Jannik Sinner looks at positives following five-hour, 15-minute loss to Carlos Alcaraz at 2:50 a.m.

Hot Shot: Carlos Alcaraz

Jannik Sinner will be looking for the silver linings of his epic defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of the US Open, but admits it won't be easy to do straightaway.

The 21-year-old Italian served for the match in the fourth set, and had a match point before falling in five sets to the 19-year-old Spainiard in 5:15. The high-quality encounter finished at 2:50 a.m., a record for the US Open.

Sinner agreed it was one of the toughest defeats of his young career, especially with the wide-open field.

"I think so. Concerning also the rest of the tournament, no, yeah, I think this one will hurt for quite a while," he told press. ''But tomorrow I wake up, or today I wake up, trying to to take only the positive. But it's tough, for sure."

Still, he was pleased with his play and credited his opponent for challenging him to find that level. Both were playing back-to-back five-setters and attempting to reach their first Grand Slam semifinal.

''As I said, this kind of level was very high for sure. It was a good match. I hope also for the spectators," he said. "I feel physically for sure more ready to play these kind of matches for hours and hours. That's for sure the positive side.

"Many positives, I think in this week. The first week I didn't play my best tennis, for sure. But today I was raising because he's a kind of player who makes you raising the level. Yeah, that's it."

It was their second straight Grand Slam meeting, with Sinner defeating Alcaraz at Wimbledon. He will now play Davis Cup for Italy next week, but hasn't stopped aiming for that Grand Slam breakthrough.

"Next tournament I will play Davis Cup. Before I want to practice again in the best possible way, trying to improve. Maybe next time I can win this, no," he said.