Carlos Alcaraz admits the moment in the US Open final when he was genuinely ‘scared’

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Carlos Alcaraz has emerged victorious at the US Open once again, defeating Jannik Sinner in their New York final.

Second seed Alcaraz overcame top seed Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium, having also won the hard-court tournament in 2022.

He is now a six-time Grand Slam champion, having also triumphed twice at the French Open and twice at Wimbledon.

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal has congratulated Alcaraz on his latest success, which also sees him return to the top of the ATP rankings.

The new US Open champion has overtaken Sinner in first place, and now boasts 23 ATP titles, seven of which have arrived this season.

Carlos Alcaraz admits the moment in his US Open final with Jannik Sinner when he was ‘scared’

There was, however, a real moment of worry from the Spaniard in the closing stages of his final with the Italian.

Speaking about smiling despite losing two championship points on his serve before closing the match out at deuce, he said on ESPN: “I was scared! I am not going to lie. The smiling is something which helped me a lot to pull out all the nerves.

READ MORE: Tim Henman claims Carlos Alcaraz did something in the US Open final which he’s never seen before

“Thanks to that it seems like I am having fun. I like this moment. I like the challenge. In the most difficult moments in the match, I like them.

“I face them like ‘okay, it is going to happen’. So that is why I smile and thanks to that I can show my best tennis in those moments.

“Obviously it is a final of a Grand Slam, there is nothing to be scared of, to be worried about. It’s just about smiling as much as you can.”

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner continue Grand Slam dominance as US Open concludes

Alcaraz may even have been brought back to his French Open final encounter with Sinner from earlier this season at that worrying moment.

In Paris, however, it was the Italian who was in that position, losing three championship points en route to losing their dramatic clash.

But Alcaraz didn’t exactly show concern in New York, producing his signature smile before finally getting over the line and claiming a huge win.

It means the ATP rivals have stunningly shared the Grand Slam titles not only this season but also last season.

Fittingly, they have four wins apiece, with many, many more titles set to follow in the coming years from Sinner and Alcaraz.

They have taken over the mantle perfectly from the Big Three of Roger Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic, while the rest of the ATP Tour should have huge motivation to try and end their dominance.