Jannik Sinner Beats Taylor Fritz in US Open Men's Final

08 September 2024, US, New York: Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner (R) celebrates with the winning trophy after defeating USA's Taylor Fritz (L) in their men's final tennis match of the US Open at Flushing Meadows. Photo: Grace Schultz/CSM via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
08 September 2024, US, New York: Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner (R) celebrates with the winning trophy after defeating USA's Taylor Fritz (L) in their men's final tennis match of the US Open at Flushing Meadows. Photo: Grace Schultz/CSM via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
TT
20

Jannik Sinner Beats Taylor Fritz in US Open Men's Final

08 September 2024, US, New York: Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner (R) celebrates with the winning trophy after defeating USA's Taylor Fritz (L) in their men's final tennis match of the US Open at Flushing Meadows. Photo: Grace Schultz/CSM via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
08 September 2024, US, New York: Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner (R) celebrates with the winning trophy after defeating USA's Taylor Fritz (L) in their men's final tennis match of the US Open at Flushing Meadows. Photo: Grace Schultz/CSM via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Jannik Sinner started slowly at the US Open, dropping the first set he played after being exonerated in a doping case no one knew about until shortly before play began at Flushing Meadows.
If that episode initially hung over him during the tournament, Sinner was able to put it aside while on court. Was he ever. The No. 1-ranked Sinner beat Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 with his typical relentless baseline game to win the men’s championship at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday, less than three weeks after word emerged of the Italian's two positive tests for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid, The Associated Press reported.
“It was, and it’s still, a little bit in my mind,” Sinner said. “It’s not that it’s gone, but when I’m on court, I try to focus (on) the game, I try to handle the situation the best possible way. ... It was not easy, that’s for sure, but ... I tried to stay focused, which I guess I’ve done a great job, mentally staying there every point I play."
This 2-hour, 15-minute victory gave him a second Grand Slam trophy — the other was at the Australian Open in January — and prevented No. 12 Fritz from ending the major title drought for American men that has lasted 21 years.
Andy Roddick’s triumph at Flushing Meadows in 2003 was the last Slam title for a man from the United States. The last before Fritz, a 26-year-old from California, to even contest a final at one of the four biggest tournaments in tennis also was Roddick, who lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009.
“I know we’ve been waiting for a champion for a long time," Fritz said, “so I’m sorry I couldn’t get it done this time.”
Still, this tournament was a success in many ways for US tennis, with two women and two men from the country all in the semifinals for the first time at a major since the 2003 US Open. Jessica Pegula reached the women’s final before losing to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
Sinner improved to 55-5 with a tour-high six titles in 2024. That includes a 35-2 mark on hard courts, the surface used at both the Australian Open and US Open. He's the first man since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to win his first two Grand Slam trophies in the same season.
This was the first year since 2002 in which no member of the Big Three — Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or the retired Federer — won at least one major. Instead, Sinner, who is 23, and Carlos Alcaraz, 21, split the four Slam titles.
“Nice to see new champions,” Sinner said. “Nice to see new rivalries.”
The world found out on Aug. 20 that he tested positive twice in an eight-day span during March for a substance sold in an over-the-counter product in Italy, but he was cleared because his use was ruled unintentional — his defense was that the steroid entered his system via a massage from a team member he later fired.
While some players wondered whether Sinner was accorded special treatment, most believed he wasn't trying to dope. And the US Open's fans never gave him a hard time.
“You can understand why people are upset about it. In anti-doping, it sounds so ridiculous," said Travis Tygart, CEO of the US Anti-Doping Agency, which wasn't involved in the case. "But the science is such that, if the facts are actually proven out, it is actually plausible.”
Sinner, who dedicated this win to an aunt that is in poor health, said the months before his case was resolved were not easy.
“It was very difficult for me to enjoy in certain moments. Also, how I behaved or how I walked on the court in certain tournaments before ... was not the same as I used to be,” he said, “so whoever knows me better, they know that something was wrong. But during this tournament, slowly I re-started to feel a little bit more how I am as a person.”
As expected, Fritz enjoyed a home-court advantage on a cool afternoon under a nearly cloudless sky. In a celebrity-filled crowd that included Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, some spectators occasionally engaged in chants of “U-S-A!” between games or rose whenever Fritz picked up what felt like a crucial point.
The loudest they got was at 3-all in the third set, when Fritz smacked an overhead winner, punched the air and screamed, “Let’s go!” People all around rose, applauding and shouting. After Fritz deposited a volley winner to earn a break point, he celebrated in the same fashion, and thousands in the seats went wild. Sinner then double-faulted, putting Fritz in front 4-3.
“If he wins that third,” said Fritz's coach, Michael Russell, “it’s a whole new game.”
But when Fritz tried to serve out the set at 5-4, Sinner pulled even. He used a drop shot to lure Fritz forward, then hit a passing shot that drew a netted volley. Fritz bounced his racket off the court. Sinner loped to the towel box, not even smiling.
Ten minutes later, it was over, thanks to Sinner's closing four-game run. He raised his arms, threw his head back and closed his eyes.
Sinner's playing style is less spectacular than solid, less magical than metronomic. Either way, it was masterful, as he used his long limbs and squeaking, sliding sneakers to get to everything before aiming high-speed shot after shot right near lines.
“Sometimes, he makes you go for a little more than you want to,” Russell said, “because he gets so many balls back.”
Sinner — the second Italian to win a singles title at the US Open, joining 2015 women’s champion Flavia Pennetta — finished with just 21 unforced errors, 13 fewer than Fritz.
A poor first set hurt Fritz. He put 36% of first serves in, delivered only two aces and wound up with more than twice as many unforced errors (12) as winners (five).
The stats would improve, but Fritz never figured out a way to consistently put Sinner in trouble. Few can these days.
“That’s just kind of how it goes,” Fritz said, “when you’re playing ... the best player in the world right now.”



