Jannik Sinner has secured the second Grand Slam title of his career. The Italian world number one proved too strong for Taylor Fritz in the 2024 US Open final, becoming the first American since Andy Roddick in 2006 to reach the final of the prestigious tournament in his home country. However, Fritz was unable to overcome the strong Sinner in the final, who needed only three sets to secure victory. In the women's tournament, Aryna Sabalenka took the title. Like Sinner, it was the first time in her career that the Belarusian had captured the title in New York. Sabalenka also defeated a so-called "home player" in the US Open final: American Jessica Pegula lost 7-5, 7-5.
Van de Zandschulp pulls off a mega stunt
By the time the finals were played, however, the tournament's biggest upset had already been accomplished. It was Botic van de Zandschulp. He had already made a big impression in the first round by defeating his Canadian opponent Denis Shapovalov in straight sets , but in the following round, he caused an even greater sensation by dispatching superstar Carlos Alcaraz without mercy. Alcaraz, world number three and this year's big winner at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, was defeated 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 by our compatriot. It was a more than substantial boost for Van de Zandschulp, who had been struggling recently and had rapidly slipped down the ATP Ranking. In the third round, he was defeated by Jack Draper, but despite that, Van de Zandschulp can – naturally – look back on his US Open 2024 with great satisfaction.
How did the other Dutch players fare at this year's US Open tennis tournament? In Tallon Griekspoor 's case, it was quite good, as he also reached the third round. In his first match, he defeated his Indian opponent Sumit Nagal, after which he qualified for the third round at the expense of Argentinian Sebastian Baez. Griekspoor led 6-1, 2-0 against Baez, after which the South American had to retire due to an injury. In the third round, however, Grigor Dimitrov (ATP-10) proved too strong for our compatriot. Dutch female ace Arantxa Rus started her tournament with a strong victory over Romanian Ana Bogdan (6-4, 7-6). In the second round, however, American Emma Navarro proved a few sizes too strong.
Tsitsipas and Rune ready quickly
Alcaraz's early elimination by Van de Zandschulp wasn't the first remarkable result at the 2024 US Open. The first round was also the end of the road for several big names. Felix Auger-Aliassime lost comfortably to Jakub Mensik, Holger Rune was no match for Brandon Nakashima, and Stefanos Tsitsipas was unable to win against Thanasi Kokkinakis. Incidentally, the match between David Evans and Karen Khachanov also went down in history. The match, ultimately won impressively by the former Briton, now stands as the longest US Open match ever. The match ended 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 and lasted over 5.5 hours.
The women's tournament also saw the early departure of several big names. Maria Sakkari retired during her match with Yafan Wang, Danielle Collins suffered a surprising loss to her compatriot Caroline Dolehide, and Caroline Garcia was defeated by Renata Zarazua. Elena Rybakina won her first round match but then had to withdraw from the second round due to an injury . This second round also proved to be the final stop for Mirra Andreeva, Daria Kasatkina, and newly crowned Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova , among others .
Djokovic loses to Popyrin
After Alcaraz was eliminated in the second round, it was Novak Djokovic's turn to leave the US Open in the third round. He faced Alexei Popyrin, the young Australian who had already pulled off a shock victory at the Toronto Open shortly before the US Open . Popyrin showed he had maintained his form and defeated multiple US Open winner Djokovic in four sets: 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. The tournament also ended for American Ben Shelton during this stage. He faced his compatriot Frances Tiafoe in a spectacular performance, who proved the stronger player after more than four hours of tennis over five sets.
The early elimination of Alcaraz and Djokovic, among others, quickly paved the way for Sinner's first US Open title. The Italian himself seemed to agree, as victories over Christopher O'Connell (3-0), Tommy Paul (3-0), Daniil Medvedev (3-1), and Jack Draper (3-0) brought him to the final with relative ease. There, he faced Fritz, who had defeated Matteo Berrettini (3-0), Casper Ruud (3-1), Alexander Zverev (3-1), and Tiafoe (3-2) on his way to the final.
No new title for Gauff
The Americans naturally hoped that "their" Coco Gauff would successfully defend her US Open title in her home country. Gauff also seemed on track with victories over Varvara Gracheva, Tatjana Maria, and Elina Svitolina, but her winning streak came to an abrupt end in the round of 16 due to compatriot Navarro. This created opportunities for the rest of the female field, which still included players like Iga Swiatek, Sabalenka, Pegula, Qinwen Zheng, and Navarro in the quarterfinals. However, Swiatek was soundly defeated by Pegula, while Zheng stood no chance against Sabalenka. This led to semifinal matches between Pegula and Karolina Muchova and between Sabalenka and Navarro, with Pegula and Sabalenka securing their final spots.
First US Open title for both Sinner and Sabalenka
The pressure was immense, especially for Fritz in the final. The tall American could have become the first American in 21 years to win the US Open final, but knew he faced a tough challenge against Sinner. And that proved to be the case: Sinner managed to break the match in the very first game and won the first set 6-3. The second set was close for a long time, but with the score at 5-4 in the Italian's favor, he managed to break Fritz again, thus taking the second set to Sinner (6-4). In the third set, Fritz took a break and could have served out the set, but he couldn't, ultimately seeing it go to Sinner 7-5. After having already topped the Australian Open earlier this year, Sinner thus won his second Grand Slam of the year.
Sabalenka also won her second Grand Slam title of the year in New York, having also won the Australian Open at the beginning of the year. The Belarusian put in a thrilling final against the in-form Pegula, but ultimately prevailed after about two hours of tennis (7-5, 7-5). It was Sabalenka's third Grand Slam title of her career, having previously won the Australian Open twice.
2024 US Open Winners
Men's singles : Jannik Sinner
Women's singles : Aryna Sabalenka
Men's doubles : Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson
Women's doubles : Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko
Mixed doubles : Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori
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