How Carlos Alcaraz could beat fierce rival Jannik Sinner to another major title after US Open triumph

It’s been a two-horse race in men’s tennis as far as Grand Slams are concerned for the last two years with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner sharing the last eight titles equally between themselves, extending Novak Djokovic’s wait for a record-breaking 25th Major.

The two won every alternate Grand Slam this year, with Sinner lifting the trophy in the Australian Open and Wimbledon and Sinner pulling off an incredible comeback to win the French Open and later beating the Italian in the US Open final earlier this month.

In the process, Alcaraz also dislodged Sinner from the top of the ATP rankings, the Spaniard returning to the top of the standings for the first time since 2023, ending the Italian’s 65-week reign that had begun in June last year.

Though the Grand Slams are done and dusted this year, there still is quite a bit of tennis action to look forward to, including and especially the year-ending ATP Finals. And Sinner for one, will have his sights set on reclaiming the No 1 spot from his fierce rival, hoping to finish another year as the top-ranked player.

That, however, will be easier said than done for the 24-year-old given Sinner currently enjoys a 760-point at the top of the leaderboard and is in pole position to claim the ATP Year-End No. 1 for the second time in his career.

Alcaraz primed to beat Sinner to year-ending No 1 spot

Alcaraz returns to action in the Laver Cup in San Francisco that gets underway on Friday and concludes on Sunday, and will fly to Tokyo later this month for the ATP 500 Japan Open.

Sinner, meanwhile, will be returning to action at the China Open, also an ATP 500 event that takes place in Beijing and gets underway on 25 September, a day after the Japan Open.

It is the Shanghai Masters, however, that could play a major role in deciding which player finishes on top at the end of the year. Both Sinner and Alcaraz are competing in this event, and a victory for the latter might just close the door on the race to the Year-End No 1.

Sinner on the other hand, could keep his hopes alive with a victory in Shanghai, which then will extend the battle to the next ATP 1000 event – the Rolex Paris Masters, which will conclude a week before the ATP Finals get underway on 9 November.

The way their rivalry has unfolded though, there is a slight possibility of Sinner staying alive in the battle under the year-ending Finals in Turin.