Donald Trump has praised the “unbelievable talent” of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner following his attendance at the US Open final contested between the two this weekend.
President Trump was a guest of Rolex at the US Open men’s singles final between Alcaraz and Sinner, the third straight major final between the ATP’s two dominant forces.
Trump’s appearance at the final caused a 40-minute delay to the start of the championship match due to additional security checks, with some fans not making it into the Arthur Ashe Stadium until after the match had started.
However, the delay clearly did not faze Alcaraz, who produced a scintillating performance to down his Italian rival in four sets, winning his second US Open title and reclaiming the world No 1 ranking.
A long-time tennis fan, Trump was a US Open regular for the best part of three decades, though he had not attended the event since 2015 ahead of the final.
And, asked about his experience during a press call earlier this week, POTUS heaped praise on both Alcaraz and Sinner.
“Well, I loved it,” said Trump.
“First of all, the two players [Alcaraz and Sinner] have unbelievable talent. It just seemed that they hit the ball harder than I’ve ever seen before. Incredible talent — and I enjoyed it.
“I used to go all the time, but lately it’s a little bit more difficult to go. I really enjoyed it.”
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Trump’s last appearance at the US Open came shortly after he started his first presidential campaign back in 2015, attending the women’s singles quarter-final between Venus and Serena Williams.
At the time, POTUS was widely booed by the Arthur Ashe crowd, and the potential crowd reaction to the 79-year-old was a key talking point in the build-up to Sunday’s final.
Reports emerged ahead of the match that TV broadcasters had been instructed to mute any crowd reaction when Trump appeared on the screen.
Video footage recorded inside the stadium suggested there was booing directed towards the President when he appeared on screen, though he himself claimed the fans were “nice” to him during his time inside the stadium.
He added: “They were really nice, the fans were really nice. I didn’t know what to expect.
“Usually, you would say that would be a somewhat progressive — as they would say, nowadays — crowd. Some people would call it liberal.
“But, we’ll use the word they like to use, progressive, but they were great, the fans were great.”
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