Alcaraz out-dueled Sinner 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3 in an epic 2022 US Open quarterfinal in a match that began on a Wednesday night and climaxed at 2:50 a.m. on Thursday morning.

The pair carried a raucous night crowd—and fans all over the world—on a wild ride that spanned five hours, 15 minutes and was the second-longest US Open match in history.

Today, a ruthless Sinner shredded Czech Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 launching his US Open title defense with pure domination.

Sinner set up an intriguing second-rounder vs. talented Aussie Alexei Popyrin, who won the 2024 Canadian Open then stunned Novak Djokovic at the US Open weeks later.

“I feel in a good shape physically. Has been some good practice days, especially last couple,” Sinner said afterward. “Yeah, I feel physically in a good spot.

“Also good first-round match, so I’m very happy. Let’s see what’s coming.”

Many in the tennis world hope what’s coming on September 7th is a showdown between No. 1 Sinner and No. 2 Alcaraz in the US Open final in what would be the second straight Sincaraz major final.

That clash would conjure vivid memories of their 2022 marathon that propelled Alcaraz to the US Open final where he defeated Casper Ruud to secure the No. 1 ranking.

So how has the Sinner-Alcaraz evolved since their maiden Flushing Meadows meeting?

Reflecting on that match, Sinner said both were more hitters than the polished players they’ve both become in the three years since.

“We were getting to know each other obviously and in different ways, but we also didn’t know exactly what to expect in the future,” Sinner said of Alcaraz. “It’s the same now. You don’t know what’s happening, now with us now on.

“I feel like when we were very, very young, it was, you know, like a kind of match where you just go on court and just hit, you know.”

Depth is the difference in the rivalry now, Sinner said. Both men have developed more options therefore it’s more of a tactical test than a matter of trying to beat the opponent to the punch from the baseline.

Alcaraz, who held a 5-0 lead in this month’s Cincinnati final when Sinner retired due to illness, has posted a 40-2 run since April.

The second-seeded Spaniard snapped Sinner’s 26-match hard-court winning streak in Cincinnati, while extending his ATP Masters 1000 winning streak to 17 matches.  Alcaraz holds a 9-5 career edge over Sinner though Sinner won their last major match in the Wimbledon final.

The world’s Top 2 have squared off 10 times since that US Open quarterfinal with their matches now becoming like physical chess—each man tries to anticipate the others move in advance for a crucial counter-attack.

“Now I feel like we have to prepare tactically, we have to prepare it also emotionally and mentally,” Sinner said. “It’s everything different, because, you know, in the past three years, we faced each other many times, and every match we play it’s different, if we watch the tactical side.

“So we make adjustments. But for sure it was an important match to see also that our peak is very interesting to see also from the outside. It was for sure one of the key matches, even if we were very young.”