Watch: Sinner beats Fritz to lift US Open title
Watch the moment world number one Jannik Sinner beats Taylor Fritz in straight sets to win the US Open and secure a second Grand Slam title of the year.
Watch the moment world number one Jannik Sinner beats Taylor Fritz in straight sets to win the US Open and secure a second Grand Slam title of the year.
Renowned coach Darren Cahill has helped Jannik Sinner surge to new heights since joining the team in July 2022.
The 23-year-old won his first major title under Cahill’s guidance at the Australian Open in January and then rose to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time in June. On Sunday afternoon in New York, Sinner bookended his standout major season by capturing the title at the US Open.
Following Sinner’s victory, Cahill spoke to ESPN about the Italian’s journey and elite mindset during his US Open run.
“He was ready today,” Cahill told ESPN. “There was a difference between Australia and here. I think in Australia when you’re going for your first, those nerves, it was the first major final that he’d ever been in. There were more nerves. And maybe even some more expectations as well because he had beaten Medvedev a few times. And to get over that hump and that hurdle. I think it gives you incredible confidence that no matter what, you are going to be able to handle situations.
“This morning he practised well. This morning we were talking to Andre Agassi in the locker room. He was talking about his game, and his mentality, and his composure also in the big moments. Even when he was tested in that third set, I still felt like he felt like he could get back into it and turn it around which he was able to do. So, he’s got this champion mindset that I think a lot of players don’t have. Certain players do have it for sure. But I believe he was born with it and he loves those situations and those moments.”
[ATP APP]Australian Cahill has enjoyed a standout coaching career. The former No. 22 in the PIF ATP Rankings helped guide Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt and WTA star Simona Halep to World No. 1 and joined Sinner’s team two years ago in an aim to add some experience to an-already well-oiled team.
Sinner has worked with countryman Simone Vagnozzi since the start of 2022 and Cahill was quick to praise Vagnozzi when he was asked about Sinner’s performance against Taylor Fritz.
“I think that Simone Vagnozzi has done an amazing job over the past couple of years, working on errors of his game, both transition from defence… and to get some power on those in the corners,” Cahill told ESPN. “But also getting back and taking the point over and transitioning into offence as well. Simone has been an amazing coach. He’s done a great job the past two and a half, three years. And it’s been an absolute honour to work with him and see how he’s been able to evolve Jannik’s game.”
Sinner leaves New York holding a 55-5 record on the season and has a commanding 2,885-point advantage over second-placed Alexander Zverev in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, which acts as a barometer for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]With just two months to go until the Nitto ATP Finals, the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin is starting to heat up. Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev have already qualified for the prestigious year-end event, but behind them there are a host of stars aiming to finish in the Top 8 and qualify for Turin.
ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as of Monday, 9 September following the US Open.
[ATP APP]Taylor Fritz – Fifth (3,890 points), +5
Fritz has climbed five spots to fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin after he became the first American man to reach a major final since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009. The 26-year-old, who defeated Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud and Frances Tiafoe before losing to Sinner in the final, is aiming to make his second appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals. He reached the semi-finals in 2022.
View The PIF ATP Live Race To Turin
Alex de Minaur – Eighth (3,305 points)
The Australian remains in strong contention to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time after he advanced to the quarter-finals at a major for the third time this season at Flushing Meadows. De Minaur has won tour-level titles in Acapulco and ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2024.
Grigor Dimitrov – 10th (2,835 points), +3
The 33-year-old is back in the Top 10 in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin after he enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals at the US Open. The Bulgarian is aiming to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time since he won the title in 2017. Dimitrov is currently 470 points behind eighth-placed De Minaur, who occupies the final qualification spot.
Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev have already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, scheduled to take place from 10-17 November.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Jannik Sinner says it “means so much” to win the US Open after a “very difficult” few months in the build-up to the Grand Slam.
Fresh from the experience of his first Grand Slam final, Taylor Fritz is confident that it won’t be his last.
Despite his failed quest to become the United States’ first Grand Slam champion since Andy Roddick triumphed at Flushing Meadows in 2003, the Californian believes that he is capable of similar deep runs in the future.
“It is a great feeling to have gotten to this point, knowing that I’m playing well, but I’m playing very within myself, and I feel like it’s repeatable,” he shared.
Fritz fell to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 after a strong run to his first major final, that included wins over Top 10 stars Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud.
“I think the biggest thing is that I played solid this week, but I played very within myself. I don’t think I at any point, was, like, wow, I’m playing incredible, or I’m playing out of my mind,” he said.
