NEW YORK – Carlos Alcaraz threw his arms into the air before a wide smile spread across his face and he squats down on his knees. He just won the 2025 US Open title in front of a captivating crowd of 24,000 at Arthur Ash Stadium. But his true celebration could be awaited.
Before anything, he had to embrace and congratulate his opponent, Jannik Sinner. The pair are the most fierce rivals on the court, but then real friends – when they met online, it was all smiles and compliments. They then wrapped their arms around their arms and left the courthouse in a show of true praise.
It was the third straight meeting in the major final between the two, and Sunday’s final was not a mistake match – thousands of ticket prices and the world’s No. 1 ranking.
In the end it was Alcaraz who won the surprisingly easy 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory in his sixth major title.
But no matter who wins on Sunday, it was clear that Men’s Tennis would be in a match where there are currently two categories: Sinner and Alcaraz, everyone else.
“I see you more than my family,” Alcaraz joked at the sinner at the trophy ceremony.
Novak Djokovic, the 24-time major champion who spent more than anyone in history after winning the quarter-final match on hand on Tuesday, admits it’s difficult to beat Alkaraz in the semi-finals and will be a challenge if he faces a sinner in the final. But he sounded optimistic.
“I know they’re two of the best players in the world,” he told reporters. “Everyone is hoping and anticipating a final between them and I’m going to try to ruin most people’s plans.”
Three days later, Alkaraz defeated Djokovic with almost one-sided events 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2, to advance to the final. Djokovic’s attitude changed significantly, and when he spoke to the media again, he sounded disappointed even if he didn’t resign in his destiny.
“It will be extremely difficult to overcome the hurdles of sinners (and Alkaraz) in the future.
Sunday officially marked the first season since 2002 when big three members of Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal did not reach the major finals. But it became clear to us in abundance that the new era of domination above us, and the baton passed. Also, while other players may not have the same physical concerns or limitations that 38-year-old Djokovic has in his long match, the new Big 2 obstacles are real for all players on tour. After Alcaraz’s victory at Ashe, the duo paired together to win the past eight majors. It’s all slams since the start of the 2024 season. And the title is evenly divided between them in each of the four.
So now, with just some exaggeration, the problem is: Both the 22-year-old Alkaraz and the 24-year-old sinner are likely to be at their peak, so will others be able to win majors in the near future?
Two years ago, the question may have seemed far apart. Slippery. At the end of the 2023 season, Alkaraz had two major titles in his name, and the sinner reached the first slam semi-final of that season, but had not yet won the title. Both talents were clear and their ceilings were endless, but neither was exactly given to contesting all titles.
Meanwhile, Djokovic won three of the four slam titles this year, showing no signs of slowing down. In the ATP Finals at the end of the year, he was confident in his ability to break the record-breaking record.
“Well, you can win four slams and Olympic gold,” Djokovic said when asked about his goals for next season.
We’ve spoken before about how much he liked “anyone on every surface is in the top five in the season, with a chance at a Grand Slam,” but it appears he believed those ambitions were achievable. Thinner, who lost Djokovic in the ATP Finals title, called him “the best player in the world.”
However, he vowed to learn from experience.
“Today, I think in general, I still thought I had to improve,” the sinner at the time said. “I believe he makes me a better player, just like all the other players did the people I lost.
Thinner won a major title at the Australian Open just two months later. The 2024 season has begun and the era of “Singkaraz” has officially been announced.
In 2025, Alkaraz and the Sinner face each other in the last three slam finals. Alcaraz won the French Open with a dramatic comeback, and the Sinner ruined Alcaraz’s bid with a 4 set of three peats at Wimbledon. Through the final eight majors, they are gathering four other opponents in the final: Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, Danil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev (twice).
After Zverev was defeated in straight sets by the sinner at the Australian Open in January, he told the crowd “I don’t know if I can lift the trophy.”
Fritz, currently the fourth in the world, fell to a sinner in a straight set at the 2024 US Open Final, was practical in assessing sinners and Alcarazs at this stage.
