Carlos Alcaraz beats rival Jannik Sinner at the U.S. Open for a 6th Slam title and the No. 1 ranking

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NEW YORK (AP) — So maybe the first U.S. Open final between young, elite rivals Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner wasn’t as long, riveting and dramatic as their matchup to decide the championship at the French Open. Perhaps it wasn’t as seemingly meaningful and plot-driven as their showdown for the Wimbledon trophy.

Still, what the No. 2-seeded Alcaraz’s 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over No. 1 Sinner on Sunday did do was significant. Alcaraz reasserted his superiority over the defending champion, wrested away the top spot in the ATP rankings and left tennis fans eager for whenever their next clash will come.

They are the first two men in the sport’s history to face each other in three consecutive Grand Slam finals within a single season.

“I’m seeing you more than my family,” Alcaraz joked during the trophy ceremony, eliciting a grin from Sinner. “It’s great to share the court, to share the locker rooms, everything.”

This 2-hour, 42-minute win gave Alcaraz, a 22-year-old from Spain, leads over Sinner, a 24-year-old from Italy, of 10-5 in their head-to-head series, 6-4 in total Grand Slam trophies, and 2-1 in U.S. Open championships.

“I give lots of credit to him, because he handled the situation better than I did,” said Sinner, who lamented that his own play was too predictable. “He raised his level when he had to.”

The match’s start was delayed for about a half-hour while thousands of fans were stuck outside Arthur Ashe Stadium going through extra security because President Donald Trump sat in a sponsor’s suite.

Under a closed roof because of rain earlier in the day, Alcaraz was stronger, faster, more well-equipped for the occasion.

“You were better than me,” Sinner said. “I tried my best today. I couldn’t do more.”

Alcaraz finished with twice as many winners, 42-21, and his coach, 2003 French Open champ Juan Carlos Ferrero, called the performance “perfect.” Alcaraz's view of that assessment? “He's right. I think I played perfect. ... If I want to beat Jannik, I have to play perfect.”

This hard-court matchup followed Alcaraz’s victory over Sinner across 5 1/2 hours after erasing a trio of match points on the red clay at Roland-Garros in June, and Sinner’s victory over two-time reigning champ Alcaraz on the grass at the All England Club in July.

“The things ... I did well in London,” Sinner said, “he did better today.”

Alcaraz took a week off after Wimbledon and then immediately got to work, spending 15 days with Ferrero focusing on one thing and one thing only: beating Sinner.

“I studied that match,” Alcaraz said.

During his defeat at Wimbledon, Alcaraz was caught by a camera telling his team in Spanish: “From the back of the court, he’s much better than me.”

Perhaps that’s why Alcaraz was so aggressive Sunday with his sledgehammer of a forehand. Whenever the smallest opening presented itself, Alcaraz barged through with that shot.

Sinner had dropped a total of one service game in his preceding three matches, but Alcaraz broke right away Sunday and five times in all.

These guys have combined to collect the past eight Slam trophies — four each — and 10 of 13. Novak Djokovic, the 24-time major champ eliminated by Alcaraz on Friday, took the other three.

Both Sinner, who had won his past 27 hard-court matches at majors, and Alcaraz offered glimpses Sunday of why they are so good, although it was rare that both were at a peak simultaneously.

An hour and 20 minutes in, it was a set apiece, after Alcaraz ceded one for the first time all tournament.

As Sinner worked his way into things, he would celebrate points by pumping a fist toward his guest box, which included Olympic champion ski racer Lindsey Vonn.

Ah, but it was Alcaraz who appeared to have more ticket-buyers on his side.

They regaled him with standing ovations. For one particularly magical volley at a hard-to-believe angle struck just before the ball hit the court — even Alcaraz himself liked that one, saying “Wow!” and breaking into a wide grin. For one special overhead smash to a corner with the tailing movement of a firefly.

And so on.

Sinner, needless to say, wasn’t as pleased by those sorts of strokes.

He bounced his racket off the ground and caught it after one lost point. He exhaled and shook his head after another.

Sinner simply doesn’t see that sort of stuff from anyone else.

And these numbers say as much about Alcaraz as they do Sinner: Over the last two seasons, Sinner is 1-7 against Alcaraz — and 109-4 against everyone else.

That one win for Sinner over Alcaraz came at Wimbledon.

Less than two months later, Alcaraz reversed the result to cap what he called “the best tournament so far that I have ever played.”

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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis