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Here we go again. For the third Grand Slam in a row, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will meet in the final. The eyes of the world will fix upon New York. And so, naturally, along comes the president to make it all about him.
Reports began to swirl on Friday that Donald Trump would make his first visit to Flushing Meadows in a decade, and late in the evening the United States Tennis Association confirmed as much in a statement sent to Daily Mail Sport.
President Trump loves attending sporting events, to associate himself with the bombast and glory of American sports.
This year he has been to the Superbowl and the Daytona 500, and will attend the Ryder Cup at nearby Bethpage Black later this month. He came to the final of the Club World Cup and, bafflingly and ridiculously, celebrated Chelsea’s victory with Cole Palmer and Co on the podium.
There is unlikely to be a repeat of that, although you never with Trump. He has not been invited by the tournament itself but as the guest of a sponsor, understood to be Rolex.
Here at Flushing Meadows security will be ramped up enormously, with the secret service taking over. As well as checks to get into the grounds there will be an additional, and far tighter, ring around Arthur Ashe stadium itself. Rather than the extremely half-hearted searches conducted so for this fortnight, this will be more like airport security.
Donald Trump will be in attendance for the men's singles final at the US Open on Sunday
The US president controversially involved himself in celebrations following Chelsea's Club World Cup triumph
Ticketholders are banned anyway from bringing backpacks and now on-site staff as well, including us media folk, have been strongly advised to leave all equipment overnight on the Saturday and travel as lightly - and early - as possible for the men’s final.
What reception will Trump receive from the crowd? New York is an overwhelmingly blue state and he was booed on his last visit, to the quarter-finals in 2015 shortly after launching his first presidential bid.
This time it is the final, and with tickets running into the thousands of dollars, the demographic will be different. Perhaps, in this most celebrity-conscious nation, folk will just be excited to see the most famous man in the western world.
Eventually, a tennis match will break out - and what a match it promises to be.
With this meeting in New York, the dominance of Sinner and Alcaraz is complete. They have met in the final of the last five events they have played and are the first duo in the Open Era to contest three Slam finals in the same year.
They were asked before the final what they have each improved to hit such heights, and their virtually identical answers show how well they know one another’s games. ‘Physically he has improved a lot,’ said Alcaraz of Sinner. ‘For me, I think the consistency, not having the ups and downs.’
Sinner on Alcaraz: ‘Before there were more ups and downs. Now he's very consistent.
‘With me, the physical shape is better.’
Once again it is Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz who will do battle with one of tennis' grandest prizes on the line
The Spaniard has the edge based on his performances at Flushing Meadows thus far
Alcaraz may lead the head to head 9-5 but these days they are impossible to separate, on any surface. In the bookies’ eyes, this is what they call over here a pick ’em match - too close to call.
Well my pick is Alcaraz. He has dropped zero sets this fortnight to Sinner’s two but more significantly his serve has been stronger. When all else is so equal between these two, often the matches are decided by who lands more first serves.
In the French Open final Alcaraz landed four per cent more than Sinner and won; at Wimbledon Sinner was nine per cent better and won.
Alcaraz tweaked his service motion in the off-season and added more weight to his frame. That has taken some adjustment but here he has found a lovely rhythm.
‘This tournament is the best feeling I have had with the serve in a year,’ said Alcaraz after beating Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. ‘I will try to continue like that.’
If he does, he will probably win. Alcaraz has landed 65 per cent of his first serves while Sinner, whose serve is generally stronger, is down at 57 per cent. The Italian’s first serve was especially wonky in the first half of his semi-final win against Felix Auger-Aliassime, who produced an inspired second set but went down in four.
Alcaraz has been the better player this fortnight, becoming the first man since Roger Federer in 2015 to reach the final without dropping a set. But Sinner has now made five straight Grand Slams finals, winning four - astonishing consistency.
As always, we will just hope both men can bring their best - as they almost invariably do in this captivating rivalry. This third Grand Slam showdown of 2025 could take many hours to decide. Will President Trump have the attention span to sit through it?
