Alcaraz claims 2nd U.S. Open

The 22-year-old Spaniard regains No. 1 ranking with four-set win over Sinner.

- By Howarp FENDRICH

KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH Associated Press CARLOS ALCARAZ rejoices after recording his sixth Grand Slam triumph.

Carlos Alcaraz reasserted his superiority over Jannik Sinner with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory Sunday in the U.S. Open final for his second trophy at Flushing Meadows and sixth overall at a major. This was the third Grand Slam tournament in a row where these elite, young rivals met to decide the champion.

The match’s start was delayed for about a half-hour while thousands of fans were stuck outside Arthur Ashe Stadium while going through extra security because President Trump sat in a sponsor’s suite. Perhaps the extra wait got to the No. 1-seeded Sinner, who was the defending champion.

Right from the beginning, under a closed roof because of rain earlier in the day, No. 2 Alcaraz outplayed Sinner, reversing the result from when they played for Wimbledon’'s title less than two months ago.

Alcaraz’s leads over Sinner are now 10-5 in their head-to-head series, 6-4 in major trophies, and 2-1 in U.S. Open championships. Plus, this 2-hour, 42-minute win allowed Alcaraz, a 22-year-old from Spain, to take away the No. 1 ranking from Sinner, a 24-year-old from Italy. This hard-court matchup followed Alcaraz’s victory over Sinner after erasing a trio of match points on the French Open’s red clay in June, and Sinner’s victory over Alcaraz on Wimbledon’s grass in July.