“I know that there’s still a lot of room for improvement. And something I’ve said throughout my entire career, whether it’s when I won my first ATP point or I won my first challenger or I made my first round of 16 or whatever it is, I’ve always said once I do something once, I just feel a lot more confident in being able to do it again.”
[ATP APP]Fritz was quick to praise Sinner, who now leads the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series 2-1. Sinner dominated the match, leaving Fritz no opportunity to stage a comeback.
“He’s the best player in the world right now. My plan A is not working. The plan B that I fall back on would normally be just like bringing everything in, being a little bit safer, grinding it out,” he said.
“That works, along with my serve, against a lot of other players, but against him, I tried to kind of bring it down, not be as aggressive, and he’s just gonna bully me a little bit too much.”
He also acknowledged that Sinner was a significantly improved player since they first played each other in the round of 16 at Indian Wells in 2021. “I could find myself in a lot of return games just off of his first serve. I felt like I could get myself in points off of his first serve every time. Then it was much easier to hurt him from the ground, as well. So he’s much faster, a lot better out of the corners. His serve is really good now.”
Fritz said that he wasn’t overwhelmed by playing in a Grand Slam final, claiming that he was more nervous for the all-American semi-final with Frances Tiafoe on Friday night.
“I was very, nervous going into the semi-final. I didn’t feel anywhere near as nervous going into this match as I did in the semis,” Fritz said.
“So I thought emotionally, it’s obviously the US Open final, I want to win it, it’s a really big moment. But I felt like emotionally I was going to be okay, because I knew it wasn’t going to be as bad as it was before my semi-final match, and I found a way to get through that.”
The 26-year-old beat No. 8 Casper Ruud and No. 4 Alexander Zverev on his way to the final. He was happy with his best run at a major but also showed his disappointment and bittersweet feelings after the loss.
“There’s obviously a lot of positives, and when I get some time to cool down, then I’ll be happy about the fact that I made it to the finals and stuff like that.
“But right now I’m pretty disappointed in how a lot of things on the court (went), how I played, how I hit certain shots. It sucks. I’m pretty upset with how I played. I feel like I almost let a lot of people down.”
Fritz will now focus on representing Team World at the Laver Cup in Berlin from 20-22 September. He has a 44-17 win/loss record for the season. He also jumped to fifth place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as he looks to return to the Nitto ATP Finals for the second time.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Jannik Sinner on Sunday became the first player since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to win his first two Grand Slam titles in the same season. But this year’s Australian Open and US Open champion has no intention of slowing down.
The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings is keen to continue pushing forward.
“For sure winning the first Grand Slam of the year gives you confidence, it gives you good feelings. But in the other way, you always have to work. It never stops,” Sinner said. “It’s like you always keep going and keep going. Until now I didn’t have so much time off to say, ‘Okay, you have done a great job’.
“It’s big thanks also to my team, because we always try some new work, some new things out, tactically. How can you play better against certain opponents? How do you work on such shots? Whatever you feel better or not, I was a lot in the gym, because I knew physically I still had to improve and I still have to improve a lot.”
A lot of hard work has gone into Sinner’s ascent in 2024. Before he lifted two major trophies, he spent countless hours in the gym and on the practice court refining his game.
“This is all part of sacrifices you make for an eventual future. So we will keep working,” Sinner said. “In my mind, I know that I’m not perfect and I will never be perfect, but we always try to evolve in my game. Then after my career I can say, ‘Okay, I’ve done everything possible to be at 100 per cent’.”
The 23-year-old Sinner and 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz swept this year’s major championships and are now a combined 6-0 in Slam finals. It is the first season since 2002 in which a member of the ‘Big Three’ — Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer — did not triumph at a Grand Slam event. Federer retired in 2022 and Nadal only played seven events this year.
“It’s something new, but it’s also nice to see. Nice to see new champions. Nice to see new rivalries. I always have players and I will always have players who are going to make me a better player, because there are going to be times where they beat me. Then you have to try to find a way how to win against certain players,” Sinner said. “Today we saw that not everything was perfect. I could have served slightly better, but this makes me realise that the work never stops.
“It’s always a continued work, which, in the end of the day, if you want to be a better player you always have to work, and you have to have these daily routines, accept difficult times on court.”
[ATP APP]This victory at Flushing Meadows is also different for Sinner compared to his win at Melbourne Park. Entering the season’s first Slam, Sinner had made just one major semi-final. In New York, he was the top seed and World No. 1.
“I believe that you can’t really compare them, because it’s different circumstances, different times of the year,” Sinner said. “I believe that in Melbourne was a kind of a relief, because in my mind, it was like I was working for it, and you never know if you can win one Grand Slam or not. But when you win one, you know that you can do it potentially.”
