A familiar Slam showdown that follows a now familiar takedown

Alcaraz, Sinner set up their third Slam title clash of 2025, after the Spaniard halts Djokovic in the semis

- Rutvick Mehta

They have hopped from one tournamentto another sharing a chartered flight in China last year. They've run into each other dining at the same restaurant in New York this fortnight. They've walked on court together seven times in the past 18 months.

The tennis world can't get enough of Jannik Sinner versus Carlos Alcaraz. Have they had enough of each other lately?

“Off court, we bump into each other occasionally, I don’t know if we're happy or not,” Sinner said with a chuckle. “On court, we like to see each other, because it means that we are doing well in tournaments.”

“Doing well” is the ultimate understatement. So good have Alcaraz, 22, and Sinner, 24, been in Grand Slams this year that they've confined the 38-year-old Novak Djokovic, a 24-time major champion who not too long ago was running his own race of greatness, effectively to an also-ran in three back-to-back tournaments.

And so they meet again - halt Djokovic in a semifinal again - in a Grand Slam final again.

Sinner, the Wimbledon champion and world No.1, takes on Alcaraz, the French Open champion and world No.2, for the US Open title. With added context this time: the top ranking is also at stake.