Carlos Alcaraz is being backed by many to go the distance at this year’s US Open. He has eased past his opponents in the competition thus far. However, he will have to be wary of his next opponent Jannik Sinner who seems to have got his number.
We have hailed the Spaniard on a number of occasions for the spectacular season he has had so far. The 19-year-old Alcaraz has won 4 titles and outplayed some of the biggest names amongst the younger generation in 2022.
He began his campaign at Flushing Meadows against Sebastian Baez. The Argentine was forced to retire during the third set owing to an injury. Alcaraz had won the first two sets and led the third by a 2-0 margin when the match had to be stopped. In the second round, the youngster defeated Federico Coria in straight sets. The domination continued in the third round, as he made light work of Jenson Brooksby. The Spaniard faced his biggest challenge against Marin Cilic in the fourth round. The former Grand Slam champion came back from behind on two occasions. However, Alcaraz showed great composure and won the fifth set with ease to progress to the quarters.
The Italian youngster has been on a roll of late. He recently won the Croatia Open defeating Alcaraz in the final. At the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Masters, Sinner reached the round of 16 stages before being ousted by Pablo Carreno Busta and Felix-Auger Aliassime respectively.
Sinner has won a couple of matches in five sets and one apiece in the third and fourth sets. The 21-year-old defeated Daniel Altmaier in a closely-contested match in the first round. Sinner’s second-round match against Christopher Eubanks ended in three sets. Against Brandon Nakashima, Sinner lost the first set but fought back to win the next three. In the fourth round, Sinner was pushed to the limit by Ilya Ivashka. Sinner won the grueling five-set affair 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
Jannik Sinner leads the head-to-head 2-1. Alcaraz won the first encounter against the Italian star but lost the next two.
Prediction: Carlos Alcaraz to win in five sets.
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