Novak Djokovic wants to 'mess up' expected Alcaraz vs Sinner US Open final

Wednesday, 03 September 2025 at 18:25

byJordan Reynolds

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's dominance since the start of 2024 means some think a meeting between them in the 2025 US Open final is inevitable, but Novak Djokovic wants to prevent that.

The last seven men's singles Grand Slams, dating back to the 2024 Australian Open, have been won by Alcaraz or Sinner. Djokovic securing a Gold Medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics was a rare break in their dominance.

Alcaraz and Sinner have also contested the last two major finals. The Spaniard stunningly saved three championship points to triumph at the French Open before Sinner responded by winning their Wimbledon final in four sets.

Although Djokovic's last Grand Slam title was at the 2023 US Open, his results as a player who turned 38 in May are superb. He reached the semifinals of this year's Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon.

The tennis legend ensured his place in the semifinals of all of 2025's major tournaments by defeating Taylor Fritz in four sets at Flushing Meadows. It was a tight match, but Djokovic played terrifically when down break points, saving 11 of 13 chances.

That set up a semifinal meeting with Alcaraz. The world No. 2 undoubtedly starts as the favorite, but Djokovic can take encouragement from defeating the 22-year-old in their last two matches, most recently in the 2025 Australian Open quarterfinal.

Most expect the winner of that match to face the defending champion Sinner, who has won the last three hard-court Grand Slams. He needs to beat his compatriot Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinal to be one step away from another final.

Despite many fans expecting and some eagerly anticipating another major final between Alcaraz and Sinner, the most statistically successful player in tennis history wants to tear up that script and reach an 11th US Open final.

"We don't need to spend words about the two of them(Alcaraz and Sinner). They are the two best players in the world. Everybody's probably expecting and anticipating the final between the two of them."

"I'm going to try to mess up the plans of most of the people, let's see. Sinner still has to win a couple of matches to reach the finals, but they are definitely playing the best tennis of any player here, they've been a dominant force since the beginning of the tournament."

Djokovic lost to Sinner in this year's French Open and Wimbledon semifinals, but he was not in peak physical condition in either match. The Serbian hopes to be feeling better for the encounter with Alcaraz on Friday.

Although he would never admit it publicly, Djokovic may prefer playing Alcaraz to Sinner. The 24-time Grand Slam champion has lost six consecutive times against the Italian(including the 2024 Six Kings Slam Exhibition in Saudi Arabia).

Sinner's style is often compared to Djokovic's, and the ATP world No. 1 stays locked in throughout matches against the Serbian. Although Alcaraz is generally regarded as the most entertaining player worldwide, Djokovic has had an easier time extracting errors from the young star.