Jannik Sinner denies American Taylor Fritz to win the U.S. Open
NEW YORK – The drought for American men’s tennis endured Sunday at the U.S. Open, extended by an indomitable Italian, and will soon yawn into a 22nd year. Taylor Fritz, a 26-year-old from California, was trying to become the first American man to claim a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick won here in 2003 but was undone, partly by the pressure of the moment but mostly by top-ranked Jannik Sinner.
Sinner defeated Fritz, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, in a match that crackled with big hitting and featured goosebump-worthy rallies yet rarely felt in doubt. Sinner, 23, claimed his second Grand Slam title and his first in New York as he became the first Italian man to win the U.S. Open. He joins another steely competitor, Flavia Pennetta, as the only Italian singles champions in tournament history.
After Pennetta won in 2015, she issued a surprise retirement announcement on the court. Sinner did no such thing. He’s only getting started.
“So many big wins for me this season. … The work never stops,” he said. “I know that I still can improve, as we saw also today with a couple of things, but you have to be proud with what you have – and the rest, you have to go for it.”
His win helps define the still-settling new landscape of men’s tennis: In the first year since 2002 when no one named Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic won a Grand Slam, Sinner split the four most coveted trophies with 21-year-old rival Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard ran out of fuel and was upset in the second round here after an exhausting spring and summer that included titles at the French Open and Wimbledon and the silver medal at the Paris Olympics.
But if 2024 was about Alcaraz further establishing himself as tennis’ greatest improviser, with a virtuoso command of every shot, Sinner staked his claim on the hard courts.
His 35 wins on the surface this year lead the tour, and he is just the fourth man to win both hard-court Grand Slam titles in a single season, joining Djokovic (2011, 2015, 2023), Federer (2004, 2006, 2007) and Mats Wilander (1988). Sinner also burnished his reputation as a cutthroat, baby face aside. He won all six finals he contested this year and dropped just two sets across the lot, those being the first two sets of the Australian Open final before he stormed back against Daniil Medvedev to take the title.
No man won more titles in 2024.
The latest trophy arrived amid controversy after Sinner was cleared of fault shortly before this tournament following two positive tests in the spring in which trace amounts of clostebol, an anabolic steroid, appeared in his system. The timing of the news – arriving Aug. 20, the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced Sinner had been cleared of a case no one knew about – raised questions about why the world No. 1’s positive tests had been kept a secret and prompted criticism from fellow players on tour.
Sinner held a lengthy news conference on the matter ahead of his first match and, as he rolled on, faced scant follow-up questions. He battled through considerable distraction nonetheless.
“I understood, especially in this tournament, how important the mental part is in this sport,” he said.
New York showed off for the final, providing a sunny, mild fall Sunday with a light breeze that made for ideal conditions. The big screen showed celebrities including Matthew McConaughey, Courteney Cox and Jon Bon Jovi but none in the same stratosphere as Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, the pop-culture power couple that added even more buzz to a pressure-packed match.
It wasn’t raucous to start, but the stadium made its preference known with occasional “U-S-A!” and “Let’s go, Fritz!” chants emanating from the upper decks as Sinner broke to take an early lead.
In the opening set, Fritz took a 40-15 lead on Sinner’s serve in the fourth game before Sinner clawed back to even things at deuce. But the Italian served a double fault and later sent an overhead thwacking into the net to hand the break back to Fritz. They were even at 2 and the crowd finally let loose with a roar – and then a standing ovation when Fritz held to go ahead 3-2.
It was the last dramatic moment Arthur Ashe Stadium would see for a while. Sinner calmly rattled off four straight games to take the set, then won the second in 35 minutes even though Fritz won 83 percent of points on his first serve.
The American finally seemed to release the pressure in the middle of the third set. With the players tied at 3, Fritz settled into his groundstrokes and placed them expertly, getting Sinner on the run and closing points with spectacular volleys that got the crowd rowdy. It was the first time all match that Sinner looked bothered. He tightened up and served a double fault to hand Fritz a break, which the American consolidated to take a 5-3 lead.
But Sinner is nearly impossible to rattle for more than a moment. After a big hold to trail 4-5, Sinner gritted his teeth and pumped his racket a few times while staring down his team. His coaches said nothing – no advice, no corrections, no encouragement. Sinner was in control.
He backed up on the baseline to give himself more time to return Fritz’s explosive serves and gutted out a few long rallies. At 30-all, Sinner clipped the line with a groundstroke that forced Fritz just a hair off balance and off speed so that his response sailed long. Sinner coaxed Fritz forward on the next point, and Fritz sent a forehand volley into the top of the net tape.
With the score even at 5, Fritz deflated. Sinner’s victory came quickly after that.