Carlos Alcaraz's locker room behaviour at US Open speaks volumes as his attitude emerges

Tennis icon Andy Roddick has praised Carlos Alcaraz's calmness after witnessing his behaviour ahead of the US Open final. Alcaraz is set to face Jannik Sinner tonight, with the victor claiming the world No.1 spot as well as the final major of the year.

Alcaraz and Sinner have impressively split the last seven grand slam titles between them and are poised to make history when they face off in a third consecutive major final. The Spaniard will be eager to avenge his Wimbledon final defeat to Sinner, having also fought back from adversity to claim the French Open title in June. Despite the pressures surrounding the showdown in New York, former US Open champion Roddick has revealed that Alcaraz is unfazed by the sense of occasion, having spoken to him in the locker room on the eve of the final.

"I saw Alcaraz, I saw him, I don't know, 11:30am, like, getting ready," he explained on his , detailing his day watching the women's final on Saturday. "I mean, he's not worried about how he's hitting the ball. Maybe there's a couple specific things he wants to work on for this specific matchup, but he doesn't need to hit much. Like, he doesn't need to. He's getting some bodywork done."

"He's so relaxed, dude. I envy confidence," Roddick admitted.

"Oh, we were just talking, just, like, bull****. I think the world of him, but I walk into the training room, no one's in there. So he has no choice. He has to talk to me. Like, I'm the only option, but he's just fantastic."

Alcaraz reached the US Open final by defeating Novak Djokovic in straight sets. Meanwhile, Sinner secured his place in a fifth consecutive grand slam final with a win over Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime.

In terms of their head-to-head record, Alcaraz has won nine of his 14 meetings with Sinner, triumphing in six of their last seven clashes. However, he failed to maintain his winning streak at Wimbledon and was forced to save three championship points in their unforgettable French Open final. Given their history, Alcaraz is keen to learn lessons from their most recent clashes.

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"I always take things [from] the previous matches. If I'm playing against Jannik, obviously I'm going to take things about the last matches that I've played against him," Alcaraz said after his win over Djokovic. "The last one or the last three matches, I'm going to take note, and I will see what I did wrong, what I did great in the matches, just to approach the final in a good way."

Sinner is relishing the task of taking on Alcaraz for the US Open title and defending his top spot in the world rankings. The 24-year-old seems acutely aware of his and Alcaraz's new status within the sport, having dominated tennis for the last two years.

"I love these challenges. I love to put myself in these positions," Sinner told reporters on Friday. "He's someone who pushed me to the limit, which is great, because then you have the best feedback you can have as a player. We have faced each other quite a lot now lately, so things are getting a little bit different.

"Always when we step on court, we are aware of maybe more things, because him or me, we try to prepare the match tactically and in different ways... It's great for the sport having rivalries, having hopefully great matches in front of us. And then we'll see. I'm someone who loves these challenges, and I love to put myself in these positions and to see how it goes."