Tennis: Before Trump: Alcaraz thanks to US Open Triumph number one in the world

Carlos Alcaraz spread his arms very far and laughed from the heart. With an outstanding appearance, the Spanish tennis star had just triumphed at the US Open for the second time after 2022 and has risen to number one in the world rankings again. Before the eyes of US President Donald Trump, the 22-year-old won the final in New York against the Italian defending champion Jannik Sinner with 6: 2, 3: 6, 6: 1, 6: 4.

With a kiss, Alcaraz considered the trophy that he accepted from the hands of tennis icon Ivan Lendl. Alcaraz crowned a fantastic tournament and celebrated his sixth Grand Slam title. On Monday, he replaces Sinner (24) as the leader of the world rankings and enthroned for the first time in two years.

“Tennis from the other star”

“I’m just trying to play my best for you,” Alcaraz said to the almost 24,000 spectators at Arthur Ashe Stadium and, after the third Grand Slam final, joked against Sinner: “I see you more than my family”.

“Carlos Alcaraz really plays tennis from the other star. He played furiously, not only today, but the whole tournament,” said the three -time Wimbledon winner Boris Becker as an expert at “Sporteurope.TV”.

Like the Belarusian women’s winner Aryna Sabalenka, Alcaraz received a Grand Slam record price of the equivalent of 4.27 million euros ($ 5 million). “Enjoy it. It’s a big moment. I tried my best, more was not possible,” Sinner praised his rivals. The South Tyrolean, who had taken over the world rankings at the beginning of June 2024, missed its fifth Grand Slam title and got half.

Premiere: third final between Alcaraz and Sinner

The final duel had received an additional stimulus with the showdown for number one. The endgame lacked the drama of the French Open final, but the two best players in the world delivered attractive tennis entertainment and spectacular rallies. Apart from the second set, Alcaraz clearly dominated and only released his surcharge once.

At the French Open in June, the Spaniard had won an epic final. Sinner had triumphed in July in Wimbledon. The history of the professional tennis had never existed in the history of the professional tennis that a duo has faced each other in three Grand Slam final.

“He pushes me to my limits. It is great for sport to have rivalries,” said Sinner before the final. For two years now, the Grand Slam winners in the men’s tennis have now only been called Sinner or Alcaraz.

Trump visit leads to long snakes in front of the entrance

Trump mainly followed the game from one of the lodges. The US President was welcomed with boos and applause when he was shown on the screen. Stricter security checks as a result of the Trump visit had delayed the start. Long snakes formed at the entrance.

Alcaraz dominates the start

Thousands of spectators still missed how Alcaraz Stark started. Paris’s Olympic second won break chances in the first game and took the serve off. Alcaraz also put pressure on the Italian with the lead in the back and delighted the fans with a semi-volley stop.

At the stand of 2: 4, Sinner saw the next break chances and helped the opponent to expand the advantage with a volley into the network. Once again, Alcaraz showed his repertoire with power, athletics and wit. Sinner, on the other hand, made some more unusual mistakes in the first set. After 37 minutes, Alcaraz surprisingly clearly secured the first set.

Only one set loss for the Spaniard in seven appearances

In the second section, Sinner used a weak phase of the Spaniard and, in turn, set a sign of 3-1 with the break. Now he was up for a short time and did not let the rivals come back into the passage. The 3: 6 was the first sentence of Alcaraz in the tournament. The US Open Champion from 2022 had survived every six rounds in three sets.

However, the game quickly tipped back towards Alcaraz. The Spaniard secured the break to 2-0, angered the ball far below the ceiling. The stadium roof was closed because of the rainy weather.

Alcaraz, on the other hand, encouraged the audience to support him even more when he held his service game. Dominant, the Spaniard rushed through the third round and took the new sentence leadership. The break to 3: 2 in the fourth section led him to victory after a total of 2:42 hours.

Three years ago, the world’s largest tennis stadium was an extraordinary place for Alcaraz. At that time he had become number one with his first Grand Slam title for the first time and at the age of 19 as the youngest in the ranking history.