Carlos Alcaraz secured his second US Open title on Sunday, bringing his total major wins to six. The 22-year-old now shifts focus to achieving a Career Grand Slam, with the Australian Open as the only major left for him to win.
“It’s my first goal, to be honest. When I just go to the preseason to [see] what I want to improve, what I want to achieve, Australian Open is there,” Alcaraz said. “It’s the first or second tournament of the year, and it is always the main goal for me to complete a Career Grand Slam, Calendar Grand Slam. So it’s going to be great.”
In addition to his victory in New York, Alcaraz reclaimed the World No. 1 spot in the PIF ATP Rankings by defeating Jannik Sinner in the final. This marks his return to the top position for the first time since September 2023.
“Since I got the chance to recover the No. 1, it was one of the first goals that I had during the season, just to try to recover the No. 1 as soon as possible or end the year as the No. 1,” Alcaraz said. “For me, achieving that once again, it is a dream. Doing [it] in the same day as getting another Grand Slam feels even better. It’s everything I’m working for, and I’m really happy to be able to live these experiences.”
Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero praised his performance against Sinner, describing it multiple times as a “perfect” match.
“He always wants me to play at my best, and not too many times I would say he’s said that, that I played perfectly. So for me, it’s a great win,” Alcaraz said. “But, yeah, he’s right. I think I played perfect. I played perfectly.”
During this US Open run, Alcaraz lost only one set — against Sinner — and dropped serve three times throughout the tournament. He became only the second men’s singles champion at a major since 1991 to lose three or fewer service games on his way to winning; Pete Sampras previously achieved this at Wimbledon in 1994 and 1997.
“I feel like this is the best tournament. Since the first rounds to the end of the tournament, the best tournament so far that I have ever played,” Alcaraz said. “The consistency of my level during the whole tournament has been really, really high, which I’m really proud of, because it’s something that I’ve been working on, to be really consistent.”
Alcaraz and Sinner have faced each other in three consecutive major finals; Alcaraz currently leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 10-5.
“I love watching him play. I think it is unbelievable what he’s doing. Secondly, it’s because I love to study him, how he plays, how he feels on the tournaments just [so] if I played him in that tournament, just to have feedback how he’s been playing in the tournaments,” Alcaraz said. “I wouldn’t say he’s predictable, but I know his style. I know what he’s going to do or his main weapons [in] his game. So I just try to be focused on that.”
Looking ahead after this win in New York City — where he described lifting a second US Open trophy as “super special” — Alcaraz has set new targets such as winning remaining ATP Masters 1000 events and capturing a title at Nitto ATP Finals.
“It’s a great feeling. It’s great. I’m working really hard just to lift this trophy. It’s my second one, but it’s still a dream, a dream come true,” Alcaraz said. “The second one here is super special.”