NEW YORK — World No. 1 Jannik Sinner arrived in New York greater than two weeks in the past dealing with a slew of questions and scrutiny over the information that he had been exonerated and prevented suspension after twice testing constructive for a banned substance in March.
His expectations for the US Open had been “low,” he mentioned initially.
However he leaves as a champion, having left little doubt about his standing as one of the best hard-court participant in 2024.
Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy, received the US Open on Sunday behind a dominant 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 effort in opposition to American Taylor Fritz in entrance of a vigorous, celebrity-filled Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd that was largely in opposition to him. There have been “U-S-A” chants and “Let’s go, Taylor” cheers all through, however Sinner was unfazed. He did not drop a single level on his first serve over the ultimate two units of the match.
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“He was too good,” the No. 12-seeded Fritz mentioned in the course of the on-court trophy presentation. He later referred to as Sinner “one of the best participant on the planet proper now.”
Having collected his first main title on the Australian Open in January, Sinner turned the third man — and first since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 — to win his first two Grand Slam trophies in the identical season. He is additionally the second Italian participant to win a singles title on the US Open, becoming a member of 2015 girls’s champion Flavia Pennetta.
For Sinner, the victory marked an emotional finish to a difficult few months. The world discovered on Aug. 20 that he examined constructive for a hint quantity of clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, twice in an eight-day span in the course of the Indian Wells event, however was cleared as a result of his use was dominated unintentional — his protection was that the steroid entered his system through a therapeutic massage from a crew member he later fired.
“[It] was tough as a result of the pre-tournament circumstances weren’t straightforward,” Sinner mentioned Sunday. “I felt that I’ve grown match by match and that my confidence stage went greater and better … I am pleased how I dealt with this one. I am simply excited to have this trophy with me.”
Sinner has confronted questions all through the event concerning the doping case and what adopted. A number of gamers questioned the equity of the ruling and contemplated whether or not he had obtained particular therapy as a result of his No. 1 rating.
Sinner, for his half, referred to as the state of affairs a “mistake” and was adamant about his innocence and that he went by means of the “similar course of” as everybody else.
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That is the third yr for the reason that Open period started in 1968 the place all 4 males’s main singles champions had been age 23 or youthful …
• 1974: Jimmy Connors (Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open) and Bjorn Borg (French Open)• 1993: Pete Sampras (Wimbledon & US Open), Jim Courier (Australian Open) and Sergi Bruguera (French Open)• 2024: Carlos Alcaraz (French Open & Wimbledon) and Jannik Sinner (Australian Open & US Open)
— ESPN Analysis
Regardless of the information, Sinner was for essentially the most half warmly obtained by the New York crowd all through his run. Even in the course of the ultimate, dozens of Italian flags had been noticed within the crowd, and his highlight-worthy factors had been met with loud ovations.
After struggling within the opening set of his first match in opposition to American Mackenzie McDonald, Sinner confirmed little weak point the remainder of the way in which. He dropped only one extra set — in opposition to 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev within the quarterfinals — en path to the title.
Fritz, a 26-year-old Californian who was enjoying in his first main ultimate, opened with an early 3-2 lead, however Sinner responded by profitable the subsequent 4 video games to take the set and management of the match.
Within the third set, with the rating tied at 3-all, Fritz confirmed indicators of life with an overhead winner within the seventh recreation for a 15-30 lead on Sinner’s serve. He yelled “Let’s go!” to the delight of the gang, most of whom rose to their ft in appreciation. Fritz finally secured the break and took the subsequent recreation on his serve for a 5-3 lead.
However he could not shut out the set. Sinner nearly clinically rattled off the subsequent 4 video games — every level more and more silencing the gang — to safe the win.
When it was over, Sinner raised his arms above his head and closed his eyes as he tilted his head again. These in his participant field jumped to their ft whereas Darren Cahill, one in every of his coaches, slumped over in his seat and wiped away tears.
