America’s 21-year grand slam drought continued as Taylor Fritz fell short to Jannik Sinner in the US Open men’s final.
The match marked the first time an American man featured in a major final since 2009, with the country’s last men’s grand slam victory recorded by Andy Roddick in 2003.
Italian world No.1 Jannik Sinner defeated the home favourite 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 to collect his second grand slam title of the year.
READ MORE: Dazzling Paralympic ceremony caps ’11 days of wonder’
READ MORE: Sinner reveals family heartache after US Open triumph
READ MORE: Wild Walters question posed by ‘bumbling’ Broncos loss
But with the weight of the nation on his back, Fritz issued an apology for failing to “get it done”.
“Being an American at the US Open, it’s just an incredible feeling,” he began.
Taylor Fritz issues an apology to fans. Nine
“Thank you so much. I know we’ve been waiting for a champion for a long time so I’m sorry I couldn’t get it done this time.
“But I’m going to keep working and hopefully I’ll get it next time.”
Competing in his first major title match, Fritz explained he was not “overly nervous” by the occasion rather excited by his dream becoming a reality.
“Just walking on the court and hearing the crowd go crazy, and just kind of soaking in the moment of, ‘I’m walking out to play my match on (Arthur) Ashe (Stadium) in the US Open finals’, is what I dreamed about my whole life,” the 26-year-old said.
“It almost got me emotional, but I was just really happy and ready to enjoy the moment.”
The America was broken by Sinner in the first game before he was shaken by a 204km/h serve by the Italian in the second game.
After giving the crowd a new sense of hope with a 4-3 lead in the third game, then holding 5-3, the top-ranked champion produce an outstanding feat to take out the last four games.
“That’s just kind of how it goes, when you’re playing … the best player in the world right now. My ‘Plan A’ is not working. The ‘Plan B’ that I fall back on, would normally be just bringing everything in, being a little bit safer, grinding it out,” Fritz said.
“That works, along with my serve, against a lot of other players. But against him … he’s just going to bully me a little bit too much.
“It’s extremely reassuring to me that I was able to get to this point, just playing solid tennis.
“I know that there’s still a lot of room for improvement. … (And) I’ve always said, ‘Once I do something once, I just feel a lot more confident in being able to do it again’.”
The defeat marks the end of a breakthrough tournament for Fritz, who had yet to advance past the quarterfinals at a major final.