NEW YORK (AP):

Jannik Sinner started slowly at the US 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. 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 yesterday, less than three weeks after word emerged of the 23-year-old Italian’s two positive tests for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid.

“This title, for me, means so much,” Sinner said, “because the last period of my career was really not easy.”

This two-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.

“Being an American at the US Open is just incredible. Feeling the love all week. So thank you so much,” Fritz said during the trophy ceremony. “I know we’ve been waiting for a champion for a long time, so I’m sorry I couldn’t get it done this time. But I’m going to keep working and, hopefully, I’ll get it at the next one.”

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 US Open.

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

As expected, Fritz enjoyed a home-court advantage on a cool afternoon under a nearly cloudless sky. In a celebrity-filled crowd, some spectators occasionally engaged in chants of “U-S-A!” between games or rose whenever Fritz picked up what felt like a crucial point.

Fritz is not the sort to show much emotion beyond a shake of his neon-coloured racket even after he went up 3-2 after 20 minutes.

Then again, that was pretty much the last significant highlight for Fritz until 3-3 in the third set, when he smacked an overhead winner to get to 15-30, punched the air and screamed, “Let’s go!” After Fritz deposited a volley winner to earn a break point a minute later, he celebrated in the same fashion, and thousands in the seats went wild. Sinner then double-faulted, putting Fritz in front 4-3.

But when he tried to serve out the set at 5-4, Fritz buckled enough to let Sinner pull even by breaking. Sinner used a drop shot to lure Fritz to the front court then slid a passing shot that Fritz volleyed into the net.