By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Italian tennis superstar Jannik Sinner was all gas no breaks during the grand finals of the US Open Grand Slam tournament on September 9, 2024, held at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York.
Facing a determined Taylor Fritz who had to put up a series of upsets to reach the championship stage, Sinner stuck to his game plan and continued his dominance in the final Grand Slam event of the year, sweeping the American challenger- 6.3, 6.4, 7.5-.
From the get-go, Sinner’s unmatched power in the baseline was quickly felt by Fritz as he barely snatched a point during their groundstroke rally exchange duels.
All the momentum was captured by Sinner after a much-needed break point midway through the opening set to take an early 1-0 lead.
Fritz countered back with a barrage of backhand slices to slow down Sinner’s raging forehand stroke but the Italian was just too much as his insane flat ball winners piled up his points.
Seeking to try something new and break Sinner’s momentum, Fritz sent a series of forehand lobs to the baseline but Sinner’s lost patience was a blessing in disguise as he bagged the points when the ball kissed the line at the wide side.
Running out of options on how to contain the fiery Sinner, Fritz approached the net in the third and final set which helped keep himself within striking distance.
That move paid off for Fritz as he dragged the match into a slugfest but in the last two game sets, Sinner sent vicious down-the-line forehand hammers that steered him to his second Grand Slam championship trophy.
It was a flawless campaign for the young Italian as Sinner only dropped a total of two sets in his entire outing in New York.
The only players who were able to steal a set win from Sinner were Mckenzie McDonald in the opening round and Daniil Medvedev during the quarterfinals.
