Carlos Alcaraz tipped to win men’s US Open title

Spanish upcoming star Carlos Alcaraz emerged triumphant from a five-set thriller against Jannik Sinner to advance to the final four of the 2022 US Open.

And legendary tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou thinks the victory, which took five-plus hours to secure, is an incredibly encouraging sign for the budding superstar.

"I would say that the two that have the biggest potential that are still in the draw are clearly, for me, Sinner and Alcaraz," Mouratoglou — who is best known for his decade coaching 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.

"I believe that the winner of this match will maybe have an edge on the others," he added.

The 19-year-old Spaniard earned that edge in spectacular fashion, pulling off other-worldly athletic feats while dueling Sinner tooth and nail into the wee hours of the morning. After jumping ahead in the first set, Alcaraz lost back-to-back tiebreaks in the second and third to find himself on the brink of heartbreak in the fourth.

"I still don't know how I did it," he said on the court following the match — and swung the momentum firmly in his favor from then on. At 2:50 a.m. local time, the teen secured the 6-3, 6-7 (7-9), 6-7 (0-7), 7-5, 6-3 victory, officially punching his ticket to the first Grand Slam semifinal of his young tennis career.

"The quality of the tennis of Sinner and Alcaraz is great for the show," said Mouratoglou. "So fantastic." 

The 52-year-old Frenchman — who currently mentors Stefanos Tsitsipas, Coco Gauff, and other rising stars while serving as Simona Halep's primary coach — knows tennis talent when he sees it. And when it comes to Alcaraz and his quarterfinal opponent, he sees it.

"It gives us a hint about what's gonna happen in the future," Mouratoglou said. "We are following those guys super closely because some of them, a few of them are gonna really probably start winning much more in the future.

"Sinner and Alcaraz are two of the most promising younger ones," he said.