US Open final 2025: History on the line as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz meet again for Flushing Meadows crown

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Another Grand Slam final, another battle between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner beckons. The pair will lock horns in the US Open final on Sunday, but only one will reign supreme. Alcaraz holds the better head-to-head record, but he will be after blood following Sinner's triumph when the pair last met at this stage of a championship at Wimbledon earlier in the year.

'Great for the sport having rivalries' - Sinner on facing Alcaraz in US Open final

Video credit: SNTV

Here we are again. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz prepare to do battle for a third Grand Slam crown in a row, as two players meet in a third major final in one season for the first time in the Open Era.

The US Open is the final major title up for grabs in 2025 and it will bring an end to a season where Sinner and Alcaraz have dominated the Grand Slams.

Sinner won the title in Australia and Wimbledon, while Alcaraz triumphed at the French Open.

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After saying farewell to three of tennis' 'Big Four' - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray - who dominated previous decades, and with 38-year-old Novak Djokovic hanging on for a record 25th Grand Slam triumph, it is time for new stars to shine.

It is the first season that neither Djokovic, Federer nor Nadal have featured in a major final since 2002, and Sinner and Alcaraz have certainly shown they have what it takes to pick up the mantle.

Alcaraz, 22, is already a five-time major champion. He has two French Open titles, two Wimbledon crowns and will hope to claim his second Flushing Meadows trophy after victory in 2022 - the first to his name.

His latest came in what was one of the greatest finals of all time as he battled from two sets and three championship points down to defeat Sinner at Roland-Garros.

Sinner, two years older than his Spanish counterpart, has won four majors since his first at the Australian Open last year. Since then, he has claimed the US Open, while adding another Australian Open and a Wimbledon title - after beating Alcaraz in four sets - to his roll of honour.

With age on their side, both of these players are rubbing shoulders with the sport's greats and can seize the chance to build a legacy as large as those of 20+ Grand Slam winners Djokovic, Federer and Nadal.

Alcaraz is the third-youngest player to reach seven major Grand Slam finals during the Open Era, older only than Bjorn Borg and Nadal.

Sinner is the youngest player in the same era to reach four Grand Slam finals in a single season, and the fourth player to achieve the feat after Rod Laver, Federer and Djokovic.

Route to the final

Alcaraz is only the fourth player since the turn of the century to reach the US Open final without dropping a set. Nadal did the same in 2010, Federer in 2015 and Lleyton Hewitt back in 2004.

During that breezy run, Alcaraz beat Italian duo Mattia Bellucci and Luciano Darderi, Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech and Czech Jiri Lehecka, before handing Djokovic his ticket home in the semi-finals.

As for Sinner, who is the fourth player in the Open Era to reach back-to-back finals at the Australian and US Open after Jimmy Connors, Federer and Djokovic, he has dropped just two sets during his journey to the final.

He opened his defence with a straight-sets victory over Alexei Popyrin, before losing his first set in a win against Denis Shapovalov. An easy victory against Alexander Bublik followed - where Sinner dropped just three games - before he knocked out 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti.

Felix Auger-Aliassime was his final victim en route to the final, and it was the second time the Italian advanced in four sets.

Who leads the head-to-head?

Both of these players have already written their own history, but how have they fared against one another?

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz after the Wimbledon 2025 final.

Image credit: Getty Images

After 14 meetings, it is Alcaraz who holds the superior record with nine wins and has triumphed in six of the last seven clashes between the pair.

The latest came to an early conclusion as Sinner retired in the opening set of their Cincinnati Open final battle, but the duo have had plenty of juicy clashes in recent years, which bodes well for Sunday's US Open final.

They have met in six finals overall - twice at major events - with Alcaraz holding a 4-2 lead in those particular matches.

Alcaraz v Sinner head-to-head

Year	Winner	Event	Round	Score
2025	Alcaraz	ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati	Final	5-0 (Sinner retired)
2025	Sinner	Wimbledon	Final	4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4
2025	Alcaraz	French Open	Final	4-6 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(2)
2025	Alcaraz	ATP Masters 1000 Rome	Final	7-6(5) 6-1
2024	Alcaraz	Beijing	Final	6-7(6) 6-4 7-6(3)
2024	Alcaraz	French Open	Semi-final	2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3
2024	Alcaraz	ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells	Semi-final	1-6 6-3 6-2
2023	Sinner	Beijing	Semi-final	7-6(4) 6-1
2023	Sinner	ATP Masters 1000 Miami	Semi-final	6-7(4) 6-4 6-2
2023	Alcaraz	ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells	Semi-final	7-6(4) 6-3
2022	Alcaraz	US Open	Quarter-final	6-3 6-7(7) 6-7(0) 7-5 6-3
2022	Sinner	Umag	Final	6-7(5) 6-1 6-1
2022	Sinner	Wimbledon	Last 16	6-1 6-4 6-7(8) 6-3
2021	Alcaraz	ATP Masters 1000 Paris	Last 32	7-6(1) 7-5

All stats courtesy of Opta.

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