“They both improved a lot,” Fritz said at the start of this year’s tournament. “I mean, they’re both young so you’re going to expect that. So they’re still improving and getting better. They’ve made great strides in the last two years to become very clear and dominant players.
“I think they’ll motivate the rest of the people to improve because if you want to beat them and compete for the biggest title, you have to make a lot of improvement.”
And some others actually show a flash of promise. In seven Masters 1000 levels this year, Alkaraz won three (and four guilts as the sinners provided three months of suspension), but four other players (Jack Draper, Jakub Mensiek, Casper Rood and Ben Shelton) also won.
The 22-year-old Shelton has now won three career titles, including last month’s Canadian Open, and has reached the major semi-finals twice earlier this year in Melbourne. He currently has the career-high ranking of No. 6.
“I think these two guys are people like Ben Shelton who can confuse them over the next few years.” “I’m really happy with his progress and I’m seeing him develop as a player. I think he still has a lot of improvements left.
“(Shelton) has weapons. He’s a celebrity and another player who really enjoys. If he continues this path of improvement, he could be someone who can confuse them.
Shelton defeated the sinners once in seven meetings and never defeated Alcaraz. He was forced to retire from a three-round match in New York due to a shoulder injury.
Joao Fonseca, a Brazilian teenager currently ranked 44th, is another name frequently mentioned as a future candidate, who might one day be able to knock out sinners and Alcarazs from the shared perch. Former World No. 8 John Isner, who played his entire career in “Big 3,” believes Fonseca probably has the best chance of everyone taking on the duo.
“We know we’ll make Fonseca a lot, but for the health of our sports, and I actually believe this, I say yes. He can catch up with these people and get to the conversation.” “I’m not saying it’s next year or the next year, but in the next four or five years, you can join in the conversation, one of the top four favorites to win each slam he enters.”
Having made his major main draw debut this season and reached the third round at the French Open and Wimbledon, Fonseca has yet to face either player. He lost in the second round in New York.
So, for now, anyway, the sinners and Alkaraz appear in their own league. There is a nearly 5,000 points gap between the pair and No. 3 Zverev and the remaining field in the rankings.
During the US Open, the two were extremely dominant. Heading into the final, both earned at least 95% of their service games. Alcaraz scored all but two at 98%. The sinner won at 42% of his return game, and Alkaraz got about a third of his. Three matches continued within two hours, each through their own run. After the sinner handed over Alexander Babrik, the 23rd seed, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 in just 81 minutes, a shell-shocked yet amusing Babrik congratulated him online by saying, “You’re so good. I’m not bad, f—?”
Alkaraz’s enemies had similar feelings. “I think I just think I met Carlos’ grand slam version today,” said No. 20 seed Giri Lehecca, who was defeated 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in the quarter-finals. “That’s how I want to think about it. Yeah, it was a tough match.”
Meeting in the final on Sunday, the second mark in the open era was marked as two men joined Federer and Nadal in 2006 and 2007, with the two men explaining all the major titles in two seasons.
Of course, tennis is a whimsical sport and things can change very quickly. For several years, Medvedev appeared to be the next big thing, among the heirs who were apparently replacing the Big 3. He reached six major finals between 2019 and 2024, winning the 2021 US Open and temporarily hosting the world’s No. 1 rankings. However, although he has only won one game in the slam this year, he has been upset during the last two weeks at the French Open, Wimbledon opening round and the US Open.
Medvedev certainly managed to turn things around in 2026, but the sinner and Alkaraz show no signs of a future slump.
At this point, the pair is in all categories and a clear favorite for everything upcoming, but everyone is guessing what will happen. And like Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Juan Martin del Potro found a way to win at the greatest stages of the Djokovic, Federer and Nadal eras.
“I think the sinners and Alcarazs will rule four years over the next three years,” said Patrick McEnroe, a former US open quarter finalist and ESPN broadcaster. “Do you think they’ll beat each one? No.”
