Jannik Sinner's Resolve to Rebuild

After losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the U.S. Open final to end a long run at No. 1, Sinner is ready to risk making big changes to his game.

NEW YORK — Coming into the U.S. Open final, the prevailing story of men’s tennis had been one of a duopoly: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are just so far ahead of the rest of the field that a new era is already is clear.

Their marches toward one another in the draw had felt increasingly perfunctory; to reuse a joke I’ve made several times this week already, it felt like the first six rounds of this men’s tournament could’ve been an email.

But then, when many might’ve been settling in for an epic, the 2025 U.S. Open men’s final unexpectedly lasted “only” two hours and 42 minutes. To be sure, that’s a good amount of time to be sitting and watching anything; it’s roughly the average length of a recent Scorsese or Tarantino movie.

But by the standards of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, Sunday’s match felt like a brisk blur: they were on court Sunday for less than half the time it took to complete the pair’s five-hour, 29-minute French Open final three months ago.

At the end of what has felt like the longest U.S. Open ever—lengthened by more than 30 minutes of delays caused by increased security screenings outside Arthur Ashe Stadium because of President Donald Trump’s presence which forced many fans to miss much of the first set—Alcaraz sped away with a decisive four-set victory: 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

The conversation had shifted by the end of Sunday; no longer was it about how far are Sinner and Alcaraz from the rest of the field. Instead, the conversation became about how much distance is there now between the two of them.

Well, based on Jannik Sinner’s responses in a remarkably blunt-but-upbeat post-loss press conference, the man who is suddenly the ATP No. 2 thinks he has a long way to go to close the gap with incoming-No. 1 Alcaraz, and he’s willing to make some sacrifices to get there.

To read the rest of the Bounces dispatch from the 2025 U.S. Open men’s final and hear from both Sinner and Alcaraz, please subscribe to Bounces! Thanks! -Ben