Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz’s title clash at the 2024 US Open has left tennis fans feeling underwhelmed, especially compared to the excitement of the women’s final between Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula. The lack of enthusiasm from fans was seemingly mirrored by Maria Sharapova, who was seen appearing distracted during the final.
Jannik Sinner clinched his second Grand Slam title in commanding fashion, claiming a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Taylor Fritz after a two-hour and 16-minute battle in the US Open final. Despite the American’s late push in the third set, the level of the contest was considered to be lacking, particularly compared to the women’s final.
Although Sabalenka also defeated Pegula in straight sets with a 7-5, 7-5 victory, their encounter was widely regarded as being of much higher quality.
“Watching this just makes me appreciate the yesterdays final much more,” a fan posted.
Amid fans’ disappointment over the lack of excitement in the men’s final, Maria Sharapova was spotted engrossed in her phone in the stands, with the image gaining attention in the tennis community.
Many fans related to Sharapova seemingly being “bored” by the battle between Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz.
“Sharapova so bored she’s rewatching sabalenka pegula on her phone,” one fan commented.
“Maria looks very interested in the men’s final 🤣🤣,” another fan quipped.
“Maria is all of us right now,” said another.
Several fans also bemoaned that lackluster finals such as this would likely become the norm in the post-Big 3 era, with one fan humorously calling for the WTA to “save” viewers after Sinner and Fritz’s “snooze fest.”
“Hahahahahah. No Novak or Carlos was bad enough for organization, but a first-round-type smackdown is very very bad,” one fan posted.
“Me realizing big 3 era is truly over and this is what I’m gonna be watching for the next decade. WTA save us,” another fan wrote.
“This was the most boring final I’ve seen in quite a while. Honestly the worst final I’ve seen since the 1995 FO final. It’s not either players fault really. You just put these two types of players together it’s a pretty big snooze fest,” a fan remarked.
“Watching this after what we just witnessed for the last 15 years+ is gonna be tough. With djokovic probably leaving soon as well its not looking good im ngl,” said yet another.
Interestingly, both Sinner and Sabalenka also emerged victorious at the Australian Open this season, but their earnings at the Melbourne Slam were lower, as they took home $3,150,000 each.
Although both Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz fell just short of triumphing at their home Slam, they will each pocket $1,800,000 for their exploits in New York.