Carlos Alcaraz seals sixth grand slam title with ‘perfect’ performance

Carlos Alcaraz felt he achieved tennis perfection with his US Open final victory over Jannik Sinner.

Alcaraz reclaimed the world number one ranking and supremacy in his rivalry with Sinner by dethroning the Italian to win a second title in New York.

For an unprecedented third time in a season in the open era, the same two men were meeting in a slam final, and it was Alcaraz who added to his French Open crown with a 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4 victory.

The 22-year-old now owns six grand slam titles – the youngest man since Bjorn Borg to achieve the feat – adding a second trophy here to his French Open and Wimbledon doubles.

Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero branded his charge’s performance perfect, and the 22-year-old could not disagree.

“It’s great when you make your coach feel that way,” said Alcaraz with a big smile.

“It is not easy. He has a big status. He always want me to play at my best, and not too many times I would say he said that, that I played perfectly. So, for me, it’s a great win. But he’s right. I think I played perfect.”

Alcaraz missed out on becoming the first man in the open era to win the title here without losing a set but, despite Sinner claiming the second set, this was one of their most one-sided matches.

Sinner took his only break point while Alcaraz converted five of 11, and the Spaniard hit double the amount of winners and made fewer errors, clinching victory with his 10th ace.

“Since the first rounds to the end of the tournament, the best tournament so far that I have ever played,” said Alcaraz.

“The consistency of my level during the whole tournament has been really, really high, which I’m really proud of, because it’s something that I’ve been working on.”

Sinner’s two-year unbeaten run at hard-court slams is now at an end, while the 24-year-old has also been deposed at the top of the rankings after 65 weeks, with Alcaraz back on top for the first time since 2023.

“When you achieve the goals you set yourself at the beginning of the year, it feels amazing,” added Alcaraz, who first became world number one after winning his maiden title in New York three years ago.

“It was one of the first goals that I had during the season, just to try to recover the number one as soon as possible or end the year as the number one.

“For me, to achieve that once again, it is a dream. Doing it in the same day as getting another grand slam feels even better.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was among the celebrities in attendance but it was the visit of United States president Donald Trump that threatened to overshadow the stars on court.

Airport-style security checks were installed overnight around Arthur Ashe Stadium, leading to long queues for fans, some of whom had paid thousands of dollars for tickets, to get in, prompting organisers to delay the start of the match by half an hour.

Even then, the stadium was half empty when the players walked out and did not fill up until midway through the second set.

A United States Tennis Association spokesman said: “We understand the frustration of fans that were delayed in their entrance to Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“The added security protocols were put in place by the United States Secret Service. We took several steps to make this process as seamless as possible and educate our attendees on the potential delays in advance of their arrival.”

Trump drew a mixed reaction when he was shown on screen during the national anthem, while there was loud booing when he was highlighted again at the end of the first set.

Neither player appeared to be affected by the sideshow, and a magnanimous Sinner admitted he was simply outplayed by his rival, who assumes supremacy again after the Italian had beaten him at Wimbledon.

“He has improved,” said Sinner. “I felt like he was a bit cleaner today. The things what I did well in London, he did better today.

“I felt like he was doing everything slightly better today, especially serving, both sides, both swings, very clean. I give lots of credit to him because he handled the situation better than I did.

“He raised his level when he had to. I’m still proud of myself, about the season I’m playing and making. But he played better than me today.”