On any given day, Serbia’s 37-year-old Novak Djokovic, who holds the record for the most men’s Grand Slam singles tennis titles at 24, and 21-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who has already captured three majors, including this year’s French Open and Wimbledon, are the sport’s best men’s players.
But 23-year-old Jannik Sinner of Italy entered the US Open two weeks ago as the world’s No. 1 ranked male; defeated No. 12 seed Taylor Fritz of the United States in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, in the finals of the tournament on Sunday at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens; and cemented his standing.
Sinner and the 26-year-old Fritz were vying to win their first US Open title. Fritz was also trying to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam singles title in 21 years. Andy Roddick, the last American man to achieve this feat when he won the 2003 U.S. Open, was in the stands for the match. Sinner became the first Italian to win the men’s singles final at the U.S. Open in a match that lasted 2 1/2 hours.
Sinner’s movement from the baseline and 88% first-serve win percentage, versus Fritz’s 68%, were key to his victory. After dropping the first two sets, Sinner powered back with his relentless baseline game, extending the length of rallies against Fritz, who rarely serves and volleys. Fritz gave the crowd some hope for a rally in the third set, going up 5-4, but was unable to serve out of the set, with Sinner ultimately taking the set with a four-game run to close out the match.
Sinner’s win, coming just weeks after he was exonerated in a doping case, bookended his breakthrough 2024 Grand Slam season with his second trophy of the year. In January, he overcame a two-set deficit to defeat Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open and win the first major of his career. With his victory in Flushing Meadows, Sinner joined Jimmy Connors (1974) and Guillermo Vilas (1977) to become the third man to win his first two Grand Slam titles in the same season.
Sinner dedicated his win to his aunt, who he called “a very important person,” saying, “I would like to dedicate this title to my aunt, because she is really not feeling well, health-wise. I don’t know how much I still have her in my life. It’s so nice that I can share a positive moment still with her … If there would be the biggest wish, I would wish the best health to everyone, but unfortunately, it’s not possible.”