Jannik Sinner claimed his second Grand Slam title of 2024 on Sunday, decisively defeating Taylor Fritz in the US Open final, dashing America’s hopes of a male champion at a major for the first time in 21 years.
World number one Sinner, who secured his first Slam at the Australian Open in January, became the first Italian man to win the US Open with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 triumph.
The 23-year-old Sinner notched his 55th match win of the season and secured his sixth title of the year.
While his 21-year-old rival, Carlos Alcaraz, took home the French Open and Wimbledon titles, raising his major tally to four, Sinner and Alcaraz have firmly established themselves as the dominant forces of tennis’s new generation.
World number 12 Fritz had hoped to become the first American man to win a major since Andy Roddick’s 2003 US Open victory.
Fritz, who was backed by a star-studded crowd of 23,000 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, including pop superstar Taylor Swift, her boyfriend and NFL player Travis Kelce, and actor Matthew McConaughey sporting a Stars and Stripes headband, couldn’t overcome the Italian.
Sinner quickly took a 2-0 lead in the opening set before Fritz found his footing and leveled at 2-2. The 26-year-old American saved a break point after a grueling 23-shot rally in the fifth game, but Sinner soon surged ahead to 4-3. Sinner capitalized on a third break to claim the first set as Fritz sent a backhand long.
Both players had shown strong serving skills, having only been broken a combined 20 times throughout the tournament before the final. That trend continued in the second set with both men holding serve for the first nine games. However, Sinner pounced in the 10th game, securing two set points and converting the first with a deep forehand that forced Fritz into a desperate return that landed in the net.
By the time the second set ended, Sinner had committed just nine unforced errors compared to Fritz’s 19, underscoring his dominance.
In the third set, Fritz, the first American man to reach any Grand Slam final since Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009, squandered three break points in the opening game. Despite this, Sinner’s fourth double fault gave Fritz a 4-3 lead.
However, Sinner, with his back against the wall, broke back in the 10th game as Fritz served for the set, and the Italian held to go up 6-5. Sinner earned two championship points when Fritz sent a running forehand long, and sealed the victory when Fritz netted another shot, clinching his second Grand Slam title of the year.
