The American dream is just around the corner. Seven months after his triumph in Melbourne that gave him his first slam and from there his successful run to become world no.1, Jannik Sinner finds himself once again having to deal with history: in New York on the cement of Flushing Meadows the Italian tennis player is hunting for the US Open. After beating his friend Draper, at the end of a marathon made even more complicated by the heat, Sinner will have to deal with Taylor Fritz: between the world number 1 and the conquest of the American slam there is the very rich host. The two meet for the third time and the balance so far is one success for each side: high motivation for both, Sinner does not want to miss the opportunity to win the second slam in the same season, and make another leap among the greatest after difficult weeks due to the case of the positive doping (tennis player acquitted, but Wada still has the possibility to appeal). The golden boy of stars and stripes has the ambition to give back to an American the title of the US Open that has been missing for over twenty years, when the one who celebrated in 2003 was Andy Roddick. The last American to reach the final, three years later, beaten by Roger Federer. Since then nothing more and for this reason Fritz, who already at the age of two held the racket in his hand raised in a family of tennis players, drags along the cheering of an America that has been waiting for this moment for too many years.
And the tennis player from San Diego, already father of little Jordan, now says he is ready to challenge the number 1 and also convinced that he can beat him. «I am confident and I know that when I play well I can beat anyone – the words of the 27-year-old Californian – With Jannik it will be different, I will play as an underdog. But against him I have always performed well. The goal? For America it is a great thing, I think it makes it clear that we are trying to win a Slam».
Sinner, in his 60th match of the season (his record is 54 wins and 5 losses) is aiming to give himself a second slam: “I only have one final experience behind me, it’s not much – said the champion from Alto Adige – when you get to play on Sunday it means you’ve had a great result. The slam is different, but I still think you have to go out on the court to have fun. From Melbourne to today there have been many victories, good moments, and some difficult ones. A slam final is special, and it will be a special Sunday”. The match with Draper was followed very closely on TV despite the clash with Spalletti’s national team: now the big event in New York. Sinner, surrounded by his staff and his girlfriend Anna Kalinskaja, appeared with ice on his wrist after the match while pedaling on the exercise bike. No alarm bells though. “Two and a half years ago when we started this journey, our goal was to bring Jannik to a level where he could go all the way in all the tournaments. And that’s what he’s done this year with continuity. Jannik is growing, he must not only play on himself but also on the weaknesses of his opponent. A Slam final is not an easy goal to reach, we hope to take the final step on Sunday” said coach Simone Vagnozzi. Against the American, carried away by the home fans, Sinner goes hunting for another pearl: ever closer to closing the 2024 season as number 1, the Italian is confident in a new special Sunday.