Brazil Signs Real Madrid Coach Carlo Ancelotti 1 Year Ahead of 2026 World Cup

Real Madrid's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti lifts the trophy to celebrate the victory at the end of the UEFA Champions League final football match between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid, at Wembley stadium, in London, on June 1, 2024. (AFP)
Real Madrid's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti lifts the trophy to celebrate the victory at the end of the UEFA Champions League final football match between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid, at Wembley stadium, in London, on June 1, 2024. (AFP)
TT
20

Brazil Signs Real Madrid Coach Carlo Ancelotti 1 Year Ahead of 2026 World Cup

Real Madrid's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti lifts the trophy to celebrate the victory at the end of the UEFA Champions League final football match between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid, at Wembley stadium, in London, on June 1, 2024. (AFP)
Real Madrid's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti lifts the trophy to celebrate the victory at the end of the UEFA Champions League final football match between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid, at Wembley stadium, in London, on June 1, 2024. (AFP)

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti will leave the Spanish club and take over as coach of Brazil’s national team, the Brazilian soccer federation said Monday.

The 65-year-old Ancelotti, who will be Brazil's first full-time foreign coach in a century, is still under contract with Madrid. The last round of the Spanish league will be on May 25 and the CBF said in a statement that he will officially take over Brazil the following day.

“Bringing Carlo Ancelotti to coach Brazil is more than a strategic movement. It is a statement to the world that we are determined to recover the top of the podium,” CBF President Ednaldo Rodrigues said in a statement. “He is the greatest coach in history and, now, he will be with the greatest national team on the planet. Together, we will write new glorious chapters of Brazilian soccer.”

Rodrigues said Ancelotti will take charge of Brazil’s next two fixtures in South American World Cup qualifying, with his debut at Ecuador on June 5th and five days later in front of home fans against Paraguay in Sao Paulo.

Ancelotti's contract with Madrid ends next year but is expected to be terminated early.

He will replace Dorival Júnior, who held the job for 14 months and was fired in March after a 4-1 defeat at Argentina. Brazil lags in 4th position in World Cup qualifying after 14 matches and has its 33-year-old star Neymar still in difficulties to return to top form after an ACL injury in 2023. The top six teams will secure direct spots in next year’s tournament.

Ancelotti leaves Madrid after a frustrating season in which the team did not defend its European title and saw rival Barcelona win the Copa del Rey and get close to securing the league title after a 4-3 victory over Madrid on Sunday.

The Italian coach and Real Madrid are yet to comment on CBF's announcement.

BRAZIL'S WAIT

Ancelotti's signing ends a turbulent time on Brazil’s bench since Tite left after the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals elimination against Croatia. Under-20 coach Ramon Menezes and Fluminense coach Fernando Diniz took charge for several matches as Rodriguez sought Ancelotti to become coach.

Menezes and Diniz both fared poorly, and Ancelotti extended his deal with Madrid during that span. Dorival Júnior was then chosen in 2024 to take the team to the World Cup, but he was also fired after the same lack of success and unimpressive performances.

Al-Hilal coach Jorge Jesus, a 70-year-old Portuguese who won several titles with Brazil’s Flamengo in 2019, was the favorite to take the Brazil job until Madrid was knocked out of the Champions League by Arsenal earlier in April.

Brazil will be Ancelotti’s first international experience as full-time coach. He was an assistant to Arrigo Sacchi in the 1994 World Cup as Italy lost to Brazil in the final on penalties.

That ended a 24-year World Cup title drought for Brazil, the same time frame it will face next year in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Ancelotti, who won Serie A titles as a player with Roma and AC Milan plus two European titles with the latter as a creative midfielder, started his full-time coaching career in 1995 at Italy's Reggiana.

He's also coached Parma, Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Napoli and Everton, winning titles in Italy, England, Spain, France and Germany.

He twice won the Champions League with Milan 2003 and 2007, and added three more titles with Real Madrid in 2014, 2022 and last year.

Ancelotti will be only the second foreign coach to take Brazil into an international tournament.

The first was Uruguayan Ramón Platero, who coached Brazil in the 1925 South American championship, the predecessor of the current Copa America. He was on the job for 19 days and four matches of a round-robin competition with Paraguay and Argentina, with two wins, one loss and one draw in the final with Argentina, who lifted the title.

Portuguese coach Jorge Gomes de Lima, known as Joreca, shared Brazil’s coach position with local Flavio Costa in two friendly victories over Uruguay in 1944.

And in 1965 Argentine coach Filpo Nuñez coached Brazil for one day. Nuñez was Palmeiras’ coach, and Brazil’s soccer body chose the Sao Paulo-based club to play with national team shirts in a friendly against Uruguay in the opening of the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte. The hosts won 3-0.

MADRID'S FUTURE

The announcement of Ancelotti’s departure came a day after Madrid lost its fourth straight match to Barcelona this season, falling seven points behind the Catalan rival with three rounds remaining.

Former player Xabi Alonso is widely expected to take over the club’s helm after he confirmed his departure from Bayer Leverkusen.

Alonso led Leverkusen to an unprecedented German league and cup double last year in his first full season after taking over the team when it was in the Bundesliga’s relegation zone the season before. He starred as a player as Madrid won a Spanish league title in 2012 and the 2014 Champions League before leaving for three Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich.

Madrid still has to play in the upcoming Club World Cup beginning next month.