Mumbai: There couldn’t be more contrasting career paths of the men left standing to fight for the 2024 US Open title. One is a young sensation. One is a late bloomer. One had a fairly average junior career. One is the former junior world No.1. One is already a Grand Slam champion at 23. One is a first-time Grand Slam finalist at 26.
That’s Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz, who will turn up at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday after having gone through distinctively gruelling semi-finals. Sinner versus Jack Draper was a physical slugfest papered over by the straight-sets 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-2 scoreline, with the former damaging his wrist and the latter throwing up on court.
Fritz had to dig deep into his mental tank to come out a 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 winner against Frances Tiafoe in the all-American clash that was an emotional rollercoaster through the night.
The Italian will take a shot at becoming just the fourth man to capture the Australian Open and US Open in the same season (after both Slams moved to hard courts), after Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Mats Wilander. The American has made this stage of a Slam for the first time, ending a 15-year wait for a male from his country to get to a major singles final, since Andy Roddick (2009 Wimbledon). Roddick is also the last American men’s Slam winner (2003 US Open).
World No.1 Sinner got into his first quarter-final in only his second year of competing in Slam main draws. The 12th-ranked Fritz waited for seven years. It took Sinner 17 attempts to get to get to his first Slam final. Fritz has taken nearly double (this is his 33rd main draw appearance). Sinner has been there and done that, as his understated celebrations after beating Draper — merely lifting his arms — showed. This is all new for Fritz, who dropped his racquet, pulled off his headband, let out a huge roar and teared up on court once his Tiafoe test was done.
“It’s the reason I do what I do, the reason why I work so hard,” Fritz said on court. “I’m in the final of the US Open. It’s a dream come true.”
It’s a dream that took some time coming. Fritz was a bright junior — he won the 2015 US Open boys singles title — but his transition to the pros wasn’t the smoothest. The tall American took four years to win his first ATP title in 2019, and another three to just get past the third round of Slams. That 2022 season, in which he won the Indian Wells Masters title beating Rafael Nadal in the final and made the quarters of Wimbledon, lit a spark. Injuries and the quarters rut in Slams held him from shining brighter.
Still, a career-high ranking of No.5 the following year stamped a long-held belief in US tennis that Fritz would lead the current American group of hopefuls into new territory at some point.
“I mean, I wanted to be the guy. I wouldn’t say I felt like I was entitled to it,” Fritz said after his semi-final win. “I’ve been the highest ranked for a while. I was able to win Indian Wells. I was also the only one who didn’t have a Slam semi-final. So, I really wanted that. I really wanted to have success at Slams.”
Success at Slams has come at a far more rapid pace for Sinner. A three-time quarterfinalist in 2022 and the 2023 Wimbledon semi-finalist, Sinner has had the most consistent Slam season (he’s made at least the quarters in all). His all-court game is coming to the fore increasingly, and a bigger appetite for titles has seen him gobble up five this year across hard and grass courts.
Arguably the best player this year, the Italian can smell his second Slam, which would make him the first player in nearly five decades (since Guillermo Vilas in 1977) to grab his first and second Slams in the same season.
“Every Sunday you play shows you are doing an amazing job,” Sinner said. “I will try to keep pushing and see what I can do.”
Sinner will also have to see how his wrist responds ahead of the final. Hitting a lob, the Italian tumbled and landed on his left wrist. He still got up and won the point, responding to a Draper smash with a thunderous forehand winner from far behind the baseline. He immediately held his wrist and soon sought the trainer.
“It went away by playing, which is good,” Sinner said. “Let’s see how it is when it’s cold. Hopefully, it’s nothing to be concerned about.”
Sinner had few concerns in tackling Draper’s big lefty serve. Fritz’s strengths also lie in his first strike, although he has a stronger overall game. The two have faced each other only on the hard courts of Indian Wells, splitting their two previous contests in 2023 (Sinner) and 2021 (Fritz).
“It’s different playing against the world No.1, where you are probably not the favourite,” Fritz said, believing he’d be less stressed playing the final than he was for the all-American semis. “I think I typically play well against him.”
He’ll have to, undoubtedly, if the script has to be flipped against the world No.1.
