Jannik Sinner with an inset of Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz has gained a mental edge over Jannik Sinner, according to Benoit Maylin with the French tennis journalist saying the Italian’s comments after the US Open final suggest Alcaraz “is in his head”.
The pair created history as they became the first duo to play in three consecutive Grand Slam finals in the same year with Alcaraz victorious in a pulsating five-set match at Roland Garros before Sinner exacted revenge at Wimbledon as he won in four sets.
Many were expecting a close contest at Flushing Meadows, but Alcaraz dominated proceedings against an off-colour Sinner as he won 6–2, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4 with the Italian unable to keep up with his incredible shotmaking and movement during final.
With the win, Alcaraz took a 10-5 lead in their head-to-head rivalry with Sinner’s only win since the start of the 2024 season coming in the Wimbledon final while the Spaniard also replaced the 24-year-old at No 1 in the ATP Rankings on the back of his title run.
After the match, Sinner gave a damning assessment of his performance in the New York final, saying: “I was very predictable today, you know, on court in the way of he did many things, he changed up the game. That’s also his style of how he plays. Now it’s going to be on me if I want to make changes or not, you know? Definitely, we are going to work on that.
“I’m trying to be more prepared for the next match what I will play against him. It also, I feel like, depends how you arrive to play against Carlos.
“One thing is when the scoreline, you know, matches before are comfortable but you always do the same things, like I did, for example, during this tournament I didn’t make one serve-volley, didn’t use a lot of drop shots, and then you arrive to a point where you play against Carlos where you have to go out of the comfort zone.”
