The best tennis possible: Alcaraz and Sinner meet in the dream US Open final.

Sometimes, what's predictable is also what's desirable. Since the US Open began two weeks ago, the most anticipated final has also been the most likely . And those dreams and probabilities have come true: Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will face off in yet another grand slam final this Sunday.

It's a duel that, no matter how many times it's played, never tires. It will be the third consecutive Grand Slam final won by these two, the kingpins of world tennis. At Roland Garros, in that miracle on the Parisian clay, the Spaniard won. The Italian responded with a thrashing at Wimbledon, where he defeated Alcaraz in three sets. And now they meet again this Sunday, at 2 p.m., 8 p.m. in Spain, on the blue cement of New York, in the Grand Slam final that closes the season.

Both secured their place this Friday. The most attractive and toughest semifinal, at first glance, was the one against Alcaraz. He faced Novak Djokovic, the greatest in history, in one of his last attempts to lift his 25th Grand Slam title. But the Murcian defeated him comfortably, with a modest match, but one that he won in three sets (6-4, 7-6, 6-2). Sinner's match should have been easier, facing Félix Auger-Aliassime, who hadn't appeared in a Grand Slam semifinal since 2021. But the Canadian put up a fight, stole a set, and even created problems in the third. Sinner, the most dominant player of the last two years , held on and won the match in four sets (6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4).

The 'Sinner vs. Alcaraz' has become a contemporary classic of global sport. "Our rivalry began here in a mind-blowing match," he said from the court after beating Auger-Aliassime. He was referring to their clash at the 2022 US Open, when they met in the quarterfinals, at the height of their careers. That was an unforgettable night, a bare-chested battle in which they pushed each other to the limit, with violent, crescendo-like rallies and historic acrobatics, such as that behind-the-back return by Alcaraz. The coin fell in Alcaraz's favor, and a few days later he would win his first major here and become the youngest world number one in history.

Since then, they have grown to dominate tennis with an iron fist, in the style of the 'Big Three', the trio formed by Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who for years monopolized the vast majority of the 'greats'.

Sinner and Alcaraz's victory in the semifinals confirms that their era, that of the 'Big Two' , is now a reality: between the two of them, they will have won every major tournament of the last two seasons. It remains to be seen which of the two is the better team. On the one hand, Alcaraz has won more major tournaments: five at the moment, compared to four for Sinner. That is to say, at most, the Italian will equal him this Sunday. But Sinner has shown overwhelming consistency. Of the last eight Grand Slams, he has reached the final six times and lifted four trophies, to which he could add a fifth on Sunday.

The Italian, a cold and flawless player with a difficult-to-hold baseline game, has been considered by many to win the tournament. Because of his superiority at Wimbledon, because victory eluded him at Roland Garros despite holding three match points, and because he withdrew from his most recent match, the Cincinnati final, due to a virus. And because on hard courts, where the ball flies with his whiplash, he hasn't lost a Grand Slam match since losing here in the round of 16 two years ago, in the 2023 edition.

"We're different players now, we have different confidence levels, we know each other very well," Sinner said after their semifinal match.

Alcaraz acknowledged after his match that his opponent on Sunday has made a physical leap. The lanky Italian has seen a jump in power and speed that has turned him into a scoring machine. "In the last two years, he's improved a lot physically," he stated. "In physically demanding games, he's now capable of playing at 100% for two, three, or four hours."

But the Spaniard also arrives with credentials for the final. The tournament has been an example of the strength his tennis has found this year. Since this spring, starting with the Monte Carlo tournament, he has played eight tournaments and reached the final in all of them. "I've gained that consistency and left behind those ups and downs," he said of the blackouts that have occasionally hampered his tennis.

In New York, he cruised through the tournament with ease: unlike Sinner, who lost sets to both Auger-Aliassime and Dennis Shapovalov in the third round, Alcaraz hasn't lost a single set throughout the tournament. Leveraging a more dominant serve than ever, he has only lost serve in two games throughout this US Open.

Sinner acknowledged after his semifinal that his serve and consistency are two of Alcaraz's biggest improvements over the past two years.

"I love these challenges," the Italian said of Sunday's final. "He pushes me to the limit," he added of Alcaraz, who will have to push him even further if the Murcian is to win his sixth Grand Slam title.