US Open final scoring explained for Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner
Tennis has some peculiar scoring terms, with 'love' possibly being the most peculiar of the lot.
As the US Open concludes, those not well-versed in tennis may find its unique terminology and scoring system perplexing. You don't need to be a tennis buff to grasp its language and rules, but you might be unaware of their origins. Specifically, the term 'love', used when a player hasn't scored a point in a game or a game in a set, has left many puzzled.
The use of love as a score is rooted in the zero's resemblance to an egg. In sports, it's common to refer to a zero or nil score as a duck or goose egg. Moreover, the French word for egg is l'oeuf, which sounds similar to the English 'love'.
Another theory traces back to the Dutch and Flemish word 'lof', meaning honour. In other words, the scoreless player is still playing for honour.
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Likewise, a 6-0 scoreline in a set is often referred to as a 'bagel' or a 'doughnut' due to the snack's similarity to a zero. This unique tennis jargon probably wasn't on the minds of this weekend's US Open finalists at Flushing Meadows.
The women's final saw Aryna Sabalenka, the defending champion, triumph over Wimbledon runner-up Amanda Anisimova 6-3 7-6 (3). Sabalenka is the first woman since Serena Williams' three consecutive US Open victories from 2012 to 2014 to successfully defend her title.
Meanwhile, she has increased her grand slam tally to four, now boasting two victories in New York to go along with her pair of Australian Open wins.
In the men's final, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are poised to clash once again, writing another chapter in their remarkable rivalry.
It's unheard of in the open era for two players to battle each other in three grand slam finals during one season, though their supremacy makes this hardly shocking.
Since their thrilling quarter-final encounter at the 2022 US Open, which produced the tournament's latest ever conclusion, Sinner and Alcaraz have been destined to meet.
After an even more extraordinary battle at the French Open that somehow fell Alcaraz's way, Sinner managed to gain his revenge at Wimbledon, breaking his losing run against the Spaniard.
Now, everything hangs in the balance in New York, with the champion not only seizing the advantage in their head-to-head grand slam finals record but also claiming the world number one ranking.
Sinner voiced his enthusiasm, declaring: "I love these challenges.
"I love to put myself in these positions. 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.
"Sometimes it's also nice to not play against him. But it's great for the sport having rivalries, having hopefully great matches in front of us."
Alcaraz, who defeated Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, remarked: "Probably this is the best level or the best feeling that I have so far in a tennis tournament or in a year. So I will try to continue like that."