There will be no American winner in the singles at the 2024 U.S. Open. Local favorite Taylor Fritz made it to the final but lost to the Italian on Sunday against top-seeded Jannik Sinner, who won the match in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.
Sinner defeated 12th-seeded Fritz in three sets, becoming the last American to win the tournament since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003 and was the last American to reach a Grand Slam final (Wimbledon, 2009) until Fritz beat compatriot Francis Tiafoe in the semifinals.
But Sinner never let Fritz get any further behind, winning his second Grand Slam title of his career and his second of the year. Sinner made fewer unforced errors (21-34), won 88% of his first serves and broke 6 of 12 times. He was sharper and cleaner than Fritz throughout the match, beating him in straight sets.
Sinner won his first Grand Slam title earlier this season when he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final. The 23-year-old Italian, ranked number one in the world, has reached the semifinals at Roland Garros and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, but this will be his first final since the Australian Open.
Off the court, Sinner has had some really tough months. First, he missed the Paris Olympics with tonsillitis, then he was given a doping suspension by the ITIA after testing positive for the banned anabolic steroid clostebol. In the end, he was found not guilty of any wrongdoing, but people talked about that and not so much about his performance at the US Open.
In the semifinals, Sinner defeated the tournament's 25th seed, Jack Draper of England. Sinner had to deal with a wrist injury during the match, but ultimately won in straight sets, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2. On his way to the final, Sinner had defeated the tournament's 14th seed, Tommy Paul, in the fourth round and the 5th seed, Medvedev, in the quarterfinals.
The 26-year-old Fritz had been one of the top U.S. men's tennis players for the past few years but struggled to make a breakthrough, a story very similar to that of his friend and semifinal opponent, Francis Tiafoe. The two Americans battled it out in five sets before Fritz emerged victorious 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
In addition to reaching the final here, Fritz has reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this season and the fourth round at the French Open.
It's been a tough road for 12th-seeded Fritz, who finally beat No. 8 seed Kasper Ruud in the fourth round after being pushed to four sets, but things got tougher from there, leading to a quarterfinal match against No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev, who Fritz beat in four sets before moving on to face No. 20 seed Tiafoe.
