Does Sinner have an Alcaraz problem? Jannik says he needs to become "a bit more unpredictable"

NEW YORK — Jannik Sinner says it’s time to change things up after falling to Carlos Alcaraz in four sets in the US Open final on Sunday.

It was the third straight Grand Slam final meeting between the two rivals: Alcaraz triumphed at Roland Garros in a five-set thriller, while Sinner got his revenge at Wimbledon.

But even on his preferred hard courts, Sinner didn’t have the answers against Alcaraz on Sunday. Their Grand Slam trilogy came to its epic conclusion in New York with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory for Alcaraz—and plenty of homework for Sinner.

Read More: Service and a smile: How Carlos Alcaraz conquered Jannik Sinner at the 2025 US Open

“I felt like was a bit cleaner today. The things what I did well in London, he did better today,” Sinner explained during post-match press conference. “I felt like he was doing everything slightly better today, especially serving, both sides, both swings very clean…

“I give lots of credit to him, because he handled the situation better than I did. He raised his level when he had to.”

The match was delayed by 30 minutes due to heightened security measures at Arthur Ashe Stadium during a visit from U.S. President Donald Trump, one of several high-profile guests at Flushing Meadows this weekend.

That didn't rattle Alcaraz, who was in peak form all tournament and didn’t drop a set en route to the final—a run that included a semifinal victory over 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic. Against Sinner, the Spaniard served up a hard-court masterclass, hitting 10 aces and winning 83% of his first-serve points.

Sinner, on the other hand, made just 48% of first serves and looked to be always on the back foot against the quicker, sharper Alcaraz.

“I was very predictable today,” Sinner said. “On court, in the way of he did many things, he changed up the game. That's also his style of how he plays.

“Now it's going to be on me if I want to make changes or not, you know? Definitely we are going to work on that.”

The push-and-pull rivalry between Alcaraz and Sinner has already drawn comparisons to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and even to Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert—who faced each other 80 times, and regularly met in finals.

But while Sinner has been nearly untouchable against everyone else—compiling a staggering 109-4 record against non-Alcaraz opponents since the start of 2024–he’s just 1-7 against the Spaniard during the same period.

“This is the ultimate test for Jannik Sinner, and it looks like it’s going to be for quite a while,” Chanda Rubin said on Tennis Channel. “The problems that Alcaraz presents, and how he can disrupt play and how he can keep Sinner off balance. Now, it’s on Sinner to see what he can add and continue to improve.”

Sinner is up for the challenge. In fact, he’s willing to take some big risks in order to make those changes happen, as he explains in Tennis.com’s Quote of the Day:

JANNIK SINNER: I was very predictable today. On court in the way of he did many things, he changed up the game... Now, it's going to be on me if I want to make changes or not, you know? Definitely, we are going to work on that.

I'm trying to be more prepared for the next match what I will play against him…

I'm going to aim to, you know—maybe even losing some matches from now on—but trying to do some changes, trying to be a bit more unpredictable as a player, because I think that's what I have to do to become a better tennis player.

At the end of the day, that's my main goal…