In the touching moment of the day, Sinner dedicated his title to his aunt, whom the Italian said is struggling with her health.
“My aunt, she’s a very important person, because when my parents, they were working every day and all day, so sometimes when I had to go to ski races, I went with her,” Sinner said. “She always helped me in summertime when my parents were working and I had some days off or free days. When you are young, you don’t go to practice every day. So I hung around a lot with her, and she’s a very important person in my life.”
Sinner lost just two sets in the tournament and throughout the fortnight showed why he is the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings and in great position to earn ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours.
“I feel like I have grown match by match and that my confidence level went higher and higher at some point,” Sinner said. “It was different because I had maybe a bit more pressure this time than in Australia. I’m happy how I handled this one. I’m just excited to have this trophy with me.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Sixty baseline points won to 32.
Jannik Sinner was basically twice as good as Taylor Fritz from the back of the court in winning the US Open men’s singles title on Sunday.
Sinner won 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 on the back of dominating bruising baseline exchanges that constantly had Fritz struggling to hang with his more powerful adversary. Fritz had won 49.8 per cent (328/659) of his baseline points leading into the final, but that match metric got crushed down to a lowly 34 per cent (32/94) against the rampaging Italian.
Baseline dominance has been the leading story of Sinner’s title-run in New York. Overall, he won 53.2 per cent (386/726) of baseline points in seven matches to take the title. What he did to opponents was head-turning.
Baseline Points Won By Sinner’s Opponents
The average for baseline points won for the tournament was 46.9 per cent (13,894/29,597). It’s jaw-dropping to consider that not one of Sinner’s opponents for the tournament won more than the tournament average. Alex Michelsen was the highest at 44.6 per cent, while Fritz was the lowest at 34 per cent.
Fritz was hoping to get off to a fast start in the match but only won 12 baseline points in the opening set and just seven in the second set. He did win 13 in the third set, but that was still not in the same ballpark as Sinner’s 23.
Sinner’s dominance was not built around hitting winners from the back of the court. It was much more about mitigating his errors.
[ATP APP]Forehand Performance
Backhand Performance
The winner/error tally is a revealing one for the American and highlights his difficulty staying with Sinner running side to side from the back of the court. Another compounding problem for Fritz was his lack of productivity at the net. He won 68 per cent (13/19) of points at the front of the court. But averaging right around six times at net per set was not about to change the baseline dynamic that Sinner was enjoying.
Fritz was able to hang with Sinner when rallies were shorter. But as soon as a fifth shot or longer landed in the court, Fritz didn’t have the extra gear to stay with the Italian.
Rally Length: Points Won
0-4 Shots
Sinner: 60
Fritz: 56
5+ Shots
Sinner 36
Fritz: 23
The final was a natural extension of Sinner’s dominance in baseline exchanges and extended rallies. He has ruled the roost in those two specific areas for two weeks in New York, and the final followed precisely the same script. The average rally length for the final was 4.58 shots, considerably higher than the tournament average of 3.86.
Sinner owned that extra shot in the court.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Jannik Sinner holds off a late charge from American Taylor Fritz to win the US Open and secure his second Grand Slam title.
Carlos Alcaraz quickly congratulated his rival Jannik Sinner on Sunday after the Italian defeated Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 for the US Open title.
“🏆You deserve it!🤝🏻” Alcaraz wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Enjoy the moment.”
Alcaraz and Sinner’s Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry has become a must-watch spectacle. The two superstars, aged 21 and 23, respectively, split the four Grand Slam tournament titles this season.
Alcaraz suffered a shock second-round defeat at the US Open to Botic van de Zandschulp, but followed along and shared his message for the Italian within minutes of the match ending.
ATPTour.com looks at social media reaction to Sinner’s victory.
[ATP APP]Congratulations @janniksin! 🏆 You deserve it! 🤝🏻 Enjoy the moment! https://t.co/uDUNKhQwRr
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) September 8, 2024
What a year for @janniksin!
Congratulations to him on his first #USOpen win! https://t.co/nPAUUm4Rcu
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) September 8, 2024
Congrats 🍾 to Sin City @janniksin on the daily double winning @AustralianOpen @usopen the 1st player too win his 1st 2 slams in season since Willie Vilas in 1977
— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) September 8, 2024
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Congratulations on another Major achievement 🇺🇸🏆 You’re the best, @janniksin! https://t.co/uoa9krMrjc
— AC Milan (@acmilan) September 8, 2024
Jannik Sinner bookended his standout Grand Slam year with his second major title on Sunday afternoon, when the Italian defeated Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 to lift the trophy at the US Open.
