World No. 1 Jannik Sinner won the 2024 US Open with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory over No. 12 Taylor Fritz in Sunday’s men’s final. This was a continuation of Sinner’s dominant year, as he earned his first major win in January at the Australian Open and is 55-5 overall.
While Fritz was trying to end a 21-year Grand Slam drought for American men, Sinner made history for his own country. No Italian man had ever reached the US Open before this weekend, and now Sinner is Italy’s first US Open champion.
“This title for me means so much because the last period of my career was really not easy,” said Sinner, who dedicated the title to his ill aunt. “There is my team who supports me every day, the people close to me. … I don’t know how much (time) I still have with her in my life. It’s so nice I can share a positive moment still with her.”
Fritz fell behind 0-2 in the first set, but responded by winning three consecutive games. Fritz was doing a good job making Sinner run, but the Italian star is the world No. 1 for a reason: Sinner stayed calmed and stole the momentum back, winning 15 of the last 19 points to take the first set in 42 minutes. They had 19 rallies longer than four shots in that time, and Sinner won 13 of those because of how well he moves in and out of corners.
Fritz was using his serve to stay competitive in the second set. His first serve percentage was just 38% in the first set, but it went up to 78% in the second. He also had five aces in that set. However, Sinner stayed calm and was covering the court better than his opponent.
The start of the third set was a brutal one for Fritz. He was up 40-0 in the first game, but Sinner stole it by winning the next five points. The pressure was on, but Fritz kept pushing while playing from behind. He tied things up at 3-3 after surviving two break points, then used that momentum to win the next two.
It appeared Fritz was on his way to forcing a fourth set, especially since Sinner was struggling with his serve. However, Sinner had other plans.
Despite the loss, Fritz’s major final run in New York is the longest of his career. He became the first American man to reach a Grand Slam final since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009, but an American man has still not won a major title since Roddick prevailed in the 2003 US Open.
“Being an American at the US Open is just incredible, feeling love all week. … I know we’ve been waiting for a champion for a long time, so I’m sorry I couldn’t get it done this time,” Fritz said. “I’m going to keep working and hopefully I can get it done next time.”
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