Jannik Sinner beats Taylor Fritz in the US Open men’s final just weeks after his doping exoneration

NEW YORK (AP) — Jannik Sinner started slowly at the U.S. Open, dropping the first set he played after being exonerated in a doping case no one knew about until shortly before play began at Flushing Meadows.

If that episode initially hung over him during the tournament, Sinner was able to put it aside while on court. Was he ever. The No. 1-ranked Sinner beat Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 with his typical relentless baseline game to win the men’s championship at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday, less than three weeks after word emerged of the Italian’s two positive tests for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid.

“It was, and it’s still, a little bit in my mind,” Sinner said. “It’s not that it’s gone, but when I’m on court, I try to focus (on) the game, I try to handle the situation the best possible way. ... It was not easy, that’s for sure, but ... I tried to stay focused, which I guess I’ve done a great job, mentally staying there every point I play.”

This 2-hour, 15-minute victory gave him a second Grand Slam trophy — the other was at the Australian Open in January — and prevented No. 12 Fritz from ending the major title drought for American men that has lasted 21 years.

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.

“I know we’ve been waiting for a champion for a long time,” Fritz said, “so I’m sorry I couldn’t get it done this time.”

Still, this tournament was a success in many ways for U.S. tennis, with two women and two men from the country all in the semifinals for the first time at a major since the 2003 U.S. Open. Jessica Pegula reached the women’s final before losing to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Sinner 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. He’s the first man since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to win his first two Grand Slam trophies in the same season.

This was the first year since 2002 in which no member of the Big Three — Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or the retired Federer — won at least one major. Instead, Sinner, who is 23, and Carlos Alcaraz, 21, split the four Slam titles.

“Nice to see new champions,” Sinner said. “Nice to see new rivalries.”

The world found out on Aug. 20 that he tested positive twice in an eight-day span during March for a substance sold in an over-the-counter product in Italy, but he was cleared because his use was ruled unintentional — his defense was that the steroid entered his system via a massage from a team member he later fired.

While some players wondered whether Sinner was accorded special treatment, most believed he wasn’t trying to dope. And the U.S. Open’s fans never gave him a hard time.

“You can understand why people are upset about it. In anti-doping, it sounds so ridiculous,” said Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which wasn’t involved in the case. “But the science is such that, if the facts are actually proven out, it is actually plausible.”

Sinner, who dedicated this win to an aunt that is in poor health, said the months before his case was resolved were not easy.

“It was very difficult for me to enjoy in certain moments. Also how I behaved or how I walked on the court in certain tournaments before ... was not the same as I used to be,” he said, “so whoever knows me better, they know that something was wrong. But during this tournament, slowly I re-started to feel a little bit more how I am as a person.”

As expected, Fritz enjoyed a home-court advantage on a cool afternoon under a nearly cloudless sky. In a celebrity-filled crowd that included Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, some spectators occasionally engaged in chants of “U-S-A!” between games or rose whenever Fritz picked up what felt like a crucial point.

The loudest they got was at 3-all in the third set, when Fritz smacked an overhead winner, punched the air and screamed, “Let’s go!” People all around rose, applauding and shouting. After Fritz deposited a volley winner to earn a break point, he celebrated in the same fashion, and thousands in the seats went wild. Sinner then double-faulted, putting Fritz in front 4-3.

“If he wins that third,” said Fritz’s coach, Michael Russell, “it’s a whole new game.”

But when Fritz tried to serve out the set at 5-4, Sinner pulled even. He used a drop shot to lure Fritz forward, then hit a passing shot that drew a netted volley. Fritz bounced his racket off the court. Sinner loped to the towel box, not even smiling.

Ten minutes later, it was over, thanks to Sinner’s closing four-game run. He raised his arms, threw his head back and closed his eyes.

Sinner’s playing style is less spectacular than solid, less magical than metronomic. Either way, it was masterful, as he used his long limbs and squeaking, sliding sneakers to get to everything before aiming high-speed shot after shot right near lines.

“Sometimes, he makes you go for a little more than you want to,” Russell said, “because he gets so many balls back.”

Sinner — the second Italian to win a singles title at the U.S. Open, joining 2015 women’s champion Flavia Pennetta — finished with just 21 unforced errors, 13 fewer than Fritz.

A poor first set hurt Fritz. He put 36% of first serves in, delivered only two aces and wound up with more than twice as many unforced errors (12) as winners (five).

The stats would improve, but Fritz never figured out a way to consistently put Sinner in trouble. Few can these days.

“That’s just kind of how it goes,” Fritz said, “when you’re playing ... the best player in the world right now.”

___

AP National Writer Eddie Pells in Denver and AP Sports Writer Brian Mahoney in New York contributed.

___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis