Every time Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have stepped into the same tournament in 2025, one of them has walked away with the crown, all four Slams included. The numbers are unreal, and so was their form today: Alcaraz torching the first set against Auger-Aliassime, Sinner slicing through the second against De Minaur. Today’s showdown promises to be epic, but before the storm hits, it’s worth rewinding to the sport’s greatest finales as ATP celebrates 50 years of unforgettable, non-Slam championship clashes.

Ken Rosewall vs Rod Laver, 1972

Ken Rosewall’s legendary duel with Rod Laver at the World Championship Tennis Finals became the match that ignited America’s love affair with the sport. Before stepping into Dallas, the 34-year-old Laver owned a commanding 23-4 edge over his 37-year-old rival, yet Rosewall found the perfect moment, and the biggest stage, to flip their script.

In the 1972 WCT Finals, with the fourth and fifth sets pushed into tie-breaks and the drama spilling past 6 p.m., millions who tuned in expecting the evening news instead witnessed a masterclass. Momentum swung like a pendulum until ‘Muscles’ finally seized one of the decade’s most dazzling victories (4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6), winning hearts and propelling the fledgling pro tour into the spotlight.

Guillermo Vilas vs Ilie Nastase, 1974

World No. 1 Ilie Nastase arrived at the 1974 Masters grass-court final as the towering favourite, armed with 16 titles from 1973 and seven more in 1974, including a recent win over Guillermo Vilas in Madrid. With Vilas’ seven trophies all forged on clay, most believed the Argentine stood little chance on Melbourne’s slick lawns.

But sport rarely obeys expectations. Thanks to the relentless work of physical trainer Juan Carlos Belfonte, who shaped Vilas’ entire year around mastering grass with speed and ironclad endurance, the left-hander was transformed. In a gruelling five-set war, Vilas outlasted Nastase (7-6, 6-2, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4), sparking a tennis explosion in Argentina and paving the way for his future Grand Slam triumphs.

John McEnroe vs Ivan Lendl, 1983

Across 1981 and 1982, Ivan Lendl seemed untouchable against John McEnroe, beating the American seven straight times, including two finals on U.S. soil. But 1983 became the year McEnroe flipped the script, and nothing embodied that shift more vividly than their clash in the World Championship Tennis Finals.

On the lightning-fast indoor carpet of the Reunion Arena, the pair delivered a four-hour, 35-minute masterpiece filled with dazzling shotmaking and stubborn comebacks. Lendl surged to a 3-0 lead in the third set and later dragged McEnroe to three deuces at 5-5 in the deciding set (6-2 4-6 6-3 6-7 7-6), yet it was the American who rose last and highest, wielding a graphite racquet for the first time to claim his third WCT crown, a title he would lift again in 1984 and 1989.

Boris Becker vs Ivan Lendl, 1988

By late 1988, Ivan Lendl still held the historical edge, but his rivalry with a rising Boris Becker was beginning to tilt when they collided in the Nabisco Masters final at Madison Square Garden. Becker had fallen to Lendl in the 1985 and 1986 title matches, and when the Czech surged ahead 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-3, a sixth crown seemed inevitable.

But in a gruelling four-hour, 42-minute war that pushed toward midnight, the 21-year-old German refused to crack against a nine-straight-year finalist, dragging the clash into a five-set classic (5-7, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6). On match point at 6/5 in the deciding tie-break, the two traded a breathtaking 37-stroke rally that ended on a dead net-cord winner off Becker’s backhand, a moment etched into tennis legend.

Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras, 1995

When talk turns to tennis’ fiercest duels, the saga of Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras stands front and centre. Their clashing styles forged a rivalry of fire and finesse, and their 1995 Miami showdown added another blistering chapter. Just a year earlier in Florida, Sampras had edged Agassi in a final delayed out of sportsmanship, and again in Indian Wells in early 1995, tightening the screws on their tug-of-war.

But in Miami, Agassi snapped the script in spectacular fashion. He reeled off 17 straight points in the second set, then seized the last five of the final-set tie-break to claim his fifth ATP Masters 1000 title and soar to 25-2 on the season (3-6, 6-2, 7-6). He struck again in Montreal before Sampras finally stopped his 26-match blaze at the US Open.

Pete Sampras vs Boris Becker, 1996

The gloves were truly off when top seed Pete Sampras collided with his fierce rival Boris Becker in a final that felt more like a heavyweight prizefight than a tennis match. Sampras arrived in peak form after claiming seven tour-level titles in 1996, and though he had won three of their previous four clashes, Becker drew confidence from defeating the 14-time Grand Slam champion on indoor carpet in Germany earlier that season.

With both men marching onto the court to the iconic ‘Rocky’ theme, the stage was set for a clash of giants. Sampras came within two points of sealing the match at 5-4 in the fourth set, but the duel raged on before he finally subdued Becker in a gripping fifth set after four gruelling hours (3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4).

David Nalbandian vs Roger Federer, 2005

Facing Roger Federer in 2005 was nothing short of Herculean. The Swiss maestro entered the Tennis Masters Cup final with an astounding 81-3 record, just one win away from matching John McEnroe’s legendary 82-3 season from 1984. He had strung together 35 straight victories and 24 consecutive finals won, a run untouched in the Open Era since his last title-match loss in 2003.

Yet even greatness can wobble. Federer arrived carrying an ankle injury, and though he snatched the opening two sets in tie-breaks, David Nalbandian refused to yield. Leaning on his 5-3 ATP H2H advantage over the World No. 1, the Argentine mounted a fearless rally, seizing the defining triumph of his career (6-7, 6–7, 6–2, 6–1, 7–6).

Andy Murray vs Novak Djokovic, 2016

Andy Murray’s winner-takes-all 2016 showdown with Novak Djokovic unfolded like pure sporting theatre, a night where the season finale crown and the year-end No. 1 ATP Ranking balanced on a single, trembling match. Riding a 23-match surge with titles in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna and Paris, the Scot strode into London’s O2 with flames in his stride, knowing he had to run the table to rip No. 1 from Djokovic’s grasp.

Under the roar of a home crowd, Murray delivered a masterclass, unleashing near-flawless tennis when the moment demanded steel (6-3, 6-4). With pressure pounding and history stalking the court, he rose higher, struck harder, and seized the year-end summit with unbreakable conviction.

By becoming the 17th player, and the first Briton, to finish atop the ATP Rankings, Murray capped a nine-title season, echoing the heroic 2000 charge of Gustavo Kuerten, who conquered Sampras and Agassi to claim World No. 1.

With today’s final set to unfold and Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz gearing up for their last showdown of the season, do you think this clash will deliver the epic drama everyone expects?