Top seed is first man from his country to win US Open singles title
©Corinne Dubreuil / FFTFor the first time since 2002, none of the Grand Slam men’s singles titles have gone to Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal.
Instead, the four majors have been shared by their worthy heirs, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who on Sunday, clinched a second Grand Slam trophy with a dominant 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Taylor Fritz at the US Open.
“It is a bit different, for sure. It's something new, but it's also nice to see. Nice to see new champions. Nice to see new rivalries,” said Sinner.
“I will always have players who are going to make me a better player, because there are going to be times where they beat me. Then you have to try to find a way how to win against certain players.
“And also, today we saw that not everything was perfect. I could have served slightly better, but this makes me realise that the work never stops. In the end of the day, if you want to be a better player you always have to work, and you have to have these daily routines, accept difficult times on court. I feel it's good for the sport to have some new champions.”
After securing a maiden Slam success at the Australian Open in January, the top-ranked Sinner is just the third man in the Open Era to win his first two major titles in the same season, after Jimmy Connors (1974) and Guillermo Vilas (1977).
His two-hour 16-minute triumph over Fritz in Arthur Ashe stadium makes him the first Italian man to win the US Open singles crown.
The 23-year-old extended his current winning streak to 11 matches, having also lifted the trophy in Cincinnati in the build-up to the US Open.
But while Sinner was building a streak, he was also dealing with the news that he had failed two anti-doping tests but was cleared to compete after an independent tribunal ruled he bore no fault or negligence for a contamination through his physiotherapist.
Facing lots of scrutiny, he won the US Open dropping just two sets along the way.
“I believe that in Melbourne was a kind of a relief because in my mind, it was like I was working for it, and you never know if you can win one Grand Slam or not, but when you win one, you know that you can do it potentially,” said Sinner, reflecting on his journeys to his two major titles.
“Here was difficult because also the pre-tournament circumstances weren't easy. I felt like that I have grown match by match and that my confidence level went higher and higher at some point.
“It was different because I had more, maybe a bit more pressure this time than in Australia. I'm happy how I handled this one. Yeah, I'm just excited to have this trophy with me.”
Fritz was bidding to become the first American man since 2003 to win the US Open singles title but couldn’t withstand Sinner’s power-hitting from the baseline, getting broken six times during the final.
Sinner dropped just five points behind his first serve and hit 23 winners against 21 unforced errors.
Fritz hit new milestones this fortnight, reaching a first Grand Slam semi-final and final and he feels encouraged by the fact he did well this tournament without playing his best tennis.
The immediate feeling post-final though is disappointment.
“There's obviously a lot of positives, and when I get some time to, like, cool down then I'll be happy about the fact that I made it to the finals and stuff like that. But right now I'm pretty just disappointed in how, like, just a lot of things on the court, how I played, how I hit certain shots. It sucks,” said the No.12 seed, who will re-enter the top 10 in the rankings on Monday.
“And I'm not saying that it necessarily would have made a difference. I don't know if it would have, but I just would have liked to have played better and given myself a better chance. It's really disappointing right now. I feel like the fans obviously, American fans, been wanting a men's champion for a long time, and I just, I don't know, I'm pretty upset with how I played. I feel like I almost let a lot of people down.”
Sinner joins Flavia Pennetta, who won in New York in 2015, as the only Italian singles champions in US Open history.
At 23 years of age, Sinner is the fourth different and youngest man to win both hard-court Grand Slam titles in a single season, after winning the Australian Open in January.
Sinner is undefeated in finals this season. He owns a tour-leading six titles and a tour-leading 35 hard-court match-wins in 2024.
Fritz finished the tournament with as the ace leader amongst all players in the field, firing 85 aces through seven matches this fortnight.
It was a star-studded affair at Arthur Ashe stadium on Sunday with pop icon Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, reigning Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce, stealing the show by turning up for the men’s final.
They were joined by Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs teammate Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany.
Matthew McConaughey, who narrated the pre-final montage for ESPN, showed up wearing an American flag bandana wrapped around his head, in support of his countryman Fritz, while Andrew Garfield, Usher, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Bon Jovi, Bad Bunny, Jon Hamm, Lindsay Lohan, Hasan Minhaj, Mindy Kaling, Courteney Cox, and NBA stars Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, and Paul George, were also in attendance.
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
