Rafael Nadal congratulates Carlos Alcaraz with touching message just minutes after fellow Spaniard's US Open triumph

Rafael Nadal congratulated Carlos Alcaraz minutes after the latter had completed a triumphant campaign at the 2025 US Open, which saw him win his sixth Major title with a four-set win over Jannik Sinner in the final.

In the much-hyped final between the top two-ranked players in the world for a third time in a Major final in 2025, Carlos Alcaraz set himself apart from his Italian rival. He had reached the final without dropping a set and started strong in the summit clash, winning the first set 6-2. However, as was expected, Sinner hit back by winning the second set 6-3.

Alcaraz was not to be denied, as his response to losing his first set of the tournament was emphatic, as he took the third set 6-1, before breaking the Italian's serve one more time in the fourth set to win it 6-4 and win the match. In a dominant final, the Spaniard had won 56 percent of the total points to Sinner's 44 percent.

Alcaraz's win was immediately felicitated by his countryman and four-time US Open champion, Rafael Nadal, who immediately sent a touching message on X (formerly Twitter) just minutes after the match was over, congratulating the Spaniard for his triumph in New York and a return to the No. 1 ranking on the ATP charts.

With this win, Alcaraz now has a 10-5 head-to-head record against Jannik Sinner.

This was Carlos Alcaraz's seventh title of the season

Carlos Alcaraz with the 2025 US Open trophy (Getty)

The 2025 season has been one of a kind for Carlos Alcaraz as the US Open final was his ninth overall final of the season, and seventh title of the season. On the hard courts, this was the Spaniard's third title of the season after winning the events in Rotterdam and Cincinnati.

Along with the hard court titles, Alcaraz also has four titles on the natural surfaces, winning in Monte-Carlo, Rome, and at Roland Garros on clay, and clinching the title at Queen's Club on grass. He also reached the finals in Barcelona and Wimbledon, losing against Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner.

Overall, Carlos Alcaraz has a 61-6 win-loss record in the season, with the Spaniard reaching at least the quarterfinal stage at 12 of the 13 events he has played this year. He has returned to No. 1 on the rankings with 11540 points, ending Sinner's 65-week reign at the top of men's tennis, and also leads the men's singles race rankings with 10,540 points and is looking to add to the tally at his potential next event in Tokyo.

About the author

Sagnik, a Mass Communication and Journalism graduate, is a tennis journalist at Sportskeeda. Before finding his spot in the tennis writing team, he worked as a junior content specialist for academic content writing firms for a couple of years.

Before putting out any information in the public domain, Sagnik makes sure that every element of his content is well-researched and backed with credible data so that there is no misinterpretation of facts or quotes and ethical standards are maintained. To do so, Sagnik follows reputed websites like the Tennis Channel and Tennis TV, and renowned journalists on social media.

He is a fan of former player Roger Federer, and just like his favorite player, Sagnik likes to bring perfection to his write-ups by providing concise and on-point content. Speaking of the ‘GOAT’ debate, Sagnik believes that it is a bit unfair to compare the legends of the game from different eras who have played on different terms. But if he were to pick one, he’d go for Novak Djokovic based on his tally of 24 Grand Slam titles.

When not writing about tennis and technically analyzing the sport, which he believes are his 'forte', Sagnik indulges in reading books.

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Edited by SAGNIK DATTA