Jannik Sinner seeks unpredictability in battle to overcome rival Carlos Alcaraz

Jannik Sinner is planning to remodel his game to try to give him an edge in his rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz.

The Spaniard gained the upper hand once more by winning the US Open, beating Sinner in their third successive grand slam final and retaking the world number one spot from the Italian.

Alcaraz has now defeated Sinner in two of the slam deciders this season, edging a titanic battle at the French Open and winning much more comfortably in New York, while Sinner came out on top at Wimbledon.

That seemed to have redressed the balance but, although Sinner has only lost one match to a player other than Alcaraz for more than a year, he has lost seven of the last eight clashes between them.

And Sinner believes he must learn from his rival by adding greater variety to his game, saying after his 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4 defeat at Flushing Meadows: “I was very predictable.

“He did many things, he changed up the game. That’s also his style of how he plays. Now it’s going to be on me if I want to make changes or not. Definitely we are going to work on that.

“I’m trying to be more prepared for the next match that I will play against him. It also, I feel, depends how you arrive to play against Carlos.

“When matches before are comfortable but you always do the same things, like I did – for example, during this tournament, I didn’t make one serve-volley, didn’t use a lot of drop shots – and then you arrive to a point where you play against Carlos where you have to go out of the comfort zone.

“So I’m going to aim to maybe even lose some matches from now on, but trying to do some changes, trying to be a bit more unpredictable as a player, because I think that’s what I have to do, trying to become a better tennis player.

“It takes time. One secret is also patience. It’s not like it comes from now and then in Beijing I’m going to be a lefty. It’s going to take time, and then we see. Maybe it’s just a small thing. Maybe I can change big. I don’t know.”

It is a fascinating dynamic, with both men admitting they train specifically with the other in mind.

Alcaraz has improved his serve this year and that was a key factor in New York, where he was broken just three times all tournament, while the Spaniard followed the game plan of his team to try to get the first big strike in before Sinner.

The pair have never felt more dominant than in New York, and you have to go back to the Australian Open to find a tournament they both played in where they did not meet in the final.

It is becoming increasingly hard to see any likely challengers in the near future and, as captivating as their matches are, predictability does not make for great sport.

Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero expects the pack to start to catch up, saying: “I think if we have more players fighting for the big titles, for people I think it’s going to be even more entertainment.

“For us, it’s going to be worse, because we have to mix the tournaments. But it’s always welcome, the players that rise and play a high level. I think people learn from these kind of matches. They know where the level is and where they have to go. For sure they’re going to try.”

Alcaraz celebrated his success with a party in Manhattan and he will take a little bit of time to enjoy his sixth slam title before turning his attention to the next part of the season in Asia.

Another intriguing element is that both Sinner and Alcaraz are now only one title away from completing the career Grand Slam, with the Spaniard needing the Australian Open title and the Italian the French Open.

“It’s my first goal, to be honest,” said Alcaraz. “Obviously I’m going to try to do it next year but, if it is not next year, hopefully in two and three and four. So I will try to complete it.

“If he does it first, it’s a great achievement, but, for me, all I want to think is to complete it no matter when.”