Jannik Sinner beats Taylor Fritz in the U.S. Open men's final weeks after doping exoneration

Associated Press
Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024 4:45 p.m. | Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024 4:45 p.m.

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, reacts after defeating Taylor Fritz, of the United States, to win the men’s singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships in New York.

7712171_web1_7712171-22df5d889ba84958b2aa8999c331b583

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, returns a shot to Taylor Fritz, of the United States, during the men’s singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in New York.

7712171_web1_7712171-03b18614bea84472b84c616326b5db20

Taylor Fritz, of the United States, reacts in the third set against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men’s singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in New York.

7712171_web1_7712171-e579fab475034a839769f171038b740d

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, reacts after winning a game against Taylor Fritz, of the United States, during the men’s singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 8, in New York. 2024.

7712171_web1_7712171-15172ac0da414a2986c086910afeb336

Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, cheer as they watch play between Jannik Sinner, of Italy, and Taylor Fritz, of the United States, during the men’s singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in New York.

7712171_web1_7712171-c1229943a72d44618cf988e34c417dad

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, reacts after scoring a point against Taylor Fritz, of the United States, during the men’s singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 8, in New York. 2024.

7712171_web1_7712171-956149a95ab842c9b6304387ac188f17

Taylor Fritz, of the United States, returns a shot to Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men’s singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in New York.

NEW YORK — Jannik Sinner beat Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 with a relentless baseline game to win the U.S. Open men’s championship on Sunday, less than three weeks after being exonerated in a doping case.

The No. 1-ranked Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy, won the second Grand Slam trophy of his nascent career — the other was at the Australian Open in January — and prevented No. 12 Fritz from ending a major title drought for American men that has lasted 21 years.

JANNIK SINNER IS A TWO-TIME GRAND SLAM CHAMPION!! pic.twitter.com/E5VYumaSz6

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 8, 2024

Andy Roddick’s triumph at Flushing Meadows in 2003 was the last Slam title for a man from the United States. The last before Fritz, a 26-year-old from California, to even contest a final at one of the four biggest tournaments in tennis also was Roddick, who lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009.

Sinner extended his current winning streak to 11 matches and improved to 55-5 with a tour-high six titles in 2024. That includes a 35-2 mark on hard courts, the surface used at both the Australian Open and U.S. Open, and he is the first man since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to win his first two Grand Slam trophies in the same season, something such greats as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Federer never accomplished.

Less than a week before competition began at Flushing Meadows, the world found out that Sinner had tested positive twice for anabolic steroids in March but was cleared because his use was ruled unintentional — the banned substance entered his system via a massage from a team member he later fired.