From shocking upsets to late finishes, here is the US Open recap

Jannik Sinner produced a brutal display of baseline power as he became the first Italian man to win the U.S. Open with a 6-3 6-4 7-5 win over American Taylor Fritz in the final on Sunday.

Sinner held aloft his arms in celebration after breaking Fritz to clinch the title and cheers rang around Arthur Ashe Stadium, even though home fans had hoped to see Fritz end a 21-year U.S. men's Grand Slam drought.

Meanwhile, tenacious tiger-tattooed Aryna embodied the spirit of her favorite animal in New York this year as she clawed her way back from injury and disappointment to hoist the U.S. Open trophy at last.

She dropped only one set on the road to the final and downed American Jessica Pegula 7-5 7-5 after finishing runner-up a year ago. She had two previous semi-final appearances, as well.

From shocking upsets to late finishes, here are some of the moments which made the headlines at the final major of the year.

Upsets

Novak Djokovic's bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title ended with a whimper at the U.S. Open as the defending champion was stunned in the third round by Alexei Popyrin.

Former champion Carlos Alcaraz was also dumped out of the U.S. Open in a stunning straight-sets defeat by world number 74 Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round.

Djokovic’s loss also marked the first time since 2002 that a year finished without a member of the "Big Three" - Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer - winning a major.

Late finishes

This year's U.S. Open was plagued by late finishes despite organisers' pledges to tackle the issue which had also affected other Grand Slam events in Melbourne and Paris.

Zheng Qinwen beat Croatian Donna Vekic 7-6(2) 4-6 6-2 in a rematch of their Paris Olympics title clash to reach the U.S. Open quarter-finals after the pair battled back and forth in the latest finishing women's match in the tournament's history.

The late-night thriller at Arthur Ashe Stadium wrapped up at 2.15 a.m., beating the previous record for a women's match at the year's final Grand Slam by two minutes.

However, Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen said her tame quarter-final exit, at the hands of Sabalenka, was caused by a sleepless night following the record late finish to her previous match.

Sinner doping controversy

Sinner normally employs his powerful serve, on-court speed and rocket forehand to dispatch opponents, but the world No. 1 said the "mental part" of his game was especially important in his run to the U.S. Open title this year.

News of two failed doping tests broke just days ahead of the year's final major, and although Sinner was cleared of wrongdoing by an independent tribunal, the saga threatened to tarnish a dream season that saw him claim five titles, including his first major at the Australian Open.

"I understood, especially in this tournament, how important the mental part is in this sport," Sinner said in an on-court interview after his 135-minute 6-3 6-4 7-5 victory over 12th seed Taylor Fritz on Sunday.

One million fans

More than a million fans passed through the gates of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center over three weeks of U.S. Open qualifying and main draw play, the most ever for the year's final Grand Slam, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) said on Sunday.

The record 1,048,669 fans represented an 8% increase over 2023 and included a record 832,640 attendees during the two weeks of main draw matches, the USTA said.

Taylor Swift headlines celebrity rush

Taylor Swift headlined the list of celebrities present at the U.S. Open final on Sunday, as another Taylor - Fritz – took on Sinner.

Sports, television, movie and music stars have flocked to Flushing Meadows over the past fortnight, occupying luxury boxes and sipping on the venue's famous $23 "Honey Deuce" cocktails and the celebrities were back in full force for Sunday's finale.

But few stars shine brighter in American pop culture than Swift, who kicked off a spending frenzy in the NFL ticket resale market last season just by showing up to watch her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, play.

Kelce and Swift arrived hand-in-hand for the match and sat with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany, ignoring the first Sunday of the NFL season in favor of tennis after the Chiefs beat the Baltimore Ravens 27-20 in their Thursday opener.

Former U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick, the last American man to claim the title, and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jon Bon Jovi were also spotted among the crowd. Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey turned up wearing a red, white and blue bandana.

  

Reuters

Novak Djokovic's bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title ended with a whimper at the U.S. Open as the defending champion was stunned in the third round by Alexei Popyrin.