NEW YORK (AP) — Jannik Sinner started slowly in US Openand lost the first set he played after be exonerated in a doping case Nobody knew about it until shortly before the game started in Flushing Meadows.
If this episode initially loomed over him during the tournament, Sinner was able to put it aside on the court. Did he ever do that? Sinner, ranked number 1, beat Taylor Fritz With his typically relentless baseline play, he scored 6-3, 6-4 and 7-5 to win the men’s championship at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday, less than three weeks after it was revealed that the Italian had twice tested positive for traces of an anabolic steroid.
“It was and still is a little bit in my head,” Sinner said. “It’s not that it’s gone, but when I’m on the court I try to focus on the game, I try to handle the situation as best as I can. … It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure, but … I tried to stay focused, which I think I did very well by staying there mentally for every point I play.”
This victory in 2 hours and 15 minutes gave him a second Grand Slam title – he won the other in January at the Australian Open – and prevented No. 12 Fritz of ending the dry spell in major titles for American men that took 21 years.
Andy Roddick’s triumph at Flushing Meadows in 2003 was the last Grand Slam title for a man from the United States. The last before Fritz, a 26-year-old Californian, to ever reach a final at one of tennis’s four major tournaments was also Roddick, who lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009.
“I know we’ve waited a long time for a champion,” said Fritz, “so I’m sorry I didn’t make it this time.”
Nevertheless, this tournament was a success in many ways for US TennisFor the first time since the 2003 US Open, two women and two men from the country reached the semifinals of a major. Jessica Pegula reached the women’s final before Defeat against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
Sinner improved his record to 55-5 in 2024, winning a tour-high six titles. That includes a 35-2 record on hard courts, the surface used in both the Australian Open and US Open. He is the first man since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to win his first two Grand Slam trophies in the same season.
This was the first year since 2002 in which no member of the Big Three – Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or the retired Federer – won at least one major. Instead, 23-year-old Sinner and 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz shared the four Grand Slam titles.
“Nice to see new champions,” Sinner said. “Nice to see new rivalries.”
On August 20, the world learned that he had tested positive twice in eight days in March for a substance sold in Italy in an over-the-counter product. However, he was acquitted because his use was ruled accidental – his defense was that the steroid had entered his body through a massage from a team member, whom he later fired.
While some players wondered if Sinner was receiving special treatment, most believed he wasn’t trying to dope. And the US Open fans never gave him any trouble.
“You can understand why people are upset about this. In the anti-doping space, it sounds so ridiculous,” said Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which was not involved in the case. “But the science is such that when the facts are actually proven, it’s actually plausible.”
Sinner, who dedicated the victory to his aunt, who is in poor health, said the months leading up to the resolution of his case were not easy.
“It was very difficult for me to enjoy certain moments. Also my behavior or my walk on the court in certain tournaments before … was not what it used to be,” he said. “So those who know me better know that something was wrong. But during this tournament I slowly started to feel a little more like myself as a person again.”
As expected, Fritz enjoyed the home advantage on this cool afternoon under an almost cloudless sky. In a prominent audience, which also included Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, some spectators occasionally shouted “USA!” between games or stood up when Fritz made a seemingly decisive point.
The loudest noise came at 3-3 in the third set, when Fritz hit an overhead winner, punched the air and shouted, “Let’s go!” People around him stood up, applauded and shouted. After Fritz hit a volley winner to earn a break point, he celebrated in the same way and thousands in the seats went wild. Sinner then double-faulted to put Fritz 4-3 ahead.
“If he wins that third goal,” said Fritz’s coach Michael Russell, “it’s a whole new game.”
But when Fritz tried to close out the set at 5-4, Sinner equalized. He used a drop shot to lure Fritz forward, then hit a passing shot that pulled a volley into the net. Fritz bounced his racket off the court. Sinner ran to the towel rack without even smiling.
Ten minutes later, it was over, thanks to Sinner’s final four-play run. He raised his arms, threw his head back and closed his eyes.
Sinner’s style of play is less spectacular than solid, less magical than metronomic. Either way, he was masterful, using his long limbs and squeaky, sliding sneakers to get to everything before aiming one high-speed shot after another just off the lines.
“Sometimes he forces you to give more than you want to,” Russell said, “because he gets so many balls back.”
Sinner – the second Italian to win a US Open singles title after 2015 women’s champion Flavia Pennetta – finished the tournament with just 21 unforced errors, 13 fewer than Fritz.
A weak first set hurt Fritz. He hit 36% of his first serves, hit only two aces and ended up making more than twice as many unforced errors (12) as Winner (five).
The statistics improved, but Fritz never found a way to get Sinner into trouble for any length of time. Only a few people manage to do that these days.
“That’s just how it goes,” said Fritz, “when you play against the currently best player in the world.”
___
AP National Reporter Eddie Pells in Denver and AP Sports Writer Brian Mahoney in New York contributed.
___
AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
