Jannik Sinner, of Italy, holds the U.S. Open tennis championship trophy as Taylor Fritz, of the United States, looks on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in New York. Associated Press

NEW YORK — Jannik Sinner started slowly at the U.S. Open, dropping the first set he played after being exonerated in a doping case no one knew about until shortly before play began at Flushing Meadows.

If that episode initially hung over him during the tournament, Sinner was able to put it aside while on court. Was he ever. The No. 1-ranked Sinner beat Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 with his typical relentless baseline game to win the men’s championship at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday, less than three weeks after word emerged of the Italian's two positive tests for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid.

“It was, and it’s still, a little bit in my mind,” Sinner said. “It’s not that it’s gone, but when I’m on court, I try to focus (on) the game, I try to handle the situation the best possible way. ... It was not easy, that’s for sure, but ... I tried to stay focused, which I guess I’ve done a great job, mentally staying there every point I play."

The 2-hour, 15-minute victory gave him a second Grand Slam trophy — the other was at the Australian Open in January — and prevented No. 12 Fritz from ending the major title drought for American men that has lasted 21 years.

Andy Roddick’s triumph at Flushing Meadows in 2003 was the last Slam title for a man from the United States. The last before Fritz, a 26-year-old from California, to even contest a final at one of the four biggest tournaments in tennis also was Roddick, who lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009.

“I know we’ve been waiting for a champion for a long time," Fritz said, “so I’m sorry I couldn’t get it done this time.”

Still, this tournament was a success in many ways for U.S. tennis , with two women and two men from the country all in the semifinals for the first time at a major since the 2003 U.S. Open. Jessica Pegula reached the women’s final before losing to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Aryna Sabalenka left the U.S. Open in tears 12 months ago as the runner-up. She exited in the semifinals each of the two years before that, other losses that were difficult to digest. On Saturday, Sabalenka was in a joking mood after winning her first championship at Flushing Meadows and the third Grand Slam title of her career.

Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, got past No. 6 Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 in a rollicking final under a closed retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium, displaying her typical power while sprinkling in some variation to add this triumph to those at the Australian Open each of the past two seasons.

“I had a lot of tough lessons here ... especially last year,” Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus, said after grabbing the last two games of the first set and the last four of the match. “In those tough moments (Saturday), I was just trying to stay strong and trying to remind myself that I have been through a lot and I’m strong enough to hold under this pressure.”