Sinner opens up about his doping case

The crowd inside Inalpi Arena included multiple clusters of fans wearing orange — a tribute to Sinner's ginger hair, and how he once ate carrots during a match. There were orange carrot costumes, orange wigs, orange hats, jackets and plenty of other orange items, too.

Some fans even had carrots in their mouths.

The crowd broke into its customary chant of "ole, ole, ole; Sin-ner, Sin-ner" when Sinner produced a drop-shot winner to break for a 4-3 lead in the first set.

Sinner faced a break point while serving for the first set, but saved it with a big serve out wide that Fritz couldn't return. Then he served an ace — his 10th of the set — to close it out.

Another break by Sinner early in the second ensured the match was virtually over.

Sinner served better than he had all week, leading 14-8 in aces without any double-faults.

"He served absolutely lights out. So many lines," Fritz said. "He placed the serve great. He took a lot of risk on the second serve as well. I think that was probably one of his main game plans, to not let me attack his second serve."

Fritz was attempting to become the event's first champion from the United States since Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi in the title match 25 years ago.

Still, Fritz will rise to a career-high No 4 in the rankings on Monday after beating No 2 Alexander Zverev in a third-set tiebreaker in the semifinals on Saturday. That will make him the highest-ranked American man since Andy Roddick, who reached No 4 in August 2007.

It's the latest in a series of achievements for Fritz, whose run in New York made him the first American man to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009.

"I feel like I've gone up a level, and I'm much more confident in my game," Fritz said.

At the start of the week, Fritz told reporters that his "career has always been a very steady progression and just improving a little bit each year".

Both Sinner and Fritz will conclude their seasons representing their respective countries, defending champion Italy and the US, in the Davis Cup finals, which start Tuesday in Malaga, Spain, an event that will also mark the retirement of Rafael Nadal.

Agencies via Xinhua