Jannik Sinner is 'only going to get better' after becoming first Italian to win US Open, says Mats Wilander
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Published 08/09/2024 at 22:59 GMT
Eurosport experts Mats Wilander and Barbara Schett praised and celebrated Jannik Sinner for his US Open title win, where he beat Taylor Fritz in three sets to become the first Italian to win the US Open. Wilander predicts that Sinner will only get better as he grows into his career and could follow in the footsteps of the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Highlights: Sinner beats Fritz to claim US Open title
Jannik Sinner won his first US Open title after beating Taylor Fritz in three sets inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday evening.
Sinner strangled Fritz, and aside from a brief period of brilliance from the American in the third and final set, Sinner was all over his opponent.
His victory cements him as the first Italian man to capture the New York Grand Slam as well, and Eurosport's Mats Wilander gave the world No. 1 his due praise following his title win.
"This means so much to him and he works so hard," Willander said.
"It's coming pretty quickly now after winning the Australian Open and got No. 1 in the world, but at the same time, I feel like he's taken his time.
"The steps of improvement are obvious but it's not so obvious that we think he will win everything from now on."
Sinner's US Open campaign lived under the shadow of his doping tests controversy, which exploded in March, and the conversations surrounding it have extended through the summer and the US Open.
He was eventually found to have had no fault or negligence after twice testing positive for a banned substance, but it is an affair that will have no doubt weighed on Sinner's shoulders to some extent over the last two weeks.
"He is so solid, so good, he's great on big points," the Swede added. "I think it was a sigh of relief after everything at the end considering how he started the tournament amidst the doping tests thing, but everyone has forgotten about that now, of course.
"Taylor Fritz was really disappointing as I think he had a chance to win, but it was not really close."
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With the last major of the year over, there are several interesting tournaments in which Sinner can solidify his spot at the top of the ATP rankings, but as Wilander notes, he will already be looking at retaining his Australian Open title in the new year.
"There are a few big tournaments for Jannik Sinner to retain his world No .1 ranking, but he will also be looking at the Australian Open again," Wilander explained.
"It's just a solid two weeks. His first match against Mackenzie McDonald was the only question mark we had. I think he knew this was going to happen if he kept doing what we knew he could do.
"He can play any opponent on any surface, and we think Jannik Sinner is the favourite at the moment at this stage of his career and he is only going to get better."
Fellow Eurosport expert and former world No. 7 Barbara Schett joined Wilander in celebrating Sinner's feats at a young age.
“Jannik Sinner is the first Italian man to win the US Open," the Austrian added. "It's one historic thing after another. He joins the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Federer.
"It was a team effort and he has been going through so many things and dealing with so much. To now lift this trophy at the end means so much to him.
"He has something in common with Aryna Sabalenka and both of them won the Australian Open and now the title here.
"He is a very dominant world No. 1. He has done extremely well because you know how hard you get chased in this position.”
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