Italian Jannik Sinner reacts after defeating American Taylor Fritz to win the men’s singles final of the US Open in New York on Sunday, September 8, 2024.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP/AP

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Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP/AP

NEW YORK – Jannik Sinner started slowly at the U.S. Open, dropping the first set he played after being acquitted of a doping case that no one knew about until shortly before play began at Flushing Meadows.

If that incident initially loomed over him during the tournament, Sinner was able to brush it aside on the court. Has he ever? The No. 1 seed Sinner beat Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 with his typically relentless baseline play to win the men’s championship at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday, less than three weeks after it was announced he had tested positive for drugs twice.

“This title means so much to me,” said 23-year-old Sinner from Italy, “because the last phase of my career was really not easy.”

He won the second Grand Slam title of his young career – the other came in January at the Australian Open – and prevented Fritz (number 12) from ending a 21-year drought of major titles for American men.

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.

“Being an American at the US Open is just incredible. Feeling the love all week long. So thank you very much,” said Fritz during the awards ceremony. “I know we’ve waited a long time for a champion, so I’m sorry I didn’t make it this time. But I’ll keep working on it and hopefully I’ll make it next time.”

Still, this tournament was a success for US tennis in many ways: For 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 losing to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus on Saturday.

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.

“I’ve had so many big wins this season,” said Sinner, who took full advantage of the eliminations of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz in Week 1. “But the work never stops.”

On August 20, the world learned that Sinner had been found to have traces of an anabolic steroid twice within eight days in March. However, he was acquitted because his consumption was deemed unintentional – the banned substance had entered his body through a massage from a team member whom he later fired.

While some players wondered if he was getting special treatment, most believed he wasn’t trying to dope. And the US Open fans never gave him any trouble.

“We just kept going day by day … and believing in ourselves, that’s the most important thing,” said Sinner, who mentioned that one of his aunts is in poor health. “I understand how important the mental aspect is, especially in this tournament.”

As expected, Fritz enjoyed a certain home-field advantage on that chilly afternoon under a nearly cloudless sky. In a celebrity-filled crowd that included Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, some spectators occasionally chanted “USA!” between plays or stood when Fritz scored what seemed like a decisive point.

Fritz is not the type to show much emotion other than shaking his neon-colored racket, even after taking a 3-2 lead after 20 minutes.

That was pretty much the last big highlight for Fritz until the third set was tied at 3-3, when he hit an overhead winner to make it 15-30, punched the air and shouted: “Let’s go!” The people around him stood up, applauded and shouted. When Fritz scored a break point with a volley winner a minute later, he celebrated in the same way and thousands in the stands went wild. Sinner then made a double fault to put Fritz 4-3 ahead.

But when he tried to close the set at 5:4, Fritz weakened enough for Sinner to equalize with a break. Sinner lured Fritz into the forecourt with a drop shot and then let slip a passing shot that Fritz volleyed into the net. Fritz bounced his racket off the court. Sinner ran to the towel rack without even smiling.

About 10 minutes later, the victory was secured thanks to a final four-game run by Sinner. When it was over, Sinner raised his arms, threw his head back and closed his eyes.

He generally carries himself during matches in a manner that is perhaps best described as rather casual. His style is less spectacular than solid, less magical than metronomic. Either way, he was masterful in the way he used his long limbs and squeaky, sliding sneakers to get close to everything before aiming one high-speed punch after another just off the lines – and usually succeeding.

Neither player seemed particularly interested in venturing forward on Sunday unless forced to, instead settling for their forehands and backhands from the back of the court.

This is clearly Sinner’s territory.

In the end, Sinner, the second Italian woman to win a singles title at the US Open alongside 2015 women’s champion Flavia Pennetta, had an impressive record: only 21 unforced errors, 13 fewer than Fritz, and 23 winners.

At the beginning, it seemed that Fritz could keep the match competitive provided he played his best, especially on serve. If that is the case, the first set was far from ideal for him.

He hit 36% of his first serves, hit just two aces – a total he exceeded in the first game of the second set alone – and made more than twice as many unforced errors (12) as winners (five).

Such statistics would improve Fritz’s position, but he hasn’t found a way to keep getting Sinner into trouble. Few do that these days.

“It’s really impressive,” Fritz admitted. “He was too good.”