History: Jannik Sinner first Italian man to qualify for US Open singles final

World No.1 Jannik Sinner comfortably eased his way into the final of the men’s singles at the US Open 2024. On Friday, September 6, the Italian star defeated.

Jack Draper from the United Kingdom in straight sets in the semis and gave a glimpse of why he is deemed as one of the best in the business. It took Sinner three hours and three minutes to beat Draper 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

It’s also the first time that Sinner qualified for the finals at Flushing Meadows after crashing out in the pre-quarters last year. Draper, who had won 15 sets in a row until the quarterfinals, found the going tough against Sinner and went down in straight sets.

Sinner faced trouble with his wrist for which he received treatment, but that did not stop him from becoming the first Italian man to qualify for the US Open singles final. Back in 2015, Flavia Pennetta beat Roberta Vince 7-6, 6-2 in an all-Italian final of the women’s singles.

Sinner, in the meantime, became only the fifth player to win more than 22 matches in Grand Slams in a season since 2001, after Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. In the final, the 23-year-old Sinner will face the winner of the all-American semi-final between Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz.

Jannik Sinner uses his experience

In the first set, Sinner took an early break to make it 4-3, but Draper was equal to the task, getting the break back immediately. At 5-5, Sinner earned his second service break of the set, and he closed it out comfortably. In the second set, Sinner couldn’t convert all four of his break point chances, while Draper missed the only one he got.

In the tie-breaker, Sinner stormed into a 5-0 lead, and he did not look back from there on. During this while, Draper looked in some sort of discomfort as he vomited on the court. The third set turned out to be a one-sided affair. At 2-2, Draper fought hard to keep himself in the match.

But then, Sinner earned back-to-break breaks of serve to pull the curtains down on the match. Sinner made 43 winners, 14 more than his British opponent. 43 unforced errors ended up costing Draper, whose dream run in the hard court major came to an end.