Jannik Sinner will go on to face Carlos Alcaraz in a historic third consecutive grand slam final after overcoming the pressure of Felix Auger-Aliassime at the US Open.
Two men will face off in three major finals in the same season for the first time in the open era, with Sinner and Alcaraz attaining levels of dominance never seen during the heyday of the Roger Federer -Rafael Nadal duopoly.
Sinner had just been comfortably beaten by Alcaraz when Canadian Auger-Aliassime was handed a test, playing his second grand slam semifinal, but the world number one ran away with a 6-1, 3-,6 6-3, 6-4 win.
The victory makes Sinner only the eighth man in history to make all four slam finals in the same year and the youngest in the open era, and his hard-court winning streak at the majors of 27 matches is the best, with only one other man (Federer) currently surpassing his mark.
Alcaraz won at Paris and Sinner at Wimbledon, so there can be no greater prize than the final on Sunday, and the winner will not only take possession of that measure but will take 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’s coming. Sunday is going to be a very special occasion. We know each other very well.”
Auger-Aliassime, who could now focus on his future wedding, won his two matches against Sinner, but when the two faced off at Cincinnati last month, he could only manage two games.
One of the things that will bother Sinner is that he has not been playing well this tournament, and Auger-Aliassime, whose only prior slam semifinal was here four years ago, started to actually jump in on the second delivery of the Italian.
The glamour ticket was the semi-final, but this was a far better quality match, and Auger-Aliassime blasted purple in the second set that even Sinner could not keep up with.
In the second game, the champion of the day excavated himself out of a hole, 0-40, but Auger-Aliassime was striking deeply and hard and defending better.
Among the spectators, women’s semifinalist Naomi Osaka was filmed sitting in the stands with a Honey Deuce cocktail, and when Sinner was 0-40 again at 3-4, Auger-Aliassime took his chance and served out the set with two aces.
The physical impact of the competition appeared to be taking its toll, too, and Auger-Aliassime was hobbling on his heels as Sinner delivered the set.
