Boris Becker offered a blunt assessment after Jannik Sinner was unable to defend his US Open title, falling 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s men’s singles final. The loss cost Sinner the championship and allowed Alcaraz to reclaim the world No 1 ranking.

Becker pointed to a specific weakness that Alcaraz exploited throughout the match. “From the first minute to the last, Alcaraz was clearly better than all the other players and even better than Sinner,” said Becker. “In the final, he was clearly the boss. He played tennis from another planet and deserved to win the tournament.

“The big difference I noticed in this duel was on serve; Sinner was clearly weaker, and that’s unforgiving, if he has a real weakness, it’s this one.”

The defeat extended Alcaraz’s dominance in their rivalry: it was Sinner’s seventh loss to Alcaraz in eight meetings since the start of 2024, leaving Alcaraz with a 10-5 advantage in the head-to-head. During that period Sinner lost only four matches to players other than the Spaniard. Alcaraz’s victory also brought him level with Becker on two US Open titles and six Grand Slam trophies overall.

Becker said he had expected more from Sinner and felt the Italian had not advanced in the ways Alcaraz had. “I am one who always thinks to tell the truth. I was a little disappointed. I expected more.

“But of course I was not disappointed by Alcaraz. Because he really played tennis better today than a year ago. He had more variations, he had speed changes. He played serve volley. He played backhand slice. He played forehand where you don’t see the ball.

“And I think Sinner, for the first time, he stood still with his game. He is now predictable. You know exactly what always happens. And it’s not as bad that I see it that way. It’s worse for him that Alcaraz sees it that way.

“And I think for the first time that Alcaraz really took a step forward. And Sinner stayed the same. He partly didn’t know how to win the points. Except Alcaraz hit the ball.

“In his press conference after the match, Sinner, always said very honestly, that he [Alcaraz] has developed further in tennis and I have not. And I think it’s great that he says that. But that’s how I felt it.

“There was never a discussion for me, even after the second set, who would win this match in the end. And I didn’t see that in any other final between the two.”

Both players are scheduled to compete at the Shanghai Masters next month, where Sinner will aim to defend the title he won in 2024.

The 2025 US Open produced as many storylines beyond the finals as it did inside them. Across three weeks there were returns to form, stinging exits and a clear surge in interest for doubles.

Amanda Anisimova recovered impressively from her 6-0, 6-0 loss at Wimbledon to reach the semifinals in New York and climb to a career-high No. 4. By contrast Alexander Zverev, seeded No. 3, exited in the third round to No. 25 Felix Auger-Aliassime, extending his frustration at Grand Slams.

Carlos Alcaraz asserted himself in the semifinals, pulling away from 38-year-old No. 7 seed Novak Djokovic. Djokovic, a record 428-week world No. 1, returned to competitive form after Wimbledon and completed the full set of major semifinals in 2025, rising back to No. 4. Taylor Fritz, the defending finalist and No. 4 seed, was the only American man to reach the fourth round before a loss to Djokovic. Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton all fell earlier, with Shelton forced to retire in his third-round match due to a shoulder injury.

Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas disappointed, with Rune losing in round two to Jan-Lennard Struff and Tsitsipas losing to Daniel Altmaier after a heated postmatch exchange that included this line from Tsitsipas: “Next time, don’t wonder why I hit you, okay? No, I’m just saying if you serve underarm. . .”

Felix Auger-Aliassime emerged as a major story, defeating Zverev and Alex de Minaur before his run ended in the semifinals. “Well, a lot of things,” FAA said. “A lot of things. because obviously there’s the level, like the way I’m serving, the way I hit the forehand, the way I’m moving around the court, the backhand too. . . I think on top of that it’s just, yeah, the belief, the mentality, the conviction in myself that I have what it takes to win these types of matches.”

Naomi Osaka reached her first major semifinal since 2021 and credited coach Tomasz Wiktorowski: “He’s like always very proud and encouraging,” she said of him. “I feel like it kind of creates a safe space for me to, like, you know, be able to express myself and my tennis.”

The USTA’s reimagined Mixed Doubles Championship and Fan Week drove attendance figures, with Fan Week drawing 239,000 and the mixed event bringing 78,000 over two days, helping push total attendance past 1,000,000. Joe Salisbury observed: “It (the singles star-studded Mixed Doubles event) got the fans engaged in watching more doubles. So I think for that part it was a good thing. For the event, the last sort of eight, nine days, I think it’s been good. More fans were coming to watch.”

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have established a rare pattern of dominance on the ATP Tour, combining to win the last eight Grand Slam titles — four apiece since the start of 2024 — and meeting in three straight major finals this season, a new milestone for the men’s game in the Open Era. Their rivalry has extended beyond slams: in the last five ATP Tour tournaments in which both entered, the world No 1 and No 2 have met in the final.

That run of five consecutive finals when both players competed together is the first time in more than four decades that a pair have done so, echoing the streak set by John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl in 1984. The Alcaraz-Sinner sequence began at the Italian Open in May, when Alcaraz beat Sinner in what was the Italian’s first tournament back after his three-month doping suspension.

Weeks later the pair contested a Grand Slam final at Roland Garros, with Alcaraz saving three championship points in a match widely described as legendary. Sinner then ended the Spaniard’s Wimbledon reign, defeating him in four sets in that final. Both players withdrew from the Canadian Open but reached the Cincinnati Open final the following week, where Sinner was forced to retire five games into the match because of illness.

The rivalry produced its first US Open final between them, with Alcaraz denying Sinner a successful title defence to claim his second Flushing Meadows crown and move to a 4-1 record in finals between the two this year. As the tour moves into the Asian swing, the pair have chosen different schedules: Sinner will play the China Open and Alcaraz has opted for the Japan Open instead of defending his Beijing title. The next event they are both set to play is the Shanghai Masters, where Sinner will attempt to defend his title.

The McEnroe-Lendl comparison is apt: in 1984 those two met in six straight finals when competing in the same event, beginning at the Masters. McEnroe won five of those encounters before Lendl overturned him in a comeback at Roland Garros. The 1984 sequence ended at Queen’s Club, and the duo finished their rivalry having met 36 times, with Lendl holding a 21-15 advantage.