We wrote it at the end of August: on paper the US Open was his tournament. But since the gospel according to Brad Gilbert (formerly number 4 in the world, then historic coach of Andre Agassi and today of Coco Gauff) states that “tennis is played on clay, grass and hard courts, but not on paper”, Jannik Sinner wanted to give us the most beautiful confirmation. Nine years after Flavia Pennetta’s success, an Italian returns to triumph at Arthur Ashe Stadium. They were all there at Flushing Meadows, from Taylor Swift to Dustin Hoffman, from Matthew McConaughey to Jon Bon Jovi: 24 thousand to push Fritz towards a feat that unfortunately for them the American did not have in his arm or even in his spirit. But they could have also been a million, because Jannik never showed suggestions or fears. Three sets to zero and US chants sent back to the sender. It was not a great final and not even the best version of Sinner.

Jannik too strong: finals are not played, they are won

But as the greats teach, finals are not played, they are won. Jannik was much stronger. More solid on both diagonals, better in response and in inverting the inertia of the exchange by switching from defense to attack with ruthless efficiency, even more enterprising in fishing out of the hat some variation at the right moment, certainly not his specialty. But above all, a huge gap when the points weigh double: Jannik does not tremble, Taylor melts. In short, to win, Fritz would have needed four hours of great tennis and a subdued Sinner: neither one nor the other happened. Instead, what was predicted after Jannik’s victory in the quarterfinals against Medvedev happened.

A monstrous year

Second Slam title for the world number 1, tied with Alcaraz’s majors this season but with a substantial difference: Sinner is dominating this 2024 with a monstrous performance even away from the Slams. The sixth title of the year allows our champion to put a gap in the rankings between him and his pursuers. Zverev, second, is 4,105 points away, the Iberian 4,490. Considering how comfortable Jannik is in the autumn indoor tournaments, it seems superfluous to underline that it will be the Italian who will close the season at the top: since the ATP rankings have existed, only 18 of the 28 number 1s before him have managed to celebrate New Year’s Eve looking down on everyone from above. Djokovic, Nadal and Federer have brought the records of this sport to another level, but in one statistic Sinner has already done better than them: Jannik, in fact, managed to win the first two Slams of his career within the same season, something only Jimmy Connors and Guillermo Vilas had managed in the open era.

How much can Sinner win?

The South Tyrolean has lost just five of the 60 matches played in 2024. Alcaraz (twice), Medvedev, Rublev and Tsitsipas have managed to defeat him. In short, a dictatorship that not even ailments (hip) and troubles (Clostebol) have managed to slow down. And now, in the most astonishing moment in the history of our tennis, questions arise spontaneously: how many majors will he put in his collection and how many weeks will he spend as number 1? Questions that often recur when a champion takes the stage in a sport and that for a century we did not think could one day refer to an Italian tennis player. Having established the tortuous path of approaching the last Slam of the season, between sentences issued and the shadow of appeals (Wada, not Wada, Wada, not Wada …), Jannik has signed his greatest feat so far. In Melbourne he had won by showing an exceptional psycho-physical condition. In New York he imposed himself with experience and raising the level in the decisive moments of the matches: and he is only 23 years old. Up to now Jannik has shown that he can break down all the limits that someone occasionally recognized in him. He doesn’t beat the top 5, he struggles in the Slams, his serve doesn’t hurt, he has no solutions…

Who can beat him?

Led by the world’s strongest coaching duo (Vagnozzi and Cahill’s work is Oscar-worthy, hats off to Alex Vittur for the choice), Sinner has improved in everything and there is still plenty of room for growth. Great news for us, bad news for the other 1,500 players in the ATP rankings. That’s why the boundaries of his kingdom are yet to be discovered. The feeling is that he will follow in the footsteps of the legends who have marked this sport. As of today, the list of rivals is not worrying: besides Alcaraz, who? Nadal will leave soon, the Olympian Djokovic seems satisfied, Zverev lost yet another chance of his career in New York and Medvedev doesn’t seem to have the strength to defeat Jannik and Carlitos in the final stages of the same major. Rune will arrive sooner or later, Draper has impressed but we have to see it in the long term, the same goes for Shelton, while Lorenzo Musetti’s last months suggest something big. Yet Sinner and Alcaraz start with such an advantage in terms of quality and solidity that the pursuers will have to pick up the pace if they want to compete with them for the most prestigious trophies. With the knowledge that it may not be enough.