And then there were two.
The curtain comes down on the 2025 US Open Sunday as two of the game’s greatest talents face off on the grand stage of Arthur Ashe Stadium. After a bruising two weeks in which 126 others fell by the wayside, this day will feature a final showdown between two proven champions—each with just a little more left to prove. Both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz know well the singular feeling of standing alone at the end of the Flushing fortnight, Sinner the defending champ and Alcaraz the titlist in 2022. Each would like nothing more than to experience that feeling again.
This is the third consecutive Slam final in which the two men have faced off. It’s also the first time in tennis’ Open Era that two players have played three consecutive major finals against each other in the same year. In short, this highly anticipated matchup has all the ingredients required to cook up an instant classic, and adding an extra day to this event has only added to the anticipation and excitement surrounding it. Get ready for a good one, because when champions of this caliber collide, the result is rarely less-than-brilliant. Today’s final is a meeting of remarkable men.
Sinner, the No. 1 seed, earned this tournament’s top line with a bottom line that this year includes wins at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, as well as a runner-up finish at the French. The 24-year-old Italian has now reached the final in six of the last eight Slams, and he’s just the fourth man to reach five consecutive Grand Slam finals in the Open Era, joining Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal on that list. He’s also the youngest man to play in all four major finals in a single season.
You get the idea, he’s really good.
Here, Sinner has largely looked untouchable in his advance, losing just two sets in six matches, combining remarkable power with incredible precision. He has become the proverbial irresistible force on cement, employing a blistering baseline game that’s propelled him to a 27-match major winning streak on the hard stuff heading into today. He’s also looking to become just the second man (Federer is the other) in the history of the sport to win both the Aussie and US Opens in consecutive years.
Standing in Sinner’s way is the guy who’s usually standing in Sinner’s way—second seed Alcaraz. The other half of tennis’ Big Two has likewise enjoyed a whole lot of success in 2025, capturing his fifth career major at Roland Garros in June and finishing second to Sinner at Wimbledon in July. He leads the ATP Tour in wins (59) and titles (6) this season, and is now 23-2 at the Slams in 2025.
The 22-year-old Spaniard, who’s back in the final here for the first time since taking his first major title in Flushing in 2022, has played his way to this point without dropping a set, unleashing a brilliant blend of fire and focus and playing from the start of the tournament like a man with zero interest in finishing second.
Not only has Alcaraz yet to lose a set, he’s only twice lost his serve in six matches. In fact, he’s only faced nine break points throughout his run. That kind of thing just doesn’t happen—and yet it’s happening here. Against all-time men’s Slam singles champ Djokovic in the semis, Alcaraz won a staggering 84% of his first-serve points, held in 14 of 15 service games, and cashed in on four of seven break point chances, cruising to a 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-2 win. The Spaniard owns virtually every shot in the book, which means that however you choose to test him, he’s more than likely to have an answer. Even his Plan “B” rates an “A.”
Throughout this trip to Flushing, Alcaraz has remained on cruise control—the picture of perfection, a buzz saw with a buzz cut.
The two very familiar foes have met 14 times before, with Alcaraz owning a 9-5 edge. The Spaniard likewise has a 3-2 edge at the Slams, although Sinner won the most recent major meeting, ousting Alcaraz in this year’s Wimbledon final. One of them has won each of the last seven majors, but only one of them can win today. And because of the perfection and purpose with which he’s played throughout his first six matches, I think Alcaraz earns a seventh. In a fantastic four, Alcaraz is the 2025 US Open champion.
