Jannik Sinner was in sensational form, becoming the first Italian man to clinch the US Open title, defeating American Taylor Fritz 6-3 6-4 7-5 in the men’s singles final, on Sunday. Sinner also silenced his critics who questioned his recent doping controversy at the start of the tournament.

It was revealed he tested positive twice for an anabolic agent in March, but avoided a ban. An independent tribunal accepted his defence that the test results were affected by unintentional contamination.

In a video posted by ATP since his US Open victory, Sinner was asked some questions and he responded with the name of an ATP player. When he was asked about who is the GOAT in tennis history, he snubbed the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and replied, “From my point of view is Roger Federer.”

Sinner left New York with a 55-5 win-loss record for the year. Fritz, who was in his maiden Grand Slam final, was broken in the first game itself. He fought back and took a 3-2 lead, but then Sinner dealt with the pressure in the last four games. Meanwhile, in the third set after breaking for a 4-3 lead, then holding for 5-3, the American lost in the match’s last four games.

Sinner is the current world No. 1 in singles, and has 16 singles titles on the ATP Tour, which includes two Grand Slam trophies (2024 Australian Open and 2024 US Open). He also ended up as runners-up at the ATP Finals and led Italy to the 2023 Davis Cup trophy.

After his US Open win, he also responded to the doping controversy, saying, “This title for me means so much; the last period of my career was not easy. There is my team who supports me every day, the people who are close to me.”