JANNIK SINNER let his tennis do the talking as he won the US Open for the first time.
The world number one came into the tournament under a cloud following his anti-doping scandal, where he escaped a ban despite two positive tests in March.
Many people thought Sinner was lucky not to be suspended but he put all that to one side to claim a second grand slam title of the year by ending Taylor Fritzโs American dream in New York.
The Italian, who beat Britainโs Jack Draper in the semi-final, won 6-3 6-4 7-5 to add this crown to the title he won in Australia.
Fritz, backed by a partisan crowd on Arthur Ashe, was hoping to become the first American to win the menโs US Open title since Andy Roddick in 2003.
It was not a case of him freezing on the big stage of his first grand slam final, he just came up against an unstoppable force.
Sinner has denied any wrongdoing over his failed tests and was absolved of fault or negligence by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
An independent tribunal accepted Sinnerโs explanation that clostebol, an anabolic agent that can aid muscle growth, had accidentally entered his system via a product one of his team had used to treat a small wound.
But he came under heavy criticism for the speed at which the case was resolved while some high-profile players, such as Nick Kyrgios, questioned whether he should still have been banned regardless.
Nobody can question Sinnerโs ability on the court as he proved why he is ranked as the best player in the world.
He was aided by the early exits of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic but did what he needed to do throughout a tournament he grew into.
Fritz had come through an emotional all-American semi-final battle with Frances Tiafoe to become the first home male finalist at Flushing Meadows in 18 years.
And when he turned a 2-0 deficit in the third set into a 3-2 lead he might have believed.
But Sinner turned the screw, winning the next four games to take the first set.
Fritz matched his opponent toe-for-toe in the second set, until it came to serve to stay in it at 4-5.
A couple of wayward shots handed Sinner the set points, which he took with a speared backhand down the line.
Fritzโs moment came midway through the third set. After saving two break points, he delivered a fine return game to break Sinnerโs serve.
He finally had a raucous crowd on their feet but, as he served for the set, the Italian showed his champion mentality by breaking back.
The rest was inevitable as he quickly reeled off two more games to seal a straight-sets win, becoming the first male Italian champion in New York.
The headline sayโs it all
@Dan: He did nothing wrong, in both cases his team filed the permitted emergency appeal /or some such/ and ge was allowed to play on. And he didnโt play great in those early months while going through the rst of the process
@Dan: The headline is tabloid at its best, Sinners failed test was like you if you took a sip of wine, and failed a drink driving test.
He certainly is a Sinner!
Juicy Jannik.