It was Sinner who began the year with a bang, winning his second straight Australian Open before heading to the French Open in a bid to win his first Slam away from hard courts. He met Alcaraz in the final, and it seemed as though his dream would come true when he built up a two-set-to-love lead. Then, however, the Spaniard came roaring back to life, saving three match points to somehow win a five-set thriller.Sinner would have his revenge at Wimbledon, with the two meeting once again in the final. This time around, Alcaraz claimed the first set, but the Italian was relentless, reeling off three in quick succession to secure the famous gold trophy for the first time. Now, across the Atlantic, online tennis odds providers make the two rivals the favourites to face off once again.The latest Bovada tennis odds currently list Sinner as the 4/5 favourite to claim the US Open, with Alcaraz considered a 5/4 second favourite. And that's not all. The rivalry is expected to continue well into 2026, with the two hotshots sitting atop the betting charts for next year's Aussie Open, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon.Sometimes, however, underdogs can spring a shock. Over the years, a slew of outsiders have managed to reign supreme at Flushing Meadows. Here are the three highest-seeded victors at the US Open.

Ask any tennis historian what they remember about the 2002 US Open, and you’ll hear the story of Pete Sampras—arrayed in twilight, battered by critics, written off as a spent force. The American hero arrived at 31, seeded a lowly 17, chasing shadows of his own former greatness. There were no titles in his account since 2000. Wimbledon had ended in the second round, while Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, and Tommy Haas were all considered better bets should the hosting US have a Stateside-born winner.But Sampras was no ordinary champion. Round by round, he set about turning predictions to dust.He fought past Haas in a five-set epic, swatted away Roddick in the quarters—a symbolic passing of the torch that would have to wait—and then outlasted Czech underdog Sjeng Schalken to reach the final.There, on Arthur Ashe’s cathedral of noise, Sampras met his old foe, Agassi. For four spellbinding sets, history and rivalry collided. Sampras, riding that crisp serve-and-volley game one last time, prevailed 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, clutching his fifth US Open trophy and a record 14th major. The moment—a fade to black in legend, a tearful farewell before the final curtain—remains among the sport’s most stirring.

Flushing Meadows, more than any other Slam, loves a redemption arc. Marin Čilić’s 2014 victory still reverberates as one of the tournament’s most cathartic. Seeded 14th, the Croatian's previous twelve months had been a minefield—yet here he was, liberated and thunderous.His serve—a missile clocked at 142 mph at its peak—and flattened groundstrokes began shredding seeds left and right. He lost only two sets on his way to the final. Most astonishing of all was the semifinal, where Čilić played the match of his life and roasted the GOAT Roger Federer in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.Then, against Kei Nishikori, himself on a miracle run, Čilić simply did not flinch: 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in a match that barely lasted two hours. He was 25, back from the brink, and roaring into the elite. Some fairy tales, it turns out, do happen—all the more exhilarating for being so unlikely.

In 2009, Juan Martín del Potro, the gentle, lanky Argentine with a sledgehammer forehand, turned the Open upside down. At just 20, seeded sixth, he had already flagged his intent with a French Open semifinal, but at Flushing Meadows, he entered a different stratosphere.First, he bulldozed through the early rounds. Then, in the semis, he decimated Rafael Nadal—6-2, 6-2, 6-2—in a display so brutal that commentators were left grasping for superlatives. The final brought Federer, owner of five straight US Open crowns, a symbol of establishment power. Del Potro fell behind, clawed back, fell behind again.But with a mixture of wild belief and a howitzer forehand - regularly clocking above 100 mph - he wrestled victory from Federer’s grasp: 3-6, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2. Four hours of seesaw drama. When victory came, del Potro collapsed, tears falling among the confetti. History has never forgotten him.