Carlos Alcaraz prevailed over Jannik Sinner in their latest clash of their captivating rivalry, with a four-set win in the 2025 US Open final. The Spanish phenom started strongly and tamed the second-set comeback from Italian sensation Sinner before charging to his victory in Flushing Meadows (6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4).
At just 22 years old, he continues to break blockades and overcome old records to rewrite himself into the history books alongside some of the sport’s finest talents. The win saw him reclaim his US Open crown after his debut Grand Slam victory in 2022, coupled with him regaining the world number 1 title for the first time since September 2023.
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Turning pro and ATP Breakthrough
Alcaraz officially turned professional at just 15 years of age in 2018 while training at Juan Carlos Ferrero’s academy in Spain, with the former world No. 1 quickly becoming his full-time coach. He began competing in ITF Futures events, aimed at providing experience to experience to young players. At 16, 3 ITF titles belonged to the young Spaniard as he also made his ATP Tour debut, upsetting Albert Ramos Viñolas in round 1, a player who previously peaked inside the top 20. He ended the 2020 COVID-shortened season at 17 ranked inside the top 150, an impressive feat.
First ATP Title and Colossal Slam Victory
The 2021 Australian Open was the first Grand Slam that Alcaraz qualified for, being knocked out in the second round by Swedish Player Mikael Ymer. After being knocked out in the round of 32 and 64 in the French Open and Wimbledon, respectively, Alcaraz won his first ATP title in Umag, Croatia in July 2021. He became the youngest ATP Tour champion since Kei Nishikori in 2008.
A few months later, he announced himself to the world tennis audience by defeating world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round in a 5 set nail-biter, coupled with reaching the quarter finals before retiring with injury against Félix Auger-Aliassime, making him the youngest US Open men’s quarterfinalist in the Open Era.
Youngest World No. 1 and Cemented Stardom
In March 2022, Alcaraz won his first Masters 1000 title in Miami. 2 months later in Madrid, he defeated Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in consecutive matches, a rare feat, before triumphing against Alexander Zverev in the final. In September at the US Open, he defeated Casper Ruud in the final to become the youngest world No. 1 in ATP history at 19 years and 4 months. By the end of the calendar year, he achieved 5 ATP titles, along with his debut Grand Slam and 2 Masters 1000s, along with having the responsibility named the heir to the ‘Big 3’ era.
Moving into 2023, Alcaraz proved his adaptability, winning additional ATP Masters 1000s under his belt across clay, grass and hard courts. His most influential feat, though, was breaking Djokovic’s 34-match unbeaten run at Wimbledon and his decade-long dominance on grass after their 5 set thriller. He finished the year at number 2, just behind Djokovic, but his presence was felt on the court.
Sincaraz are taking over on all surfaces
The 2024 calendar year began with a defeat to Zverev in the quarter finals of the Australian Open, before bouncing back to clinch his first Roland Garros title, becoming the youngest player to win major titles on all 3 surfaces. He then defended his Wimbledon title, defining his mastery of his play on grass, finishing the season with 2 slams for the year and 4 for the career.
This officially defined the ‘Sincaraz’ rivalry as the monumental competition to replace the Big 3 that ran tennis for an era. His success on grass and clay emphasises his adaptability, symbolic of all-time greats. This rivalry continued into 2025, with each of them conquering 2 Grand Slams, where the Italian took home his second straight Australian Open. The French Open final is widely regarded as the best match played between them.
The longest final in Roland Garros history, where he saved 3 championship points and overturned a 2 set deficit to claim his 5th major. Sinner stole the Wimbledon crown from Alcaraz, before the Spaniard reclaimed his throne in Flushing Meadows. 3 of the 4 grand slam finals this year included this pairing, with this rivalry set to define tennis for the decade to come and more.
Notable Records from his US Open victory
Carlos became the youngest player ever to make 13 grand slam quarter finals before 23, with Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg being the only other two players to complete this feat. Furthermore, he became the sixth player to reach the quarter finals of the US Open 4 times before turning 23, along with McEnroe, Agassi, Sampras, Hewitt and Roddick.
This tournament, he faced only 10 break points, beating Federer’s 2006 Wimbledon campaign, accompanying his attainment of being broken 3 times in a slam, second only to Sampras’ run in 1997 at Wimbledon. Also, he won 18 of his 19 sets in the competition, only dropping one set to Sinner in the championship match.
Finally, he earned the title of the first player since Rafa in 2008 to defeat the world number 1 in multiple grand slam finals in a calendar year, defeating Jannik Sinner at both Roland Garros and the US Open.
New Career Accomplishments
With the US Open marking his 6th major title in his career, only Bjorn Borg with 7 has more singles titles before the age of 23, tying Nadal, with the potential for Alcaraz to win his 7th slam with his maiden Australian Open title early next year. Nadal won 4 of his first 6 titles on clay, a stark contrast from Alcaraz’s victory on all 3 surfaces as he became the youngest to win 2 titles on 3 surfaces at 22 years and 111 days, overtaking previous record holders Mats Wilander and Rafael Nadal.
Additionally, this major win makes him the youngest player (22 year 111 days) in open Era to defeat multiple reigning men’s singles champions in Grand Slam finals, with his triumphs over Djokovic in 2023 at Wimbledon and Sinner in 2025 at the US Open. It has resulted in him requiring the fewest grand slams appearances to win 6 grand slam titles with 19, edging out McEnroe with 21 and Nadal with 22.
Records to chase and what it means for the GOAT Debate
If Alcaraz were to win 2 grand slams a year from now onwards, Djokovic’s monumental 24 grand slam record will be eclipsed by Carlos at the age of 31. Furthermore, Alcaraz finishes the calendar year at number 1 for the second time, which places Djokovic’s 8 first place finishes in reach for his career if he continues at his pace of 2 No. 1 finishes every few years. Besides, 81 grand slam victories in 94 grand slam matches leave him with a better win/loss record than any player in history at this stage of his career.
At this pace, his accomplishments are ahead of the curve for his status among the all time greats. Barring a career-altering injury, his ability to become the greatest of all time in tennis and in sports as a whole is definitely there, and he just needs to play up to his potential to eclipse the Big 3 in his dominance of modern-day tennis.
If these are his achievements and records at 22, what will his trophy cabinet resemble at 25? 30? Will there be a new youngster to throw him off his course? Will Sinner conceal Alcaraz’s greatness in the 2020s and beyond? This leaves us wondering: what comes next in the world of tennis? And we are all excited to witness greatness on all surfaces for years to come.
