WHAT HAPPENED: There’s good reason why Carlos Alcaraz, 19, and Jannik Sinner, 21, keep bumping into each other when both prize money and trophies are at stake.

For starters, the #NextGenATP stars—not just the future of the sport, but the right now—keep going deep in the draw, week in, week out. Each came into the US Open quarterfinals among the top five in match wins in 2022, the Spaniard Alcaraz with a tour-best 48 (and a co-leading four titles), the Italian Sinner with 42.

It was already their third on-court encounter since July, with the 11th seed Sinner having prevailed in both the Umag final and in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. However, Wednesday night/Thursday morning in Arthur Ashe Stadium would belong to Alcaraz, who saved a match point to prevail in a five-set thriller that lingered until a record 2:50 a.m., finalizing with a score of 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3. The five-hour, 15-minute epic is the latest finish in US Open history.

Alcaraz became the youngest Grand Slam men’s semifinalist since his countryman Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros in 2005, and the youngest US Open men’s semifinalist since Pete Sampras in 1990.

“I still don’t know how I did it,” said Alcaraz. “The level that I played, the level of the match, the high quality of the tennis. It’s unbelievable, the match today. Jannik Sinner is a great player. As everybody could see, his level is just amazing.”