Jannik Sinner, the world No. 1, has captured his second Grand Slam singles title, defeating American Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in the US Open final at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday, CNN reports.
The victory marks a historic moment for Italian tennis, as Sinner becomes the first Italian man to win the US Open singles championship.
Fritz, ranked No. 12 in the world, was aiming to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick’s 2003 US Open triumph. Roddick, who was in attendance on Sunday, was the last American man to reach the US Open singles final, losing to Roger Federer in 2006.
The 23-year-old Sinner, riding an impressive 11-match win streak, joins Flavia Pennetta, the 2015 women’s singles champion, as the only Italian singles champions in US Open history.
Sinner’s dominance was evident in the first two sets, but the third set saw a shift in momentum as Fritz, with the support of the New York crowd, took a 5-3 lead. However, Fritz was unable to serve out the set, allowing Sinner to win the next four games and claim the title.
The Italian’s victory comes amidst a recent doping case that made headlines in August. Sinner, who tested positive for trace amounts of the banned substance Clostebol twice, avoided suspension after it was determined that he bore “no fault or negligence.” He maintains that the positive tests were the result of “inadvertent contamination” from treatment by his then-physiotherapist.
This year’s US Open marks the first time since 2002 that none of the men’s tennis “Big Three” – Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and the now-retired Roger Federer – have won a Grand Slam title. The titles have instead been split between Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who won the French Open and Wimbledon, respectively.
Djokovic was upset in the third round of the US Open by Alexei Popyrin, while Nadal did not compete in the tournament.
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