An inspired Jannik Sinner secured his second major of the year with a 6-3 6-4 7-5 victory over Taylor Fritz in the men’s US Open final this evening.
After seeing off Britain’s Jack Draper in Friday’s one-sided semi-final, Sinner picked up where he left off, breaking home favourite Fritz in the opening game in New York.
Fritz, the first American man in a major singles final in 15 years, battled back from going 2-0 down to make it 3-3, only for Sinner to pull away and take the first set 6-3 in emphatic fashion.
In the second, Fritz dug deep to stick with Sinner, causing the world No.1 real problems with his serve and a series of exceptional groundstrokes at a rowdy Flushing Meadows – where the likes Taylor Swift, Jon Bon Jovi and Matthew McConaughey were in attendance.
But Sinner again proved his champion credentials with a sublime backhand down the line to break Fritz and seal the second set 6-4 with just one unforced error, taking the Italian to within touching distance of the title.
Arthur Ashe Stadium erupted as a spirited Fritz broke to take a 4-3 lead in an absorbing third set but Sinner returned the favour to make it 5-5 before breaking again to win 7-5 and get himself over the line.
The result secured Sinner the second Grand Slam title of his career, with the 23-year-old adding to his triumph over Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final back in January.
Sinner has won six titles in total this year and becomes the youngest man to win both hard-court majors in the same season and only the fourth male player in history to achieve the feat – after Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Mats Wilander.