Triumph at the US Open: Jannik Sinner – face of a new generation

Jannik Sinner is the first Italian to win the US Open and Taylor Fritz takes the “home win”. There had recently been a stir over a positive doping test.

In his moment of great triumph, Jannik Sinner became sentimental. The South Tyrolean had just won the US Open for the first time, confidently beating the American Taylor Fritz 6:3, 6:4, 7:5 in a one-sided final. Nevertheless, Sinner was by no means celebrating exuberantly, but seemed rather introverted.

He talked about how much he loves tennis and that he is “Play on stages like this” But, the 23-year-old continued, there is also “a life away from the tennis court”. And that was his actual message. His thoughts were with an aunt. He wanted to dedicate this title to her. Because she is doing well.”really not good“, said Sinner in an interview on Platz.

“A very important person”

The approximately 24,000 fans who had been so loud during the 2:16 hours of play before because they wanted to cheer fellow countryman Taylor Fritz on to victory, listened to Sünder attentively and at times visibly moved. At the press conference, the Italian went into more detail about his relationship with his aunt.

She was “a very tall person” for him, Sinner. When he was a child, she was always there for him – whether in winter at the ski races or during the summer holidays. Because his parents, Siglinde, a waitress, and Johann, a cook, worked in the catering industry in their home region of Hochpustertal.day after day“worked hard and therefore had little time for her son,” Sinner stressed. He did not know how long he would have his aunt in his life. That is why it was nice that he”share positive moments like this with her” .

Sinner controls Fritz and thus the Volume level

There was no doubt on Sunday that this final of the 144th US Open would be a positive moment for Sinner. He was the favorite. He was the better player. He dictated most of the action from the court. And, in this Significant In Flushing Meadows Particularly important: He controls Fritz – and thus also the noise level in the largest tennis stadium in the world.

Only in the third set did the arena become the epicenter of American emotions for a few minutes, when Fritz served at 2:3 and had to fend off two break points. He succeeded, equalizing at 3:3, then took Sinner’s serve, served his own and led 5:3. The fans, including celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Usher, Dustin Hofmann and Matthew McConaughey, who even wore a Stars and Stripes headband, jumped out of their seats, cheering, screaming and yelling. It was as if Fritz had set fire to the tennis temple.

55th win in the 60th match of the year

But then Sinner came along with the fire extinguisher. He got through both of his service games, took Fritz’s service twice and won a final that never lived up to the hype. How she had cheered in America when Taylor Fritz became the first US player since Andy Roddick in 2006 to make it to the final of this tournament. And how she had hoped that since Roddick’s triumph in 2003 there would finally be an American champion at the “home Grand Slam”.

But in the end, the difference between the protagonists was as big as the eleven places in the world rankings suggest. In his first Grand Slam-final, but just couldn’t. Despite home advantage and hysteria. And Sinner, who won for the 55th time in his 60th match of the year, performed like a leader in the industry. He simply wasn’t impressed. Not by his opponent, not by the audience.

Doping tests cause excitement before the start of the tournament

Even the many questions about his two positive doping tests in the past two weeks did not unsettle him. A few days before the start of the tournament, it became public that Sinner had tested positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol twice in March. He explained that the drug had entered his body through massages from his physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi.

Because Naldi had cut his hand and treated the wound with a spray that contained clostebol, which is available over the counter in Italy. Sinner saw the fact that the amount of the steroid detected in his body was only 0.000000001 percent as proof of his version. International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) believed him and refrained from imposing a long-term ban. However, many saw it as a doubt that the ITIA did not make this incident public until August 20 – five months after the positive tests.

First Italian in many categories

The longer the tournament lasted, the less people talked about it. But after Sinner’s victory,ESPN“-Commentator Patrick McEnroe brings up the topic again.”Just think about what he and his team have been through together in the last six months. With the positive doping test and how he got out of it“, he said. Sinner stressed that the title “very much“mean, precisely because this time”really not easy” But his team supported him every day.

With his victory at Flushing Meadows, Sinner continues his sporting highs this year. In January he became the first Italian to win the Australian Open, beating Daniil Medvedev in the final in five sets after trailing 0-2. In June, Sinner became number one in the world rankings – no other compatriot had ever achieved that before him. And now he has triumphed at the US Open, of course as the first Italian to do so. But this addition is no longer necessary for him.

With Alcaraz the face of the new tennis generation

They have certainly had some successful tennis players between South Tyrol and Sicily. Nicola Pietrangeli, for example, who won the French championship in 1959 and 1960, the predecessor tournament to the French Open. Adriano Panatta triumphed at Roland Garros in 1976. And Matteo Berrettini made it to the final of Wimbledon in 2021. But they have never had someone like Jannik Sinner in Italy.

The curly-haired player is the face of the new tennis generation alongside 21-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won the French Open and Wimbledon this year. Anyone who wants to win in the future will have to beat him. That seems almost impossible on hard courts. Sinner’s annual record on this surface is 35:2. That makes him the favorite for the next Grand Slam tournament – the Australian Open.