Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz defeated long-time rival Jannik Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to secure his second US Open title on Sunday. The Spaniard, now 22, would become the youngest player in history to win all four majors if he lifts the trophy at the Australian Open in Melbourne next January.
‘It’s my first goal, to be honest,’ said Alcaraz, who has yet to go beyond the quarter-finals in Melbourne despite four previous attempts.
‘When I just go to the pre-seasons to what I want to improve, what I want to achieve, Australian Open is there. It’s the first or second tournament of the year, and it is always the main goal for me to complete a career Grand Slam, calendar Grand Slam. So it’s going to be great.’
The current record is held by Rafael Nadal, who became the youngest man to win all four majors when he lifted the US Open trophy in 2010 at the age of 24.
‘Obviously I’m going to try to do it next year, but if it is not next year, hopefully in two and three and four. So I will try to complete it,’ Alcaraz added.
His latest triumph means he has returned to the world number one spot on Monday, overtaking Sinner to reclaim the ranking he last held in September 2023.
‘When you achieve the goals you set up yourself at the beginning of the year, it feels amazing,’ he said.
‘Since I got the chance to recover the number one, it was one of the first goals that I had during the seasons, just to try to recover the number one as soon as possible or end the year as the number one. For me, to achieve that once again, it is, as I said, it is a dream. Doing it the same day as getting another Grand Slam feels even better.’
Alcaraz conceded only one set across the fortnight in New York, and his victory over Sinner was also a form of payback after losing to the Italian in the Wimbledon final earlier this year.
‘The performance today was perfect,’ commented his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Together, Alcaraz and Sinner have claimed the last eight major titles between them, with only Novak Djokovic interrupting their dominance by winning the other three of the past 13.
Ferrero believes Alcaraz’s ceiling remains extremely high, though he insists success will only continue if his player stays dedicated.
‘The potential to win many titles, many Grand Slams, is there, but we take nothing for granted. Nothing is automatic; you have to make it happen,’ he said.
‘I don’t think too far ahead. I can’t stop to think about whether Carlos is going to win 20 Grand Slams; you have to take each day as it comes. He’s 22 years old; we can’t think he’s perfect, far from it. He has a lot of things to improve on.’
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter from Spain in English.
One of Carlos’ biggest goals? Get back to No. 1.
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 8, 2025
And he did. pic.twitter.com/r3XZQmKCYL
Click here to get your business activity or services listed on our DIRECTORY.