By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Saturday, September 7, 2024

 

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and 12th-seeded American Taylor Fritz face off for the third time with history on the line in the US Open final.

Photo credit: Julian Finney/Getty

NEW YORK—Arthur Ashe Stadium is statement stage for the US Open final.

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner faces American Taylor Fritz in tomorrow’s 2 p.m. US Open final that will be televised nationally by ABC.

Fritz on Sinner: Consistency Key in Anti-Doping Process

Both men are playing for history.

The 23-year-old Sinner is bidding to become the first Italian man to raise the US Open title trophy—and capture his second career Grand Slam championship.

Contesting his maiden major final, the 26-year-old Fritz is playing to win his first Grand Slam and become the first American man since Andy Roddick in 2003 to capture a major championship.

Both men are model players who moonlight as models.

They’re fashion forward—Sinner is a House of Gucci brand ambassador while Fritz is a leading face for Hugo Boss—and favor the power-based baseline style suited to Flushing Meadows’ fast hard courts.

Here’s our preview of Sunday’s US Open final.

(1) Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs. (12) Taylor Fritz (USA)

2024 Records
Jannik Sinner 54-5; Taylor Fritz 44-15

2024 Hard-Court Records
Jannik Sinner 34-2; Taylor Fritz 19-7

Career 5-Set Records
Jannik Sinner 6-9; Taylor Fritz 12-11

Head to Head: Even at 1-1

Jannik Sinner d. Taylor Fritz 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at 2023 Indian Wells

Taylor Fritz d. Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-3 at 2021 Indian Wells



Taylor Fritz’s Path to the US Open Final

Taylor Fritz d. Camilo Ugo Carabelli 7-5 6-1 6-2
Taylor Fritz d. Matteo Berrettini 6-3 7-6(1) 6-1
Taylor Fritz d. Francisco Comesana 6-3 6-4 6-2
Taylor Fritz d. d. [8] Casper Ruud 3-6 6-4 6-3 6-2
Taylor Fritz d. [4] Alexander Zverev 7-6(2) 3-6 6-4 7-6(3)
Taylor Fritz d. [20] Frances Tiafoe 4-6 7-5 4-6 6-4 6-1



Jannik Sinner’s Path to the US Open Final

Jannik Sinner d. Mackenzie McDonald 2-6 6-2 6-1 6-2
Jannik Sinner d. Alex Michelsen 6-4 6-0 6-2
Jannik Sinner d. Christopher O’Connell 6-1 6-4 6-2
Jannik Sinner d. [14] Tommy Paul 7-6(3) 7-6(5) 6-1
Jannik Sinner d. [5] Daniil Medvedev 6-2 1-6 6-1 6-4
Jannik Sinner d. [25] Jack Draper 7-5 7-6(3) 6-2



Common Connections

Sinner and Fritz are two of the best pure ball strikers on tour, balanced off both forehand and backhands and both are tall, lanky players able to flick balls back on the stretch.

Initially, tennis wasn’t the prime sport for either man. Sinner was a champion junior skier growing up in northern Italy. Fritz played multiple team sports in Southern California before settling on tennis.

Both men won hard-court championships in Florida earlier this season. Sinner stomped Daniil Medvedev and Grigor Dimitrov in succession to capture the Miami Open in March. Fritz defeated fellow Americans Marcos Giron and Tommy Paul back-to-back to win the Delray Beach Open last February.

The 23-year-old Sinner and 26-year-old Fritz both cite the US Open as their favorite Grand Slam event and both were inspired by attacking players with one-handed backhands. Sinner grew up admiring Roger Federer, while Fritz was a fan of Pete Sampras (as well as Juan Martin del Potro).

Taylor Fritz on Jannik Sinner

“It's been a while since we played but last time he got me in three at Indian Wells. I don't know, he strikes, he hits the ball big, he's like a very strong ball striker, but I feel like I always hit the ball really nice off of his ball. Yeah, I don't know, I think I typically play well against him.”

Jannik Sinner on Taylor Fritz

“Well, big serve. Very solid player from the back of the court. He can hit strong. He can hit with rotation. He can mix up the game very well. He has played a lot this year, so, you know, he has a lot of rhythm of the match.”

Why Taylor Fritz Will Win

Front and Center
When Fritz is controlling the center of the court firing his heavy groundstrokes into both corners, he can beat anyone on hard court. He’s shown it defeating Rafael Nadal in the 2022 Indian Wells final.

Pace Punisher
While it’s true Sinner is one of the hardest hitters the sport has seen, pace does not frighten Fritz. In fact, Fritz owns hard-court wins over some of the sport’s heaviest hitters, including Sinner, Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud.

Weapons to Win
A natural server who can dot all areas of the box, Fritz can be a more damaging server than Sinner when he’s landing his lethal first serve. Fritz is third on the ATP in aces this season trailing only Hubert Hurkacz and Alexander Zverev and he’s in the Top 5 on tour in service games won, first-serve points won and second-serve points won in 2024. Fritz leads this US Open in second-serve points won (64 percent), and second serve will be a key vs. Sinner.

American Allies
A screaming Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, hungry for the first American men’s Grand Slam champion since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003, should provide plenty of raucous support for Fritz. While neither Fritz nor Sinner is are overly emotive on court, if you’ve watched Fritz’s run to this final you’ve seen him amp up the intensity against Frances Tiafoe and Alexander Zverev. If Fritz can get off to a fast start, he knows how plug into the crowd electricity.

Why Jannik Sinner Will Win

Hard Court King
In addition to being world No. 1, Sinner is clearly the world’s best hard-court player. The Australian Open champion owns a Tour-best 34-2 hard-court record on the season and aims to bookend the season with major hard-court championships.

Double Threat
The serve and return are the most vital shots in tennis. Sinner leads the ATP in service games won (91 percent) and he’s seventh on Tour in return games won. Sinner can burn you standing to serve and he can torch you pouncing from his low return crown.

Elite Athlete
In a match between ballistic ball strikers, movement can be crucial. Sinner is a superior—and smoother—mover than Fritz in all directions. Sinner can come out of the corners quicker, he typically strikes with more precision on the run and if he saw his Davis Cup teammate, Lorenzo Musetti, topple Fritz in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, he knows the American is not as confident moving forward and may incorporate the short slice to drag Fritz forward.

Experience Edge
Though Sinner is three years younger than the 26-year-old Fritz, the Australian Open champion has more big-match experience than the maiden major finalist. Remember, prior to winning Melbourne, Sinner played pressure-packed matches against Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals and in leading Italy to the Davis Cup last fall. Despite the controversy that swirled around him after the ITIA announced Sinner twice tested positive for the banned steroid clostebol in March, but was not suspended as a tribunal found him at no fault, the Italian has been inspired running off 10 consecutive victories as he beat Frances Tiafoe in the Cincinnati final and will now try to top Fritz in the Flushing Meadows final.

The Pick: Jannik Sinner in 4 sets

Though Fritz has produced a fantastic run in Flushing Meadows and knows he has the weapons to stop the world No. 1, Sinner is clearly been the best hard-court player in the sport. Sinner has exhibited exceptional maturity coping the with the doping controversy as well.

Yes, Fritz has beaten Sinner at Indian Wells, but that’s a much slower court with a higher bounce than Flushing Meadows. Fritz has the weapons to win, but Sinner is more athletic, he’s the better mover, typically handles the lower ball better and will deliver the ultimate answer to his skeptics and take the title.