US Open: in search of a second Grand Slam title, Jannik Sinner will face Taylor Fritz in the final in New York

2024-09-07 08:04:44

Jannik Sinner will be there for the final at Flushing Meadows. The world number one is her ranking and she qualified for her first final at the US Open on Friday. To become the first 23 Italian to reach the final in New York, Sinner dominated Briton Jack Draper (25th) 7-5, 7-6 [3]6-2 after a long period of more than three hours.

“It’s a very physical match, as you can see. I try to hang on psychologically because it is very difficult to beat,” Sinner commented on his “good friend”, before saying that he was “happy to be at the end”.

To lift the trophy, his second Grand Slam after the Australian Open in January, he will have to beat the American Taylor Fritz (12th) on Sunday, who beat his friend and teammate Frances Tiafoe after fighting in five rounds (4- 6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1).

One-handed warning for the sinner

After the entry into the competition complicated by the revelation, a few days ago, of two positive doping tests for the anabolic substance that he suffered in March and for which he has been cleared, the Italian player has only been involved.

And even if he did not play the best against Draper, he was clearly superior in key moments, such as the tie-break of the second set, and took advantage of the physical collapse of his opponent .

An incident marked the second set, which ended on a tie, when at 4-4, the attacker took a very surprising point during which he fell before recovering and finishing with a fantastic forehand winner. But in his fall, Transalpine injured his left hand.

In the change of ends, he called the physio and restarted the game. Draper, who had vomited on the court before, called the doctor and restarted the game then physically lost his footing and ended up on his knees.

“A dream comes true” for Fritz

In the other semi-final, the American Taylor Fritz dominates Tiafoe in a five-set match, long undecided as the levels of the two players are close. Never a semifinalist at a Grand Slam before the tournament, Fritz became the first American to reach the final of a Major, among men, since Andy Roddick in 2009 at Wimbledon.

“This is why I do this sport, it’s a dream come true,” said Fritz, with tears in his eyes, on the court. The American has not won a men’s Grand Slam since Roddick’s US Open in 2003.

Tiafoe first knows how to play key points perfectly and take his rare breaks and lead 2 to 1 sets.

“He dominates me from the back of the court, he gets the ball early, he changes the angles, he’s really on top. I focus on my service, I do everything to stay in the game,” said Fritz. “In many ways I felt I had done nothing wrong and it dominated me. I have to admit that, it helps me stay calm and make the right choices afterwards. »

Fritz was patient, he took advantage of a failed drop shot from his opponent to the quarter bag, before rushing at the beginning of the fifth set (4-0), never to be seen again.