Match Report
Sinner seals first set vs. Fritz in US Open final
World No. 1 chasing second major title
September 08, 2024
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Jannik Sinner in first-set action against Taylor Fritz during Sunday’s US Open final.
By Andy West
Jannik Sinner has dealt an early blow to Taylor Fritz’s hopes of notching his maiden Grand Slam title on home soil by taking the first set 6-3 in Sunday’s US Open championship match at the hard-court major.
Excited home fans inside Arthur Ashe Stadium roared on Fritz, the first American men’s singles finalist at Flushing Meadows since 2006, but Sinner expertly cooled the atmosphere with a controlled first-set display. He delivered an authoritative forehand winner on the first point of the match en route to an opening break of serve and, although Fritz reclaimed the break to level at 2-2, the World No. 1 continued to dictate proceedings.
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.
Sinner secures the first set 🔥
He leads 6-3 against Fritz for his chance at the title 🏆@usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/MfTRlJkRS6
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 8, 2024
Sinner is looking to become 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 World No. 1 has enjoyed a stunning 2024, during which he has won a Tour-leading five titles and racked up a 54-5 record. He entered Sunday’s clash with Fritz on a 10-match winning streak, having clinched an ATP Masters 1000 crown in Cincinnati in his most recent tournament prior to the US Open.
Fritz is bidding to become the first American man to win a major title since Andy Roddick’s 2003 US Open triumph. The 26-year-old, who overcame his countryman Frances Tiafoe in five sets to reach his maiden major final, is also chasing his first victory against a No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings at the ninth attempt.
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Taylor Fritz during the first set of Sunday’s US Open championship match. Photo Credit: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
The American will hope that a star-studded crowd, one which includes celebrity couple Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, can inspire a comeback in his third Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Sinner. 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 are also among those watching the title match at the final major of the 2024 season.