the fifth meeting between the pair in 2025. All of those have been finals, with Alcaraz triumphing in Rome, at Roland Garros (after coming back from two sets down and saving three championship points) and in Cincinnati (where Sinner retired due to illness), and Sinner prevailing at Wimbledon.

Both Sinner and Alcaraz have been in imperious form this fortnight at Flushing Meadows. Top seed Sinner, who is on a 27-match winning streak at hard-court majors, has dropped just two sets across his six matches.

The second seed Alcaraz has not dropped a set and was clinical in seeing off record 24-time major titlist Djokovic in the last four. The Spaniard will have a chance to become the first man in the Open Era to win the US Open without losing a set.

Only five men in the Open Era have won a major without losing a set: Ken Rosewall (1971 Australian Open), Ilie Nastase (1973 Roland Garros), Bjorn Borg (1976 Wimbledon, Roland Garros 2x), Roger Federer (2007 Australian Open, 2017 Wimbledon) and Rafael Nadal (Roland Garros 4x).

The final between top-seeded Sinner and second-seeded Alcaraz will begin at 11:30 PM IST (2 PM ET/ 8 PM CEST) on Sunday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest tennis-only stadium in the world.

--IANS

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