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World number one Jannik Sinner beat Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in the US Open final on September 8.
Defeating the home hopefuls after two hours and 16 minutes, Sinner became the first Italian to win the US Open men's singles title. He continued his stellar 2024 with his 55th win in 60 matches. Sinner is only the fourth player in history to win two hard-court Grand Slams in the same year, after Mats Wilander, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Fritz was the underdog and was under pressure as the first American to reach a Grand Slam final on home soil since 2006. The 26-year-old was only able to hold his own with Sinner at times and was unable to maintain his composure throughout the set. He lost 0-3 on both sets, losing at the end of each set, preventing the US from ending its 21-year men's singles title drought.
In his first Grand Slam final, Fritz was nervous and lost the first two games. The home player then won three games in a row, but Sinner showed his superiority as he played. The number one seed won four games in a row in the first set, including two service games to close the set 6-3.
From only 38% of first balls entering the court in the first set, Fritz improved this number to 78% in the second set. Thanks to that, he held most of his service games in this set. However, the home player could not maintain his form in the deciding game and lost 4-6.
Fritz failed to win any points when Sinner served first in the second and third sets. The American finally had a chance when Sinner served unsteadily in game 7 of the third set. Fritz used a break point to take the lead and lead 5-3. Nearing the winning set, the home team's hopes were disappointed, losing four games in a row. Fritz's forehand into the net gave Sinner the final victory 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.
The US Open has seen 11 different men's singles champions since 2008. For the first time in seven years, a top seed has won the year-end Grand Slam. Sinner became only the third man in the Open Era to win his first two Grand Slams in the same season - something legends like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have failed to do. The last man to win his first two Grand Slams in the same year was Guillermo Vilas, in 1977.
2024 marks Sinner's big breakthrough in the Grand Slams, with titles at the Australian Open and the US Open. Before that, the Italian had only reached the semi-finals once at this level. This year, he won 23 matches and lost only two in the Grand Slams. Despite being under great pressure from a doping scandal right before the US Open, Sinner calmly marched straight to the title, dropping only two sets in the entire tournament.
"I've had some big wins this season," Sinner said after the final on September 8. "A good start in Australia gave me confidence for the whole year. The work never stops. I'm proud of what I've achieved, but I know I still need to work harder."
TH (according to VnExpress)