Political dignitaries and notable figures from an array of industries dotted Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens on Sunday to witness Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner stage another chapter of their growing rivalry in the men’s singles final of the US Open.
President Donald J. Trump and several members of his cabinet were among the 24,000 in attendance. He was met with a mix of cheers and boos as the first sitting president to attend the US Open since Bill Clinton’s appearance in 2000. Singer Bruce Springsteen, NBA star Stephen Curry, his wife Ayesha Curry and his father Dell Curry, and actress and singer Lindsay Lohan were also among the well known public figures that saw 22-year-old Alcaraz defeat Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to capture his second US Open title and sixth Grand Slam singles championship.
The tournament’s No.1 seed Sinner was seeking to best No. 2 seed Alcaraz in their third straight major finals. The 24-year-old from Italy triumphed 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 over Alcaraz at Wimbledon in July. It came five weeks after Alcaraz took down Sinner in June at the French Open 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) in a grueling match that took 5 hours and 29 minutes to complete — the second longest men’s Grand Slam final ever.
On Sunday, Alcaraz came out on fire winning the first set in eight games. But Sinner took the second in nine games. Unfortunately for him, it would be the last set he won. In capturing the US Open title, Alcaraz reclaimed the men’s No. 1 world’s ranking. He is the second youngest man to claim six Grand Slam titles behind only Bjorn Borg, who turned pro in 1973, unexpectedly retired at age 25 in 1983, and made a brief comeback in 1991.
Minutes after his victory, Alcaraz expressed his respect for his opponent.
“Every tournament you are playing, I am seeing you more than my family,” he jokingly said to Sinner. “Every achievement I have is because of you.”
Later, Alcaraz admitted regaining the No. 1 spot is meaningful. “For me, achieving [No.1] again is a dream … Doing it on the same day as getting another Grand Slam feels even better.”
As for Sinner, who has four major championships, he graciously acknowledged that it was Alcaraz’s day. “Carlos, congrats, amazing performance,” he said to Alcaraz on the court. “You deserve it.”