Fritz stays upbeat ahead of Sinner showdown

NEW YORK (AFP) — Taylor Fritz can end 21 years of American pain on Sunday when he tackles world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the US Open final, insisting his level is “good enough to win.”

The 26-year-old Fritz is attempting to become his country’s first male Grand Slam champion since Andy Roddick at the US Open in 2003.

He doesn’t lack confidence, believing that defeating compatriot Frances Tiafoe in a five-set semi-final on Friday, where he was second-best for large parts of the evening, was more of a challenge than facing Sinner.

“I don’t think that I’m going be put in a more stressful situation than I was against Frances,” said Fritz, the first American man in a Slam final since Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009.

“I just feel good. I have a feeling I’m going to come out and play really well and win. When I play good tennis, I think that level is good enough to win.”

World No. 12 Fritz has capitalized on the huge hole left in the tournament by the shock early exits of four-time US Open champion Novak Djokovic and 2022 winner Carlos Alcaraz.

He did his part by seeing off fourth-ranked 2020 runner-up Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals after defeating eighth seed and 2022 finalist Casper Ruud in the last 16.

He has a 1-1 head-to-head record against Sinner, the first Italian man to reach the US Open final.

Fritz won their first meeting on the hard courts of Indian Wells in 2021 with Sinner gaining revenge at the same California desert venue two years later.

“I’ve always played well against Jannik. He hits the ball big. He’s like a very strong ball striker, but I feel like I always hit the ball really nice off his ball,” explained the American, who had never got past the quarter-finals of a major before this US Open.

Sinner won his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January and has shrugged off the controversy over two failed drugs tests to reach his second Slam final of 2024.

He has a perfect record of five wins in five finals in 2024, adding the Rotterdam, Halle, Miami and Cincinnati titles to his Melbourne triumph.