Sinner beats Auger-Aliassime at the U.S. Open and faces Alcaraz for a 3rd Grand Slam final in a row

NEW YORK (AP) — Jannik Sinner took a medical timeout because of a bothersome abdominal muscle during a mid-match lull before retaking control for a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime in the U.S. Open semifinals Friday night, moving closer to a second consecutive title at Flushing Meadows.

No one has repeated as the men's champion in New York since Roger Federer took five trophies in a row from 2004-08.

The No. 1-seeded Sinner, a 24-year-old from Italy, will face No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, a 22-year-old from Spain, on Sunday, making them the first men in tennis history to meet in three straight Grand Slam finals within a single season, according to the ATP.

“It’s great for the sport having rivalries, having hopefully great matches in front of us,” Sinner said. “I’m someone who loves these challenges, and I love to put myself in these positions and to see how it goes.”

The top spot in the rankings will be on the line, too, in front of an Arthur Ashe Stadium audience that is expected to include President Donald Trump.

“It's a very special day,” Sinner said about Sunday's matchup. “It's a very amazing final again.”

Alcaraz got there by defeating 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2 earlier Friday.

Sinner advanced to his fifth consecutive title match at a Slam. He beat Taylor Fritz at Flushing Meadows 12 months ago and Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open in January, then lost to Alcaraz at the French Open in June, before beating his rival at Wimbledon in July.

“Amazing season,” Sinner said.

Against Auger-Aliassime, Sinner was terrific in the opening set, merely so-so in the next, when the abdominal issue limited his ability to serve his best, according to one of his coaches, Simone Vagnozzi.

“Sometimes you're tired and you can't let your opponent see that. At a certain point in the second set, his level went down. And naturally, if your opponent sees that, he can take energy from that," Vagnozzi said. "So you have to be good at masking your emotions and masking the physical issues Jannik had today.”

Sinner's run of 38 service holds that dated to the third round ended when Auger-Aliassime went up 5-3 in the second by driving a 99 mph inside-out forehand winner for a break that he marked with a loud yell.

That forehand was key for the 25-year-old Canadian who was trying to reach his first major final and already had eliminated No. 3 Alexander Zverev, No. 8 Alex de Minaur and No. 15 Andrey Rublev.

When he closed that set with a 117 mph ace, Auger-Aliassime had grabbed 12 of 13 points and the match was all even.

“I was going toe-to-toe, at times,” the 25th-seeded Auger-Aliassime said.

After that set, Sinner left the court for medical attention that Vagnozzi said afterward had made a difference.

Indeed, Sinner looked just fine when he returned from the locker room. So did his play.

“After the treatment, was feeling much, much better,” Sinner said. “At some point I didn’t feel anything anymore. I was serving back to normal pace, so it was all good. Nothing to worry about.”

After managing only three winners, but six unforced errors, in the second set, Sinner was back to being Sinner in the third: 11 winners, four unforced errors. He broke thanks to a stumbling, awkward return of a 124 mph serve that somehow landed in, drawing a netted response from Auger-Aliassime.

More of that came in the fourth, when, after saving five break points early — he saved 9 of 10 throughout the evening — Sinner broke to move ahead 3-2. Just 25 minutes later, it was over, and Sinner had earned his 33rd win in his past 34 Grand Slam matches, which includes an unbeaten run of 27 on hard courts.

“He’s been dominating on hard courts,” Auger-Aliassime said, “but, I mean, kind of everywhere.”

Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, returns a shot against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, returns a shot to Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, reacts after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, returns a shot to Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, returns a shot against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, returns a shot against Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, reacts against Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, reacts against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Mohamad Al-Assi ran beneath the concrete wall as the sun rose over Bethlehem. His Nikes pounded the gravel, his breath fogging the air as graffiti and paint splatter blurred past with each stride.

The road along the barrier separating Israel from the occupied West Bank makes up a stretch of a marathon route that Al-Assi and thousands of others ran on Friday. The event is open to people in other parts of the world running in solidarity with the Palestinians and another, shorter race was happening in Gaza.

The race, known as the Palestine Marathon, was held for the first time in three years and was among the first big international events in the West Bank since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Festivals, conferences and holiday festivities that once drew thousands have been scaled back or canceled because of the war in Gaza and heightened Israeli restrictions.

