Jannik Sinner bested Taylor Fritz in the 2024 US Open men's singles final to lift his second career Grand Slam title.
Both players have been spectacular at the last Grand Slam tournament of the season. While the Italian player entered it as the World No. 1 on the ATP Tour and the top favorite after his win at the Cincinnati Open, for Fritz, this was the best run at a major of his tennis career.
It wasn't only his best run at a major, it was the best run by an American male tennis player since 2009, when Andy Roddick played an epic Wimbledon final against Roger Federer, who beat him 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 3-6, 16-14.
Despite ending this long run without an American player in the final of a men's singles Grand Slam tournament, Fritz was a heavy underdog against the top seed.
However, he also had some advantage over his opponent. The Arthur Ashe Stadium was packed, using the full capacity of 23,771 seats and the vast majority of those supported the American player.
The audience was star-studded with the likes of Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, Noah Lyles, Paul George, Maria Sharapova, Billie Jean King, Stan Smith, Matthew McConaughey, Elon Musk, and many, many more watching the match.
But while the crowd in New York wanted to see an American player winning, Sinner had different ideas. He came out firing, breaking his opponent's serve already in the first game of the match.
Despite quickly leading 2-0 in the opener, the Italian lost his lead, as Fritz was able to turn the score into his favor, leading 3-2. But he didn't play a good set, and even though the same could be said about his opponent, Sinner's base level was above the American's, which meant that despite his own struggles, he was able to break his opponent's serve twice and win the first set 6-3.
If Fritz wanted to even think about lifting the trophy after the match, he needed to improve his level in the second set. Prior to the match, Nick Kyrgios highlighted how hitting his first serve would be important for Fritz, and he was seemingly right.
In the first set, the American player hit only 38% of his first serves in, and he lost it quite easily. In the second set, he served much better, hitting 78% of his first serves, and for the most part, he was very competitive.
Both players held their serves with ease in the second set, and it seemed that a tie-break would decide the winner. However, in the tenth game, Fritz felt the pressure, while Sinner felt his chance. He broke in a moment that gave his opponent no time for response, winning the second set 6-4.
It looked like the engraver would be able to start with his task on the US Open trophy very soon, but Fritz was against it. Although he couldn't use any of his three break points in the first game of the third set, he started a heroic run when down 2-3 and 15-40, facing two break points.
The American player won eight of the following nine points, holding his serve and breaking Sinner's after a few sensational rallies and the Italian's double fault. The Arthur Ashe Stadium was heavily celebrating, and so was the American player, who was pumping them up.
Sinner proved that he was only a human. However, immediately in the following games, he tried his best to prove otherwise, and he succeeded, not allowing the 12th seed to serve out the third set.
The momentum shifted dramatically, and it was all on the World No. 1's side. In a span of a few minutes, Fritz went from serving to win the set to serving to stay in the match, as Sinner easily held his serve after breaking back.
The reigning Australian Open champion was then able to use the pressure that he put on his opponent by having to serve out the match to his advantage, as Fritz started to make mistakes.
Sinner, on the other hand, was rock-solid in almost every rally, ultimately breaking Fritz's serve once again to win the match 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, and win the 2024 US Open, his second career Grand Slam title.
0 Comments