Will Sinner Win his and Italy’s maiden title or can Fritz enter American’s history books?

Before the encounter in New York, we take a brief look at both players’ journeys to the final and the issues that lie ahead of Sunday afternoon’s US Open final match between Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner.

Taylor Fritz is closing in on history at the US Open. The 26-year-old will become the first American man to win a major title since Andy Roddick in 2003 if he triumphs in the final, ending a 21-year wait.

In order to reach his first Grand Slam final, the 12th seed had to fight hard to upset fellow countryman Frances Tiafoe in five sets in the semi-finals. He had already overcome seeds Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud. But the greatest challenge of all lies ahead of him, as Jannik Sinner, the top player in the PIF ATP Rankings, stands in his way of success.

Fritz reached his fourth tour-level final of the year and is now five positions higher at No. 7 in the ATP Live Rankings. He is also a strong candidate to make it to the Nitto ATP Finals. With a win, the American, who is currently ranked fifth in the ATP Live Race To Turin, would move up to fourth.

Aiming to become the first player since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to win both his first and second Grand Slam titles in the same season, Jannik Sinner is the first Italian to make it to the final match in New York.

This Sunday, the former Next Gen ATP Finals champion, who has been the man to beat in 2024, will play in his second major final.

The Italian is undefeated in tour-level finals in 2024, having won his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January. After winning his third ATP Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati last month, the 23-year-old defeated 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals of the New York Open before defeating British lefty Jack Draper in the semifinals to record his 11th straight victory.

Sinner was seriously injured in his match against Draper when he stumbled and fell on his left wrist during the second set. The top seed, though, is hoping that the problem won’t hurt his prospects of making the final.

“The physio loosened it up very fast on court, so after I felt okay in the beginning. Then after it went away by playing, which is good,” Sinner said in his post-match press conference on Friday. “Let’s see how it is [Saturday] when it’s cold. It’s going to be a different feeling. Hopefully is nothing to concern about. I’m quite relaxed, because if it’s something bad, you feel it straightaway a bit more.”

In their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, the Americans and Italians are tied at one all. Their two previous meetings took place in Indian Wells on hard courts.

Fritz will be looking to take advantage of the local crowd when the two enter the 23,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday at 2 p.m. EDT.