ATP Tour
Sinner willing to lose matches evolving his game if it means beating Alcaraz
Italian slips to World No. 2 after seventh loss in past eight matches against Alcaraz
September 08, 2025
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Carlos Alcaraz defeats Jannik Sinner in the US Open final, improves to 10-5 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
By Jerome Coombe
After suffering his seventh defeat in his past eight Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings with Carlos Alcaraz — a loss that also cost him the World No. 1 ranking — Jannik Sinner admits it’s time for a change.
The 24-year-old Italian fell in four sets to Alcaraz in the US Open final on Sunday and, reflecting on the trajectory of their rivalry, he vowed to shake things up. Speaking in his post-tournament press conference, Sinner acknowledged he had become too ‘predictable’ and stressed the need to evolve his game if he hopes to turn the tables.
“I was very predictable today on court. 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,” Sinner said after his 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 defeat. “That’s definitely [what] we are going to work on. I’m trying to be more prepared for the next match that I will play against him.
“It also depends on how you arrive to play against Carlos. One thing is when the scoreline [or] matches before are comfortable but you always do the same things, like I did, for example, during this tournament, I didn’t make one serve-volley, didn’t use a lot of drop shots, and then you arrive to a point where you play against Carlos where you have to go out of the comfort zone.
“So I’m going to aim to maybe even lose 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, trying to become a better tennis player. At the end of the day, that’s my main goal.”
Sinner had been virtually untouchable on hard courts in recent years, arriving in the final at Flushing Meadows on a 27-match unbeaten streak at majors on the surface. Yet Alcaraz has now defeated him four straight times on what has long been Sinner’s strongest ground.
The foundation of Sinner’s dominance has been his ability to blast through opponents from the baseline, a weapon he used to defeat Alcaraz for his first Wimbledon title in July. But with the No. 1 spot in the PIF ATP Rankings on the line at the US Open, Sinner was simply outplayed by Alcaraz, who hit double the amount of winners (42 to 21) throughout their two-hour, 42-minute battle.
“He has improved. I felt like [he] was a bit cleaner today. The things I did well in London, he did better today,” Sinner said, comparing their battles at Wimbledon and the US Open. “That’s [the] result. I felt like he was doing everything slightly better today, especially serving, both sides, both swings very clean.
“I think that’s it, I give lots of credit to him, because he handled the situation better than I did. He raised his level when he had to. I’m still proud of myself, about the season I’m playing and making, but yeah, he played better than me today.”
Although Sinner was unable to defend his US Open crown and will slip to World No. 2 on Monday, he is proud of the achievements he has made across 2025. With titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon and runs to the final at Roland Garros and the US Open, Sinner became just the fourth man in the Open Era to reach the championship match at all four Grand Slams in a season.
“Overall, the season result-wise, amazing,” said Sinner. “Four Grand Slam finals of the year. Two Grand Slams won, two times lost in the final, it’s incredible results, no? [I’m] very happy, and now we try to finish the year as strong as we can.”
Having been knocked off his 65-week reign atop the PIF ATP Rankings, Sinner finds himself in the role of the chaser rather than the hunted — a shift in perspective he admits could prove valuable.
“Sometimes adding just something, and I think that’s going to be or that’s going to make a difference from my personal point of view that I can say that I’m going to become a better tennis player,” said Sinner.
“I’m going to change a couple of things on the serve, just small things, but they can make big differences. Then we see how it goes. I’m looking forward to playing these matches again. Something new is now I’m not No. 1 anymore, so it also changes a little bit that you chase.”
Sinner will leave New York with a 37-5 record on the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
Although he is now 2,590 points adrift of Alcaraz in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, the reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion will look to close the gap in the season’s final stretch as their battle for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours continues.
