4-1 This year, 10-5 in total. The boss of world tennis is indeed Carlos Alcaraz. Despite his immense talent and his ruthless domination over the circuit for two years, Jannik Sinner still has a master.
If he managed to make him fall in the Wimbledon final, the Italian did not reissue his performance this Sunday at the US Open (6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4). His 5th Grand Grand Chelem will therefore wait, unlike the 6th of Spanish, which now takes two lengths ahead.
Let us slightly rewind the thread of this year to trace the Alcaraz-Bass matches, still long awaited. After a 2024 season dominated by the new world n ° 1, which had imposed itself on Indian Wells, Roland Garros and Beijing, the two men found themselves for the first time in the final of the Masters 1000 in Rome. Admittedly, the Italian then returned only from his suspension for negligence after an anti-doping control, but the Spaniard had left him no chance (7-6, 6-1).
The Paris Summit, the abandonment of Cincinnati
Three weeks later, it was another, much more prestigious final, awaited the rivals. And it is difficult not to remember it. After obtaining three game balls, when he led two sets to one, Jannik Sinner ended up cracking and left the Roland-Garros trophy in Carlos Alcaraz. 5:29 am of combat which offered him “a few white nights” and a taste of revenge in the mouth. He will easily take it in the Wimbledon final.
“I am always inspired by Carlos because I have the feeling that there are a few sectors where he is better than me,” said the winner, aware that his success did not completely change the dynamics. So we are going to work on it and prepare because he will not stop there and he will continue to pick us up. Carlos makes me a better player. When you have someone so young who wins almost everything, you have to be ready if you want to stay in contact. »»
“Whenever you compete, I have the impression that the level is very high, smiled on its side Alcaraz. I do not have the impression, to be honest, that we see this level so often on the circuit. And it gets better and better. We are in the process of building a huge rivalry because we play in the final of the Grands Chelems, Masters 1000, the best tournaments in the world. »»
In this summer tour, the Italian and the Spanish, impressive 1st and 2nd in the world for many weeks, had a first meeting at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati. A shock that gave birth to a mouse with the abandonment of the first after 23 minutes of play, disturbed by stomach aches that nailed him in bed for a few days. Not long enough to prevent him from defending his title in New York.
“When it matters most, they play their best tennis”
This Sunday, Act V did not reach the heights of Paris, but it proved that Carlos Alcaraz was the strongest in great moments. Overwhelming when he has an appointment with history, Murcien knows how to sublimate himself when he owes. “Carlos is more magical, more unpredictable, he can play at a level that, sometimes Jannik may not reach,” said Rafael Nadal with the New York Times.
“You can sometimes push them into their entrenchments, but when it matters most, they play their best tennis,” said Arthur Rinderknech to the team before the final. In tie-break against Carlos (During his 8th finals of the US Open), suddenly, he started playing much more aggressively. He no longer made mistakes, passed his first bullets and revived all my services. Simply the brand of the big ones.
With six big chelems, Carlos Alcaraz is now one of the 13 best players in history in the Open era (since 1969). He notably also equals Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, excuse a little. Mats Wilander and John McENROE are the next in his viewfinder. And to the rhythm where he is going, with two big chelems per year since 2024, he could match Novak Djokovic and his 24 adults in 2034. He will only have 31 years…
