US Open 2024: Jannik Sinner beats Taylor Fritz in the final

Jannik Sinner produced a brutal display of power from the baseline as he became the first Italian to win the US Open with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory over American Taylor Fritz in Sunday’s final.

Sinner raised his arms in celebration after breaking Fritz’s serve to secure the title and cheers echoed around Arthur Ashe Stadium, even though home fans had been hoping to see Fritz end a 21-year Grand Slam drought in U.S. men’s tennis.

Sinner was under a cloud of controversy at the start of the tournament after it was revealed that he had tested positive twice in March for an anabolic agent but had avoided a ban. An independent tribunal accepted his claim that the positive results were the result of unintentional contamination.

The top seed blocked the furor in New York and with the victory claimed his second Grand Slam title after winning the Australian Open earlier this year.

“We just went day by day, trying to train well, even on days off, believing in ourselves, which is the most important thing. I understood, especially in this tournament, how important the mental part is in this sport,” Sinner said.

“I want to thank everyone for being so fair on this amazing stage. It was a great pleasure.”

Fritz got off to a terrible start when he handed the break to Sinner with an unforced error in the first game, but he calmed his nerves, getting the break back in the fourth game and surviving a 23-stroke rally – the longest of the match – to save break point in the fifth.

But it was only a matter of time before the Italian found his rhythm and broke the 12th-seeded American’s serve with a perfectly placed drop shot in the seventh game.

Fritz lost serve again on set point when he sent a backhand wide of the baseline, one of 34 unforced errors that cost him dearly throughout the match.

The enthusiastic home crowd, which included pop megastar Taylor Swift, attempted to cheer Fritz on with chants of “USA!” in the second set as she worked to gain some traction in her first major final.

Momentum swung Sinner’s way, however, when he broke Fritz’s serve on set point from the baseline, sending a sublime backhand down the line that the American was unable to return.

And he added to Fritz’s misery when he recovered from a triple break point in the opening game of the third set, holding serve with an overhead smash, a superb effort that even the American fans applauded.

Fritz held on to the resistance and even managed a break, but ended up slamming his racket on the court in frustration as he volleyed into the net to allow Sinner to break again in the tenth.

Sinner broke serve for the sixth time in the match to seal the victory, with Fritz sending a forehand into the net on match point.

“It was difficult here because the circumstances leading up to the tournament were not easy,” said Sinner, who took to the stands to celebrate with his team as fans chanted “Bravo!” around him.

“I felt like I was growing, you know, game by game and my confidence level was increasing more and more.”

With American tennis great Andre Agassi on court for the presentation ceremony, Fritz told the crowd: “I know we’ve been waiting for a champion for a long time, so I’m sorry I couldn’t get it this time. But I’ll keep working and hopefully I can get it next time.”

It was another disappointment for American fans after local hope Jessica Pegula lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s final.

The victory capped a spectacular year for Sinner, who came back from two sets down to triumph at Melbourne Park and won in Miami and Cincinnati.

The world number one leaves New York with an impressive 55-5 win-loss record on the year, leaving his rivals behind as Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz were eliminated early.

It wasn’t all good news for Sinner, however, as it became clear the doping controversy could linger long after his departure as he continued to answer questions about the saga while sitting in a post-match press conference with the trophy.

Some members of the media and his own fellow players have alleged double standards in the treatment he received and Sinner said he found it difficult to enjoy the tournament at times.

“What I can say is that the overall reaction from the players was quite positive, even when things became known. Then there were, of course, some different voices, but that’s all there is to it,” he said.

“So, like I said before, you have the people close to you, these are the people who know what was going on and what me and my team went through.”

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; additional reporting by Karl Plume in New York and Frank Pingue in Toronto; editing by Pritha Sarkar and Michael Perry)