Mumbai, Sept. 9 -- "I'm seeing you more than my family," Carlos Alcaraz told Jannik Sinner, minutes after the Spaniard won the US Open final on Sunday night. It was a light-hearted comment during the winner's speech, but had a deeper meaning. So far this year, they have faced each other five times - all in the final. On Sunday night at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Alcaraz won 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to clinch a sixth Grand Slam title, and the second at the US Open, reclaiming the world No.1 spot. The Spaniard played some of his best tennis through the tournament and brought that same momentum to the final. He dropped just one set, and that was in the final. Sinner had not been his ruthlessly consistent self, as he was in the Wimbledon final that he won in four sets. "We maybe practiced for 15 days (after Alcaraz lost the Wimbledon final), very focused on the details that we have to improve to play against Jannik," Juan Carlos Ferrero, the former world No.1 and Alcaraz's coach, told atptour.com, talking about the training camp organised to help the Spaniard train for future matches against Sinner. "It helped a lot because (Alcaraz) realised what (areas) he has to improve a lot, and I was very focused on it." The result of that camp was that in their first full match since Wimbledon in July, Alcaraz, 22, had an answer to everything Sinner threw at him. But in this defeat, Sinner has taken away a valuable lesson. "I was very predictable today on court," the Italian said in New York. "He did many things, he changed up the game. That's also his style, how he plays. Now it's going to be on me if I want to make changes or not. That's definitely (what) we are going to work on. I'm trying to be more prepared for the next match that I will play against him." Alcaraz and Sinner, 24, are the best men's singles players in the world right now, and comfortably above the rest. Each brings their unique style. The Spaniard is strong off the baseline but mixes his play frequently and effortlessly. He'll toss in slices, drop shots, hit with topspin or send flat thunderbolts, always in search of the extraordinary. Sinner is a powerful and aggressive baseliner, with incredible efficiency and consistency. He has impeccable defensive skills as well, and against most players he can out-hit his way out of trouble. That does not always work against Alcaraz. "One thing is when the scoreline (or) matches before are comfortable but you always do the same things, like I did, for example, during this tournament. I didn't make one serve-volley, didn't use a lot of drop shots - and then you arrive at a point where you play against Carlos where you have to go out of the comfort zone," Sinner said. The plan now is to work on fresh areas in his game, even if it doesn't immediately bear fruit. "I'm going to aim to maybe even lose some matches from now on, but trying to do some changes, trying to be a bit more unpredictable as a player," Sinner said. "Because I think that's what I have to do, trying to become a better tennis player." Remarkably, this is not the first time Sinner has figured his game follows certain patterns. Djokovic had dissected his game after they met at Wimbledon in 2022. In that quarter-final, Sinner, world No.13 at the time, was two sets up before the Serbian spotted the trends and mounted a comeback, eventually going on to win the title. In the podcast "Served with Andy Roddick," Sinner's coach Darren Cahill recalled approaching Novak Djokovic after that Wimbledon match for feedback on his ward's game. "The ball's great, but there's no variation," Cahill recalled Djokovic saying. "There's no shape on his shot. There's no height over the net. Doesn't come to the net. He's not trying to bring me in. I know that he returns well, but he's not attacking my serve on the return of service." The feedback served the Italian well, who then modified his technique and tactics and went on to win four Grand Slam titles and stay world No.1 for 65 weeks. He lost that top ranking to Alcaraz on Sunday. Now as the one chasing, Sinner is looking forward to their next meeting. They are bound to see more of each other....