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 the men's final on Sunday. This was a continuation of Sinner's dominant year, as he earned his first major win at the Australian Open in January and is 55-5 overall.
While Fritz tried to end a 21-year Grand Slam drought for the American men, Sinner was making history for his own country. Before this weekend, no Italian had ever reached the US Open, and now Sinner is Italy's first US Open champion.
“This title means so much to me because the last phase of my career was really not easy,” said Sinner, who dedicated the title to his sick aunt. “There is my team that supports me every day, the people who are close to me. … I don't know how much (time) I have left with her in my life. It's so nice that I can still share a positive moment with her.”
Fritz fell behind 2-0 in the first set, but responded by winning three consecutive games. Fritz did a good job of getting Sinner going, but the Italian star is world No. 1 for a reason: Sinner stayed calm and regained the momentum, winning 15 of the last 19 points and taking the first set in 42 minutes. They had 19 rallies that were longer than four shots during that time, and Sinner won 13 of them because of his ability to move in and out of corners so well.
Fritz used his serve to stay competitive in the second set. His first serve percentage was only 38% in the first set, but it rose to 78% in the second. He also had five aces in this set. However, Sinner remained calm and covered the field better than his opponent.
The start of the third set was brutal for Fritz. He was up 40-0 in the first game, but Sinner stole the lead from him by winning the next five points. The pressure was on, but Fritz continued to apply pressure while playing from the back. After surviving two break points, he leveled at 3-3 and used that momentum to win the next two.
It seemed like Fritz was on his way to forcing a fourth set, especially as Sinner was struggling with his serve. However, Sinner had other plans.
Despite the loss, Fritz's grand final run in New York is the longest of his career. He was the first American to reach a Grand Slam final since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009, but no American has yet won a major title since Roddick's victory at the 2003 US Open.
“Being at the US Open as an American is just amazing, feeling the love all week. …I know we've been waiting for a champion for a long time, so I'm sorry I didn't make it this time.” Fritz said. “I'll keep working and hope I can do it next time.”
