Just a year ago, there were still some question marks surrounding Jannik Sinner and his path to greatness. His shooting skills had always been astonishing, and he had gradually transformed into one of the best athletes of his generation. However, he still struggled with the physical and mental challenges of the sport. He was knocked out of the US Open in the fourth round by Alexander Zverev last year, his body betraying him.
Sinner ends his stay in New York this year having established himself as the undeniably dominant force on hardcourt. The world No. 1 hit, worked and eventually outplayed 12th seed Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 – despite a stirring late surge from the home crowd favourite.
In addition to becoming the first Italian to win the US Open, Sinner is only the fourth man to win the Australian and US Open titles in the same year since both tournaments were held on hard courts starting in 1988. He is also putting together one of the greatest breakthrough seasons of the 21st century outside of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Sinner is now 55-5 in 2024 and an imperious 35-2 on hard courts, having won six of his 16 career titles this year.
Meanwhile, the 2000s generation continues to rise to the top of men’s tennis. In the first year since 2002 that none of the three greats has won a Grand Slam title, Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz split the Slams between themselves, knocking out the rest of the tour. Despite being early in their careers, Sinner and Alcaraz have now won six Major titles. With one Major title each, Dominic Thiem, who retired from Grand Slam competition at this event, and Daniil Medvedev are the only players born in the 1990s to have won a Grand Slam title.
Less than four weeks ago, Sinner announced that he had tested positive for the banned substance clostebol twice in April, before an independent tribunal ruled that he had no fault or negligence for the presence of the substance in his system. The week leading up to the tournament saw a flurry of both public and private debate from players, with some arguing that tennis’ anti-doping rules were unequal, particularly since Sinner was able to successfully appeal his initial provisional suspension and continue playing without disclosing the positive tests.
Sinner, who has played every week despite the uncertainty surrounding his impending trial, which took place last month in London at the Cincinnati Open, which he won, noted that he was relieved after receiving a favorable result and the news was made public. Although he has not always played at his highest possible level in New York, he has performed at an astonishing level in all the decisive moments.
Two nights earlier, Fritz had been holding back tears as he became the first American to reach the US Open final since Andy Roddick in 2006. Fritz’s breakthrough run remains a monumental achievement, one that underscores his perseverance, work ethic and, above all, his tenacity. He made sure he took advantage of an open spot in the bottom half of the tournament.
When he walked back into Arthur Ashe Stadium, his problem was simple. He was up against a better athlete, returner and overall tennis player who was also in the shape of his life.
Even as Fritz shook off his early nerves and tried to force himself to take the first shot, the contrast in athleticism was stark. Sinner’s ability to slide in perfectly balanced balls, counter with depth and then recover is only better than Djokovic’s and he defended superbly throughout the match. When Fritz was pulled wide, however, the point was over.
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Sinner’s combined depth, weight and tempo of stroke were dominant enough, but he also chose his moments to inject immense speed into rallies when he wanted to. Fritz was soundly beaten in the opening set as Sinner broke his serve again to close it out 6-3.
In stark contrast to losing his serve three times in the opening set, Fritz was able to build up a rhythm on his serve and both players went into the second set full of confidence. But at the first hint of pressure on the scoreboard, 5-4 to Sinner on Fritz’s serve, Sinner locked in his game. He landed big returns, he maintained impeccable depth and his excellent defense caused Fritz to overheat, his errors piling up. On set point, Sinner hit a backhand down the line with a sharp injection of pace and the set was over.
Just as Sinner seemed to be making his move at 3-2 in the third set, Fritz found a second wind. With Arthur Ashe practically shaking, Fritz produced his most devastating series of attacking tennis to save the break point and establish a 5-3 lead. As has been the case throughout the tournament, Sinner raised his game in the moments of stress, calmly unraveling Fritz’s advantage by winning the last four games of the match and securing his second Grand Slam title. More to come.