The 23-year-old delivered a high-quality display to dash home hope Fritz’s title dreams and clearly showcase why he has risen to the top of the game in the past 18 months. World No. 1 Sinner has now won a Tour-leading six titles in a stunning 2024 season and has moved 2,885 points clear of his nearest challenger Alexander Zverev in the battle to claim ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours.
A buoyant atmosphere greeted Sunday’s finalists inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Fritz stepped on court as the first American men’s singles finalist since 2006, but Sinner punctured it with a cool, controlled display of precise serving and clean baseline hitting. The Italian, who is the first man to claim his first two Grand Slam titles in the same season for 47 years, made just 21 unforced errors across three sets in which his relentlessness ultimately overwhelmed Fritz.
With Carlos Alcaraz also winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon this season, it is the first time since 1993 that all four majors in the same year have been won by players 23 or younger. “It’s nice to see for the sport some new champions. I feel like the new generation we push each other, trying to improve,” Sinner told ESPN.
Earlier, during the trophy ceremony, Sinner said: “This title for me means so much; the last period of my career was not easy. There is my team who supports me every day, the people who are close to me.
“I love tennis, I practise a lot for these kind of stages, but off the court there is a life. I would like to dedicate this title to my aunt who is really not feeling well health wise. I don’t know how much I’ll still have her in my life. It’s so nice I can still share a positive moment with her.”
🇺🇸 🏆 A NEW CHAMPION IN NEW YORK 🏆 🇺🇸⁰⁰@usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/qllwEFzPTp
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 8, 2024
Fritz competed well in his maiden Grand Slam championship match, but Sinner nonetheless assumed control for much of the pair’s third Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. The greatest moment of peril for the top seed came when Fritz channelled his fervent home support to move 5-3 ahead in the third set, but the American was unable to serve out as Sinner reeled off four straight games to seal victory.
With his two-hour, 16-minute win, Sinner became just the fourth man to win the Australian Open and US Open on hard courts in the same season, after Mats Wilander, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The 23-year-old No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings is also the first Italian men’s singles champion in event history, and only the second Italian singles champion overall after Flavia Pennetta’s 2015 women’s singles triumph.
Sinner’s title run in New York has taken his record for the year to 55-5. After prevailing in Sunday’s clash with Fritz, the Italian extended his winning streak to 11 matches, having clinched an ATP Masters 1000 crown in Cincinnati prior to the US Open.
“So many big wins for me this season, starting off with Australia,” said Sinner. “Playing so well there gave me confidence. The work never stops. I know I can still improve, as we saw today, a couple of things. But you have to be proud with what you have and the rest you have to work for it. I can’t wait for my continued process.”
Fritz was bidding to become the first American man to win a major title since Andy Roddick’s 2003 US Open triumph. Despite his final loss, the 26-year-old can reflect on a personal-best performance at a Grand Slam tournament that has also lifted him five spots to fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.
“I know we have been waiting for a champion for a long time, so I’m sorry I couldn’t get it done this time,” said Fritz. “I’m going to keep working and hopefully I will get in the next time.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/09/08/19/18/fritz-us-open-final-2024-sunday.jpg” style=”width: 100%;” alt=”Taylor Fritz” />
Taylor Fritz during the first set of Sunday’s US Open championship match. Photo Credit: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
An authoritative forehand winner from Sinner on the first point of the match en route to an opening break of serve set the tone in New York. Although Fritz reclaimed the break to level at 2-2, the World No. 1 continued to dictate proceedings in the first set.
Sinner’s intent to move Fritz from side to side and not allow him to stand and deliver from middle of court was clear from the first game. With Fritz landing just 38 per cent (11/29) of first serves in the opening set, the Italian broke the American’s delivery again in the seventh and ninth games to ease ahead.
Although Fritz found better rhythm behind his serve, so often his biggest weapon, in the second set, he was undone by a sloppy 11th game in which Sinner carved out the first break points of the set at 15/40. The Italian needed just one, as he arrowed a backhand down the line that forced Fritz to net to move within one set of the trophy.
A star-studded crowd, one which included celebrity couple Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, did their best to inspire Fritz to a comeback. Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs’ teammate Patrick Mahomes, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, actors Matthew McConaughey, Dustin Hoffman and Eddie Redmayne, and singers Usher and Bon Jovi were also among those watching the title match, but any hopes of an American titlist were dashed after Sinner put a swift end to Fritz’s third-set charge.
As Fritz netted a forehand on championship point, Sinner raised his arms to the sky after becoming the first No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings to win the US Open since Rafael Nadal in 2017. He is now 6-0 in tour-level finals in 2024, and has become just the fifth active player to win multiple Grand Slam titles.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]