It began to sink in around 2:50 a.m. New York time.
The Jannik Sinner vs. Carlos Alcaraz quarterfinal had lingered into the early-morning hours of Sept. 8, 2022, five sets of all-out warfare and all-world athleticism over five hours and 15 minutes, the latest finish in US Open history.
Alcaraz would win the day, 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5 6-3, and two rounds later go on to become the youngest US Open champion since Pete Sampras in 1990, and the youngest No. 1 in the history of the PIF ATP Rankings. But it was clear that we had the stuff of real rivalry on our hands, one that might just one day follow the lineage of Borg vs. McEnroe, Evert vs. Navratilova, Sampras vs. Agassi, and the Big Three of Federer-Nadal-Djokovic.
Fast forward to 2025, and they have now faced each other on 14 occasions, with Alcaraz holding a 9-5 edge. Together they have accounted for eight of the last nine Grand Slam singles titles, including the clay-to-grass turnaround at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this summer; the Spaniard Alcaraz saving three championship points on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the Italian Sinner redeemed on Centre Court.
“I love watching both of those guys,” said American Tommy Paul. “They’re obviously leading the way in our sport right now. I think right now there’s a lot of people that need to really pick up the level to keep up with these guys. I mean, these guys are playing that level all the time, so we’ve got some catching up to do.”
What makes a really good rivalry anyway? We put that question to Alcaraz on Sunday in Flushing Meadows, not long after the 22-year-old reached the 13th Grand Slam quarterfinal of his young career, the youngest man to do so in the Open Era.
“The matches,” he said. “That’s the first thing — which rounds we play against each other, what we’re fighting for. Right now, Jannik and I, we’re fighting for the No. 1 spot. We’re fighting for the Grand Slams. We’re fighting for great things in tennis. That’s what the Big Three did.”
“To have rivalries, it’s great. It’s good for the sport,” said Sinner. “At the moment, me and Carlos, we’re sharing big trophies, but at the same time, things can change. There are great players out there. If we don’t continue to improve, players will catch us. It’s just a question of time.”
The Nos. 1-2 seeds at the 2025 US Open apparently run in the same circles. On a recent off-night in New York, a city of some eight million inhabitants, they ran into each other at the same Midtown restaurant, Osteria Delbianco. (It’s Northern Italian, which makes sense, given Sinner’s birthplace near the Dolomites.) It was pure coincidence, according to Alcaraz, but for all we know the tennis gods might have had a hand in it.
“I think the respect we have for each other and the good relationship we have off the court is great,” Alcaraz said. “Everybody watches what we can do every time we face each other on court. We raise the level to the top. But the relationship we have off the court, I think that it makes it really special.”
As with some of the great rivalries, there are some stark differences, too. John McEnroe was the Super Brat, bold, brash, in-your-face; Bjorn Borg was the Ice Man, silent, reserved, Scandinavian-cool. Sampras was the epitome of serve-and-volley elegance; Andre Agassi an image-is-everything baseliner, all hair and acid-washed shorts.
“We are two different players,” said Sinner, who earlier this month turned 24.
“He’s obviously very fast on court. With maybe other players, the point could be over at times, but he reaches certain balls. He can read the game in a different way,” he continued. “We know each other better now. It’s a very tactical game. He prepares for the match in a different way than he used to prepare for it. Me and my team, we do the same. We have different game styles, but also how we are on the court and off the court. We are just different.”
Their most recent matchup, in the title match at the Cincinnati Open, proved anticlimactic. An under-the-weather Sinner would last just five games and 23 minutes before retiring. But Sinner, who this week extended his hard-court Grand Slam winning streak to 24 to reach the Round of 16, is looking healthy and motivated in his pursuit of a title defense. With each of them lurking on opposite sides of the draw, could Sincaraz XV be in the works?
“It’s been unbelievable the tennis he’s bringing on hard courts,” observed Alcaraz. “I look up to him in some way just to be ready if I have to face him somewhere. Hopefully, I’ll meet him in the final.”
