Sinner cements world No.1 status with US Open title

Aiming to become the first US man to win a Slam in 21 years – Andy Roddick was the last, at US Open 2003 – Fritz gave the home fans plenty to cheer about when he elevated his game and began overpowering the Italian, breaking serve in the seventh game of the third set.

Arthur Ashe Stadium was rocking as Fritz surged ahead 5-3, and he served for the set a 5-4.

But he couldn’t sustain his high level, and Sinner coolly reeled him back in.

While Fritz had the bigger serve, Sinner won almost 90 per cent of his first-serve points, and finished with 13 less unforced errors.

It was all over in a tidy two hours and 16 minutes.

“Some parts of it I did well, and a lot of parts of it I didn’t, definitely didn’t, I guess, hit the ball as well as I expected to. That’s something that’s big if I wanted to just go back and forth and ball-strike with him, because he’s such an amazing ball striker,” Fritz lamented.

“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 going to bully me a little bit too much.”

Sensational stats

Sinner’s numbers now make for incredible reading.

The Italian improves his win-loss record to 55-5 in 2024, including a perfect 6-0 in finals.

He has been especially damaging on hard courts, winning 35 of his 37 matches on the surface this year.

By winning the Cincinnati Masters title ahead of the US Open, he extends his winning streak to 11 matches.