Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz will each bid for a slice of history when they face off in Sunday's (Sep 8) U.S. Open final. American 12th seed Fritz, the 12th seed, promises to delight the New York crowd if he can end the United States' 21-year wait for a male Grand Slam singles champion.
If he triumphs against world number one Sinner, Fritz would become the first American man to win a major since Andy Roddick at the 2003 U.S. Open. Sinner, meanwhile, could become the first player since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to win his first two Grand Slam titles in the same season after clinching a maiden major at January's Australian Open. He would also be the first Italian man to win the Flushing Meadows singles title.
Speaking after his semi-final win over compatriot Frances Tiafoe, Fritz said it was "a dream come true" to become the first American man since Roddick in 2006 to reach the singles showpiece at Flushing Meadows. "I'm in the final so I'm going to come out and give everything I possibly have and I know that for a fact," he added.
Fritz has beaten higher-ranked players Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud over the past two weeks, but he faces his toughest task yet against Sinner.
Sinner has won all five ATP Tour-level finals he has played this season, with four of those victories arriving on hard courts. However, Sinner is aware that he will have a partisan crowd against him on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"Being in America for sure, the crowd will be a little bit more on his side," he said. "But it's normal. It's like when I play in Italy, so I'm going to accept that."
