Match Report
Sinner spoils the party! World No. 1 defeats home hope Fritz for US Open title
Italian earns second major crown of 2024 in New York
September 08, 2024
Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Jannik Sinner captured his first US Open title in straight sets against American hope Taylor Fritz.
By Andy West
Jannik Sinner ensured the wait goes on for a home men’s singles champion at the US Open with a championship-match masterclass on Sunday afternoon at the hard-court major.
The 23-year-old Italian delivered a typically high-quality display to earn a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 triumph against Taylor Fritz in New York. A buoyant atmosphere greeted the two players inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Fritz stepped on court as the first American men’s singles finalist since 2006, but Sinner punctured it with a cool, controlled display of precise serving and clean baseline hitting.
Fritz competed well in his maiden Grand Slam championship match, but Sinner nonetheless assumed control for much of the pair’s third Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. The greatest moment of peril for the top seed came when Fritz channelled his fervent home support to move 5-3 ahead in the third set, but the American was unable to serve out as Sinner reeled off four straight games to seal victory.
🇺🇸 🏆 A NEW CHAMPION IN NEW YORK 🏆 🇺🇸⁰⁰@usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/qllwEFzPTp
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 8, 2024
With his two-hour, 16-minute win, Sinner became just the fourth man to win the Australian Open and US Open on hard courts in the same season, after Mats Wilander, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The 23-year-old No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings is also the first Italian men’s singles champion in event history, and only the second Italian singles champion overall after Flavia Pennetta’s 2015 women’s singles triumph.
Sinner’s title run in New York is the latest chapter of his stunning 2024, during which he has won a Tour-leading six titles and racked up a 55-5 record. After prevailing in Sunday’s clash with Fritz, the Italian extended his winning streak to 10 matches, having clinched an ATP Masters 1000 crown in Cincinnati prior to the US Open.
An authoritative forehand winner from Sinner on the first point of the match en route to an opening break of serve set the tone in New York. Although Fritz reclaimed the break to level at 2-2, the World No. 1 continued to dictate proceedings in the first set.
Sinner’s intent to move Fritz from side to side and not allow him to stand and deliver from middle of court was clear from the first game. With Fritz landing just 38 per cent (11/29) of first serves in the opening set, the Italian broke the American’s delivery again in the seventh and ninth games to ease ahead.
Although Fritz found better rhythm behind his serve, so often his biggest weapon, in the second set, he was undone by a sloppy 11th game in which Sinner carved out the first break points of the set at 15/40. The Italian needed just one, as he arrowed a backhand down the line that forced Fritz to net to move within one set of the trophy.
A star-studded crowd, one which included celebrity couple Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, did their best to inspire Fritz to a comeback. Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs’ teammate Patrick Mahomes, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, actors Matthew McConaughey, Dustin Hoffman and Eddie Redmayne, and singers Usher and Bon Jovi were also among those watching the title match, but any hopes of an American titlist were dashed after Sinner put a swift end to Fritz’s third-set charge.
As Fritz netted a forehand on championship point, Sinner raised his arms to the sky after becoming the first No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings to win the US Open since Rafael Nadal in 2017. He is now 6-0 in tour-level finals in 2024, and has become just the fifth active player to win multiple Grand Slam titles.
