By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Jannik Sinner produced a brutal display of baseline power as he became the first Italian man to win the U.S. Open with a 6-3 6-4 7-5 win over American Taylor Fritz in the final on Sunday.
Sinner held aloft his arms in celebration after breaking Fritz to clinch the title and cheers rang around Arthur Ashe Stadium, even though home fans had hoped to see Fritz end a 21-year U.S. men's Grand Slam drought.
Sinner was under a cloud of controversy at the start of the tournament after revelations that he tested positive twice for an anabolic agent in March but avoided a ban. An independent tribunal accepted his claim that the positive tests were the result of an unintentional contamination.
The top seed blocked out the furore in New York and with the win claimed his second Grand Slam title after winning the Australian Open earlier this year.
"We just went day-by-day, trying to practice well, even on the days off, believing in ourselves which is the most important. I understood, especially in this tournament, how important the mental part is in this sport," said Sinner.
"I would like to thank everyone for being so fair in this amazing arena. It was a huge pleasure."
Fritz got off to a dreadful start when he handed Sinner the break with an unforced error in the first game but settled his nerves, breaking back in the fourth game and surviving a 23-shot rally - the longest of the match - to save break point in the fifth.
But it was only a matter of time before the Italian would hit his stride and he broke the 12th seeded American with a perfectly placed drop shot in the seventh game.
Fritz dropped his serve again on set point when he sent a backhand beyond the baseline, one of 34 unforced errors that cost him dearly across the match.
The fired up home crowd that included pop megastar Taylor Swift tried to lift Fritz with chants of "USA!" in the second set, as he worked to get some traction in his first major final.
PILED ON THE MISERY
However, the momentum swung in Sinner’s direction as he broke Fritz on set point from the baseline, sending a sublime backhand down the line that the American was unable to return.
He piled further misery on Fritz when he clawed back from triple break point down in the opening game of the third set, holding his serve with an overhead smash, a fine effort that even the U.S. fans applauded.
Fritz clung on and even went up a break but was left smacking his racket onto the court in frustration when he hit a volley into the net to let Sinner break back in the 10th.
Sinner broke for a sixth time in the contest to wrap up the win, with Fritz swiping a forehand into the net on match point.
"Here was difficult because also the pretournament circumstances weren't easy," said Sinner, who climbed the stands to celebrate with his team as fans shouted "Bravo!" around him.
"I felt like that I have grown, you know, match by match and that my confidence level went higher and higher."
With U.S. great Andre Agassi on court for the presentation ceremony, Fritz told the crowd: "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 gonna keep working and hopefully I’ll get it the next time."
It was a fresh disappointment for U.S. fans, after home hope Jessica Pegula lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the women's final.
The win capped a blockbuster year for Sinner, who came back from two sets down to triumph at Melbourne Park and won in Miami and Cincinnati.
The world number one leaves New York with an impressive 55-5 win-loss record for the year, leaving rivals in his wake as Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz crashed out early.
It was not all good news for Sinner, however, as it became clear the doping controversy could linger well after he leaves, as he continued to answer questions about the saga as he sat at a post-match press conference with the trophy.
Some members of the media and his own fellow players have alleged a double standard in how he was treated and Sinner said he had difficulty enjoying the tournament at times.
"What I can say is that the general reaction of the players was quite positive, even when things came out. Then there have been, of course, some different voices, but this is in everything," he said.
"That's why you have, as I said before, the people close to you, these are the people who knows what was going on and what I and my team went through."