By Tony Fairbairn
- Jannik Sinner [1] def Taylor Fritz [12] 6-3 6-4 7-5
- Jannik Sinner admitted he was happy the way he handled the off-court and on-court pressure as he lifted a second Grand Slam title.
NEW YORK, USA – Jannik Sinner was happy the way he handled the pressure of the last two weeks after the Italian defeated Taylor Fritz in straight sets to win his first US Open title.
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Jannik Sinner [1] def Taylor Fritz [12] 6-3 6-4 7-5
Jannik Sinner is the US Open champion after he defeated Taylor Fritz in straight sets to claim his second Grand Slam title of his career. Sinner is the first player since Guillermo Villas to win his first two Grand Slams in the same year after winning the Australian Open to start the year.
The first point of the match set the tone for Sinner’s dominance as a crushing forehand winner was a sign of things to come. Meanwhile, Fritz was nervy and tight with evidence of that being a missed smash to give Sinner the break in the opening game. Playing in his first Grand Slam final, Fritz was bound to be nervous and that proved to be the case but soon enough the American would bounce back in style.
That’s because Sinner was also tight in big points with the crowd against him and the Italian playing in his first US Open final. The American regained his confidence from the baseline with the forehand doing major damage as Fritz won the longer rallies to claim three games in a row, taking a 3-2 lead.
Signs of Sinner’s demise were greatly exaggerated though as the Italian regained his attacking intent and turned defence into attack at lightning pace. The 12th seed did as much as possible to neutralize Sinner’s qualities but the world number one moved up the court and exposed Fritz’s movement from the baseline. A consistent amount of winners was being produced as Sinner broke a helpless Fritz twice to win four games in a row and take the opening set in 42 minutes.
In the second set there was no sign of nerves from either player as there was efficient serving and clean winners from all areas of the court. Fritz was continuing to do damage on the forehand while the Sinner backhand continued to create ridiculous angles which forced the American into some aggressive shots.
Although Fritz played some incredibly aggressive service games, Fritz struggled the balance right on return and that would ultimately cost him the second set. In the tenth game Sinner produces an incredible return game as another strong backhand from the baseline sealed a comfortable break as the Italian secured a two set lead after 77 minutes.
In order for Fritz to have a chance of coming back from two sets down he needed to be aggressive and proactive in the third set and that’s exactly what he was. After testing Sinner’s serve in the opening game, Fritz approached the net in the seventh game in order to create two break points. A double fault from Sinner secured the crucial break for Fritz as he would then consolidate the break with an ace to take a 5-3 lead.
However from that position, Fritz played some awful tennis missing easy shots as a missed volley allowed Sinner to break back to level the set at 5-5. That would be the turning point as Sinner stormed to the next two games against a toothless Fritz to claim his second Grand Slam title and his first in New York.
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‘Excited’ Sinner handles pressure to win maiden US Open title
A dominant display from Sinner as the world number one won his second Grand Slam title in New York.
Despite the off-court controversy over his two failed doping tests as well as the on-court tests, Sinner kept his composure to claim a first US Open title.
After the match Sinner said he was ‘excited’ to win the trophy and spoke about handling the pressure of the last two weeks.
“It was different because I had maybe a bit more pressure this time than in Australia,” Sinner was quoted by the ATP website as saying.
“I feel like I have grown match by match and that my confidence level went higher and higher at some point. I’m happy how I handled this one. I’m just excited to have this trophy with me.”
Sinner referenced it in his answer but his victory in New York was very different to his maiden Grand Slam title win in Melbourne at the start of the year both in terms of his route to the title but also the pressure he was under at the US Open in comparison to January.
Speaking about the comparison between the two Sinner admitted that this title is very different to his Australian Open triumph.
“I believe that you can’t really compare them, because it’s different circumstances, different times of the year,” Sinner said to the ATP website.
“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.”
Now Sinner comfortably sits at the top of the rankings and will aim to finish the year strong especially in front of his home crowd at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
Next year Sinner will have a target on his back especially on hard courts as he looks to assert his dominance on tour.
Although the Italian is enjoying his success in New York, the world number one detailed the work that goes in to being a champion and explained why the work never stops.
“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 reflected to the ATP website.
“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.
“This is all part of sacrifices you make for an eventual future. So we will keep working. 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’.
“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.”
Fritz seeks improvement and targets more Grand Slam finals
It was disappointment for Fritz who played a poor final and let a 5-3 lead slip in catastrophic circumstances.
An opportunity was missed for Fritz in what has been a sensational tournament for the American as he reached a first Grand Slam final.
Speaking after the match Fritz admitted he was disappointed and praised the world number one for his level of play in the final.
“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,” Fritz told the ATP website.
“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.
“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. 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.”
Despite the disappointing performance, it’s been a successful tournament as Fritz became the first male American since Andy Roddick to reach a Grand Slam final.
Furthermore Fritz will return to the world’s top ten and will climb to seven in the world after his Grand Slam breakthrough.
Elaborating on the future Fritz believes another Grand Slam final is in his future but is seeking to improve his game over the next few months.
“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,” Fritz optimistically told the ATP website.
“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.
“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.”
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