Jannik Sinner admits he was predictable against Alcaraz in US Open final, ready to evolve his game

US Open runners-up Jannik Sinner admitted he was predictable against Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the New York Major and thus suffered a loss in a four-set contest. Alcaraz registered a comprehensive 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win at the Arthur Ashe Stadium to win his second US Open title.

The Italian admitted he didn’t try different things when Alcaraz was dominating. Sinner said he would be willing to lose some matches in order to evolve his game and become a better tennis player.

“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, 6-3, 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.”

Meanwhile, Sinner had beaten Alcaraz in a four-set contest in the Wimbledon final and feels the Spaniard was able to improve his game ahead of the US Open.

“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.”

Sinner made it to the final of all four Grand Slam finals in 2025, winning two and losing as many. The 23-year-old said it has been a great season for him thus far.

“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.”