Jannik Sinner Triumphs Over Taylor Fritz to Secure Second Grand Slam Title at the US Open 2024
Jannik Sinner Triumphs Over Taylor Fritz to Secure Second Grand Slam Title at the US Open
Jannik Sinner won his second Grand Slam championship at the US Open in an incredible final that saw him defeat Taylor Fritz, his opponent, and the recent doping scandal. At Arthur Ashe Stadium, the Italian tennis player put on a masterful display, beat Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in a match that highlighted his unwavering baseline play.
In an attempt to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam since 2003, Fritz brought a lot of star power to Arthur Ashe Stadium, but Sinner was simply too formidable on Sunday.
At the U.S. Open, Jannik Sinner got off to a hard start, losing the opening set he faced after being cleared of doping that was only made public just before the match at Flushing Meadows.
Sinner was able to set the incident aside while on the court, even though it had initially followed him throughout the competition. Did he ever? Less than three weeks after news of his two adverse drug tests surfaced, the top-ranked Sinner defeated Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday at Arthur Ashe Stadium with his trademark ruthless baseline game.
The Italian 23-year-old Sinner said, “This title means so much to me because the last period of my career was really not easy.”
He ended the major title drought for American men that had lasted 21 years by defeating No. 12 Fritz and winning the second Grand Slam trophy of his young career (the first one was at the Australian Open in January).
The final Slam championship won by an American man was in 2003 when Andy Roddick prevailed at Flushing Meadows. Prior to Fritz, a 26-year-old Californian, Roddick was the last player to compete in a final at any of the four major tennis championships; he was defeated by Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009.
It’s truly amazing to be an American at the U.S. Open. I’ve been feeling love all week. Fritz said, “So thank you so much,” at the trophy presentation. “I apologize for not being able to complete it this time; I know we’ve been waiting for a champion for a very long time. However, I’m going to keep trying and maybe at the next one I’ll succeed.
Despite this, the U.S. tennis team achieved several firsts in this tournament: two women and two men qualified for the semifinals in a major for the first time since the U.S. Open of 2003. Jessica Pegula advanced to the women’s final but was defeated by Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday.
Sinner’s 2024 record was 55-5, with a tour-high six titles. This includes a 35-2 record on hard courts, which are the surface for the U.S. Open and the Australian Open. He is the first male to win his first two Grand Slam trophies in the same season since Guillermo Vilas in 1977.
Sinner, who made the most of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic’s eliminations in Week 1, exclaimed, “So many big wins for me this season.” “However, the work never ends.”
On August 20, the public was made aware that Sinner had tested positive for anabolic steroids twice in a span of eight days in March, but his usage of the forbidden chemical had been determined to be accidental after it had entered his system through a massage from a team member he had subsequently fired.
While some players questioned whether he was receiving preferential treatment, the majority thought he wasn’t attempting to use drugs. And the crowd at the U.S. Open never made fun of him.
“We simply continued day by day…having faith in ourselves is the most crucial thing,” Sinner stated, bringing up the subject of his ailing aunt. “I know the mental component is crucial, especially in this tournament.”
Fritz, as predicted, had a slight home-court advantage on this cool afternoon with almost perfect visibility. Amidst the celebrity-studded crowd, which featured Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, some fans would periodically break into cheers of “U-S-A!” or stand up anytime Fritz called what seemed like a game-changing point.
Even after leading 3-2 after twenty minutes, Fritz is not the kind to display much emotion other than shaking his brightly colored racket. However, that was essentially Fritz’s last noteworthy moment until the third set, at 3-all, when he blasted an overhead winner to reach 15-30, punched the air, and exclaimed, “Let’s go!” Everyone in the vicinity stood up, cheering and clapping.
Fritz celebrated in the same way a minute later as he deposited a volley winner to earn a break point, and hundreds of spectators went crazy. Fritz then led 4-3 after Sinner double-failed.
Fritz, however, gave in enough when Sinner broke to tie the match at 5-4 after he attempted to serve out the game. Fritz was drawn to the front court by Sinner’s drop shot, which he followed up with a passing shot that Fritz volleyed into the net. Fritz struck the court with his racket. Without so much as a smile, Sinner loped to the towel box.
Ten minutes or so later, Sinner emerged victorious after a final four-game run. After it was finished, Sinner flung back his head, lifted his arms, and closed his eyes.
He usually makes his presence known during games in a manner that is best characterized as informal. He has a less stunning than solid, metronomic than mystical style. In any case, it was impressive how he maneuvered around everything with his long arms and squeaky, sliding sneakers before attempting a series of fast shots that were close to the lines and typically hitting them.
Unless compelled to, neither player appeared very interested in moving forward on Sunday, preferring to use their forehands and backhands from the back of the court.
That is unquestionably Sinner’s domain.
By the end, Sinner—who joined 2015 women’s champion Flavia Pennetta as the second Italian to win a singles title at the U.S. Open—had an amazing record: just 21 unforced errors, 13 fewer than Fritz, and 23 wins.
Before the game, it seemed like Fritz could maintain a competitive edge if he played to the best of his abilities, especially when serving. If that’s the case, he didn’t have the best experience with the opening set.
Only two aces were delivered by him, and that amount was surpassed in the opening game of the second set alone. He also made more unforced errors than winners, returning only 36% of his first serves.
Fritz would see an improvement in those kinds of numbers, but he was unable to regularly put Sinner in danger. These days, very few can.
“That’s pretty impressive,” Fritz said. “He was simply too talented.”
Jannik Sinner Expresses Gratitude to New York Fans After US Open Victory: “Winning My Second Slam Here Is Special”
Following his victory against Taylor Fritz in the US Open 2024 final, Jannik Sinner had a message for the supporters in New York.
In the US Open men’s singles final on Sunday, Jannik Sinner defeated American Taylor Fritz 6-3 6-4 7-5, becoming the first Italian to win the tournament. Sinner was playing at an incredible level.
It was also Sinner’s moment of redemption, because he was embroiled in a doping scandal at the beginning of the competition after it came to light that he had tested positive twice for anabolic agents in March but had escaped a ban. His defence that inadvertent contamination altered the test findings was accepted by an impartial panel.
Sinner acknowledged the New York supporters for their support and said that it was his second Grand Slam victory. He wrote on X, the platform that was formerly known as Twitter, “Thank you New York!!”
“After an incredible two weeks, it’s truly remarkable to win my second slam title here. It means a lot that you are supporting me. Thank you. It’s time to enjoy this moment with my family and team before we return to work for the remainder of the year because I adore this sport and it means everything to me. We never stop working; we never give up,” he continued.
Sinner finished the year with a 55-5 win-loss record with the victory in New York. Fritz was competing in his first Grand Slam final. In the opening game, Sinner’s short return after a 127 mph serve set him up for a smash that he missed, breaking him. He did respond, going on to win the set 3-2 before Sinner closed off the final four games. Fritz lost the final four games of the match after breaking for a 4-3 lead in the third set and holding for a 5-3 advantage.
Earlier in the year, Sinner won the Australian Open. As for the French Open, this year’s semifinal is the furthest he has advanced. The farthest he has gone at Wimbledon is the 2023 semifinals.