It marked a turning point for Al-Assi, 27, who was released from Israeli detention six months ago. Video from that day shows him gaunt-faced and hollow-eyed, his once muscular legs weakened after more than two and a half years of prison.

He began training in December, gradually upping his mileage every month since. He ran 62 miles (100 kilometers) that first month, and in April reached 135 miles (217 kilometers), according to his account on the tracking app Strava.

He jogs in the morning after his mother wakes him up in their home in Dheisheh, a Palestinian refugee camp made up of graffiti-covered cinderblock homes in tangled alleyways.

“The main difficulties we face are the cars on the roads and the presence of Israeli security forces along the route where I train,” Al-Assi said.

He had to suspend his training several times because of military operations in the camp.

“I would return home feeling hopeless because I couldn't do what I had intended to do,” Al-Assi said.

In the West Bank, runners cannot complete a 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) course without hitting a checkpoint or military gate, which is why Friday's marathon route looped around the same circuit twice.

They ran up through the narrow streets of two Palestinian refugee camps and down to a farming town next to Bethlehem where fields are divided by the concrete wall, barbed wire and cameras. The course hooked back to finish at Bethlehem’s Manger Square.

Organizers say the race highlights restrictions facing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, where checkpoints can disrupt even routine commutes and where open land for hiking, biking and running is increasingly taken by Israeli settlements and outposts.

“Marathon runners anywhere may ‘hit a wall’ under the physical and emotional strain of completing the 42-kilometer race course," they said on the marathon's website.

But in the West Bank, they added, "runners literally hit the Wall.”

At a time when the West Bank’s economy is struggling and in the shadow of Gaza's fragile ceasefire and stalled rebuilding efforts, the atmosphere in Bethlehem was celebratory. Crowds gathered near the Church of the Nativity to cheer runners at the race's early morning start and finish. Bagpipes blared and drummers pounded out traditional rhythms through streets along the route.

On a beachside road in Nuseirat in central Gaza — which is roughly the length of a marathon — 15 disabled people, including amputees, ran a 2K, and a couple thousand of people ran a 5K. Thirteen years after the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, canceled a 2013 marathon because Hamas forbade women from participating, the women were back.

Haya Alnaji, a 22-year-old woman who ran in the 5K, said the number of people taking part reflected that Palestinians in Gaza were determined to live and persevere despite the devastation wrought by more than two years of war.

“All of Gaza loves sports,” she said.

Al-Assi was arrested in April 2023, and imprisoned under administrative detention, which allows Israel to hold detainees for months without charge. Between 3,000 and 4,000 Palestinians are being held under that system, according to Israeli rights groups and the Palestinian Prisoners Society.

In October 2023, Al-Assi was sentenced for transferring money to suspicious entities, a charge he denies. Israel closely monitors money transfers — particularly to Gaza — for fear that funds could end up in the hands of militants. Palestinians, however, say donations and charitable contributions are often swept up in the dragnet. Israel’s military, Shin Bet and Prison Service did not answer questions about Al-Assi's charges.

In Israeli prisons — where detainees routinely complain of inadequate diets — Al-Assi said nearly everyone goes hungry. The weight he lost eroded the endurance built through 10 years of training.

“I have more muscle mass than fat, so when I lost weight, the loss came from my muscles rather than fat,” he said. “This had a major impact on my physical fitness.”

He also had to regain the mental fortitude to run a marathon.

“I was emotionally shattered after spending such a long period in prison,” he said.

On Friday, he collapsed to his knees, bowing and thanking God after finishing second overall, as supporters and journalists encircled him. He dedicated his run to Palestinians still in Israeli detention.

“After 32 months in prison, Mohamad Al-Assi is first in his class!” he shouted through tears, raising his hands and looking up to the sky.

__ Imad Isseid contributed from Bethlehem, West Bank and Abdel Kareem Hana from Nuseirat, Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian amputee runner takes part in the 2-kilometer Palestine Marathon along the coastal road near Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinian runners take part in the 5-kilometer Palestine Marathon along the coastal road near Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Runners participate in the Palestine Marathon in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Runners pass by Israel's separation wall as they compete in the Palestine Marathon in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Palestinian Mohamad Al-Assi, who was released from Israeli detention six months ago, runs past Israel's separation wall as he trains ahead of the Palestine Marathon in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Sam Metz)