On Sunday, September 7th, Carlos Alcaraz reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking after defeating Jannik Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the men's singles final at the US Open. It is the second US Open title for Alcaraz and 6th grand slam title. He's won the French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open two times each, still seeking that first Australian Open title. A bit odd to need the Australian to finish up the career slam, but that's a topic for another day.
Throughout the entire tournament, Alcaraz played fantastic, not dropping a set until the final. He defeated No. 7 Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 in the semifinals and shredded No. 20 Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. It was a dominant two weeks of tennis from Alcaraz as nobody (including Sinner) really pushed him.
Where Alcaraz truly shined was on his serve. He was second in the tournament in percentage of first serve points won at 84%, winning 287 of 342 first serve points. A much larger sample size than first place Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who won 85% of his first serve points in the lone match that he played. As for his second serve, Alcaraz was equally outstanding, leading the tournament in percentage of second serves won with 63% (130 of 205). When you are controlling your serve at that level of consistency, you're going to be really difficult to stop.
What also needs to be underscored about the way Alcaraz was serving is he wasn't accumulating a ton of aces. He had 48 for the entire tournament, which ranked 12th, but when you consider he played in seven matches, his aces per match were much lower than the others that were atop that list. It's a reminder that good serving isn't always about getting the ace or having the most power. It's about being able to put yourself in position to dictate the point. That's where his service game excels.
On top of the stellar serving, Alcaraz was simply the best all-around player for the tournament. His movement is phenomenal, he can beat you from the baseline, he can beat you at the net, etc. There's really no weakness to his game, which is why he's the number one ranked player in the world.
Looking ahead, in addition to seeing if he'll finish the season ranked number one, it'll be interesting to see if Alcaraz will be able to break through and win his first Australian Open in January. Sinner will almost certainly be on the opposite side of the net should he reach the final.
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