Jannik Sinner Echoes Roger Federer’s Rafael Nadal Sentiment About Facing Carlos Alcaraz Ahead of their US Open Final Clash

Jannik Sinner is set to take on Carlos Alcaraz in his third consecutive Grand Slam final at the US Open. The Italian star has met with the Spaniard in four tournament finals in which they competed together. He has revealed that he doesn’t agree with Roger Federer‘s sentiment that he doesn’t like facing his arch-rival, Rafael Nadal, on the court.

Federer and Nadal met on the court forty times before the former retired from professional tennis. Nadal led their head-to-head record 24-16 on tour, including 14-10 in finals. They also met on nine occasions in Grand Slam finals, with Nadal leading their head-to-head record 6-3, despite Federer winning their last final at the Australian Open in 2017.

However, both players shared a deep mutual respect for each other on the court, and their rivalry stirred them to get better on the court. Sinner and Alcaraz have been dubbed to have the same kind of rivalry as Federer and Nadal. The duo has only met fourteen times on the court, with Alcaraz leading their head-to-head record 9-5.

They have also faced each other in four finals this season, with Alcaraz winning the Italian Open, French Open, and claiming the Cincinnati Open after Sinner retired. On the other hand, Sinner has won only one final, and that came at the Wimbledon Championships, where he came from a set down to stop Alcaraz from his third consecutive grass-court Grand Slam.

Ahead of Sinner’s clash with Alcaraz at the US Open, he was asked if he agrees with Federer’s preference to play other players rather than his rival. The World No. 1 admitted that he loves the challenge that Alcaraz gives him on tour and loves meeting him in tournament finals:

Yes and no! If that is what Roger said, I feel like we all think the same way. But I love these challenges. I love to put myself in this position, and he is someone who pushed me to the limit, which is great, because then you have the best feedback that you can have as a player. We have faced each other quite a lot now lately, so things are getting a little bit different. Always when we step on court, we are aware of more things, because him or me, we try to prepare the match tactically in different ways.

Sinner and Alcaraz are the two best players in the men’s circuit this season. The latter leads the former 6-2 head-to-head record on titles. Sinner’s only titles this season have come from Grand Slams, while Alcaraz has won one major title, three ATP Masters 1000 crowns, and two ATP 500 trophies.

Jannik Sinner reveals the reason he is in his fifth consecutive Grand Slam final

Jannik Sinner is now into his fifth consecutive Grand Slam final after beating Felix Auger-Aliassime in four sets. The 24-year-old began the match with high intensity, winning the first set before the Canadian star showed an inspired display in the second set. But Sinner rallied back into the match to win 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.