“This title, for me, means a lot,” Sinner instructed the gang as he collected the trophy from Andre Agassi, “as a result of the final interval of my profession was actually not straightforward.”
“I really feel just like the followers clearly, American followers, been wanting a males’s champion for a very long time, and … I am fairly upset with how I performed. I really feel like, I do not know, I really feel like I nearly let lots of people down.”
Taylor Fritz
Sinner, throughout his postmatch information convention, credited his crew and household for conserving him targeted regardless of the whole lot occurring off the courtroom.
“What allowed me to try this was at all times the people who find themselves near me each day, individuals who know me already from after I was very younger, and likewise my household and my crew and everybody who helps me each day,” Sinner mentioned. “I at all times attempt to stick along with them, particularly when the moments are getting tough and hard, as a result of I do know that they will help me in these moments.”
Sinner is the fourth totally different man to win each the Australian Open and US Open in the identical yr since 1988, when the Australian main transitioned from grass to arduous courtroom. With Aryna Sabalenka having swept each the Australian Open and US Open, too, it is the primary time that the identical man and the identical lady received each hard-court majors in the identical yr since 1988 (Mats Wilander and Steffi Graf did in order that yr).
It additionally marked a turning level within the males’s recreation as Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, 21, mixed to win all 4 of the yr’s main titles. It is the primary season since 2002 that no member of the “Large Three” — Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer — received a Slam.
(1) Sinner def. (12) Fritz: 6-3, 6-4, 7-5
• Sinner: First Italian man to win singles title in US Open event historical past• Didn’t drop some extent on first serve over ultimate two units of the match (28-of-28)• Received 88% of his first-serve factors, the best mark by any man in a US Open ultimate since Andy Roddick in 2003 (89%)• twenty third main match win this season (leads all males’s gamers)• sixth ATP title this season (most on males’s tour); improves to 6-0 in finals this season• 35-2 on arduous courtroom this season (most hard-court match wins on males’s tour); solely losses got here in opposition to Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells and Andrey Rublev at Montreal• Fritz: First American man to achieve a significant singles ultimate since Andy Roddick at 2009 Wimbledon; additionally was first American man to achieve US Open ultimate since Roddick in 2006• With Fritz’s loss, American males’s main singles title drought extends to 83 consecutive majors since Andy Roddick received the 2003 US Open• Fritz completed 2024 with 17 main match wins, essentially the most by an American man in a yr since 2003 (Andre Agassi: 19; Andy Roddick: 17)
— ESPN Analysis
Sunday was a devastating consequence for Fritz, who had been seeking to snap a 21-year main singles title drought by American males. Andy Roddick’s win on the 2003 US Open was the final time an American man received a Grand Slam, and Fritz was the primary American man to achieve a significant ultimate since Roddick completed because the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2009.
“There’s clearly a variety of positives, and after I get a while to chill down then I will be pleased about the truth that I made it to the finals,” Fritz mentioned. “However proper now I am fairly dissatisfied in simply a variety of issues on the courtroom, how I performed, how I hit sure photographs. It sucks.
“And I am not saying that it essentially would have made a distinction. I do not know if it could have, however I simply would have preferred to have performed higher and given myself a greater likelihood. It is actually disappointing proper now. … I really feel just like the followers clearly, American followers, been wanting a males’s champion for a very long time, and … I am fairly upset with how I performed. I really feel like, I do not know, I really feel like I nearly let lots of people down.”
Regardless of the heartbreak of the ultimate, Fritz remains to be having a breakthrough yr. He turned the primary American man to achieve three main quarterfinals in a season since Roddick (2007) and the primary to make the second week in all 4 Slam occasions since Agassi in 2003.
Along with his run to the championship match, Fritz will now transfer again into the highest 10 within the rankings at No. 7.
Sinner now has a 4,105-point lead over new No. 2 Alexander Zverev. Djokovic, the 2023 champion at Flushing Meadows who was upset within the third spherical, falls to No. 4 behind Alcaraz.
ESPN Analysis and The Related Press contributed to this report.
