Jannik Sinner will take on Carlos Alcaraz in a historic third straight grand slam final after fighting off the challenge of Felix Auger-Aliassime at the US Open.
For the first time in the open era, two men will meet each other in three major finals in the same season, with Sinner and Alcaraz achieving levels of dominance not even seen at the height of the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal duopoly.
After Alcaraz comfortably saw off Novak Djokovic, Sinner was given a test by Canadian Auger-Aliassime, who was playing in his second grand slam semi-final, but the world number one pulled away to win 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4.
With the victory, Sinner becomes just the eighth man ever to reach all four slam finals in one season and the youngest in the open era, while his hard-court winning streak at the majors of 27 matches has equalled Djokovic’s best with only Federer now ahead of him.
After Alcaraz was victorious in Paris and Sinner at Wimbledon, the stakes could not be higher for Sunday’s final and the winner will not only claim supremacy in that metric but will leave New York as world number one.
Sinner, who can win a fifth slam overall and fourth in the last five majors, said: “Amazing season, obviously. The grand slams are the most important tournaments and finding myself again in the final, with an amazing crowd, it does not get any better.
“It was a very tough match today but obviously I’m very happy. Let’s see what coming. Sunday is going to be a very special occasion. We know each other very well.”
Auger-Aliassime, who can now concentrate on preparing for his upcoming wedding, won his first two matches against Sinner but, when the pair met in Cincinnati last month, he managed just two games.
Initially, it appeared this would be a similar story, with the top seed on his game from the start and losing just one game in the opening set.
But Auger-Aliassime is a prodigious talent and, while he might not yet have lived up to the enormous potential he demonstrated as a teenager, at 25, time is still on his side.
One thing that will concern Sinner is he has not served well this tournament, and Auger-Aliassime, whose only previous slam semi-final was here four years ago, began to really step in on the Italian’s second delivery.
While the first semi-final was the glamour ticket, this was a much higher-level match, and Auger-Aliassime hit a purple patch in the second set that even Sinner could not live with.
The defending champion dug himself out of a hole in the second game, recovering from 0-40, but Auger-Aliassime was hitting hard and deep and defending superbly.
Among those enjoying the spectacle was women’s semi-finalist Naomi Osaka, filmed sat in the stands with a Honey Deuce cocktail, and, when Sinner found himself 0-40 down again at 3-4, Auger-Aliassime seized his opportunity before serving out the set with two aces.
Sinner’s troubles included physical discomfort, with the 24-year-old heading off court for a medical timeout, apparently for an abdominal problem.
The question was whether Auger-Aliassime could maintain his phenomenal level, and the answer arrived midway through the third set when the errors suddenly crept into his game and Sinner broke to lead 4-2.
The physical toll of the contest also looked to be having an effect, with Auger-Aliassime moving gingerly on his feet as Sinner served out the set.
The Canadian took the opportunity to head off court for a bathroom break and returned with a second wind.
Had Sinner’s desperate backhand at break point in the fourth game of the fourth set not caught the outside of the line – to the utter disbelief of his opponent – the contest might have played out differently, but the top seed fought off the danger, broke in the next game and completed yet another win.
