TURIN, Italy (AP) 鈥� Sleepless nights. Constant thoughts of what went wrong 鈥� and how it could have been prevented.
opened up about his ongoing after beating U.S. Open runner-up 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday for the trophy before his home fans.
Sinner tested positive in two separate drug tests in March and a decision to clear him of wrongdoing was by the World Anti-Doping Agency in September. A final ruling is expected from the Court of Arbitration for Sport early next year.
Sinner鈥檚 explanation was that entered his system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a spray containing the steroid to treat his own cut finger.
鈥淚've kept on thinking about where we went wrong and what we could have done better,鈥� Sinner said in Italian. 鈥淚 had days where I wasn't feeling great; nights when I didn't sleep well.
鈥淏ut when I put my hat on, I don't think about what's going on beyond the court,鈥� Sinner added. 鈥淚'm fortunate to have people around me who keep me stable. Thanks to them we've continued to work hard every day like there's no tomorrow and we've even improved in this period.鈥�
Sinner's performance has approached domination lately
Sinner's victory in Turin was the latest big achievement in a year full of them following his first two Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and U.S. Open and clinching the year-end No. 1 ranking.
Sinner has won 26 of his last 27 matches and ends the ATP season with eight titles and an overall record of 70-6.
鈥淭he work will never stop. We know we still have room for improvement,鈥� Sinner said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 been an incredible season and there鈥檚 no better place to finish the season than here.鈥�
Sinner also beat Fritz in the US Open final and the group stage
Sinner maintained his recent mastery over Fritz, having also beaten the American in the in September and in the this week at the elite event for the year鈥檚 top eight players.
By sweeping all five of his matches en route to the trophy, Sinner earned $4.8 million 鈥� the largest winner鈥檚 prize on the men鈥檚 tour.
Sinner became the first Italian to win the finals and he went one step further than last year, when he lost the championship match to Novak Djokovic, who withdrew this time. And he did so without dropping a set 鈥� which was last accomplished by Ivan Lendl in 1986.
鈥淚 just tried to understand whatever works best for each opponent,鈥� Sinner said. 鈥淚t was a very high-level tournament from my side. At times, I couldn鈥檛 play better.鈥�
The crowd was decked out in orange 鈥� Sinner's theme color
The crowd inside Inalpi Arena included multiple clusters of fans wearing orange 鈥� a tribute to Sinner鈥檚 red- and orange-colored hair, and how he once ate carrots during a match. There were , orange wigs, orange hats, jackets and plenty of other orange items, too.
Some fans even had .
The crowd broke into its customary chant of 鈥淥le, Ole, Ole; Sin-ner, Sin-ner鈥� 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鈥檛 return. Then he served an ace 鈥� his 10th of the set 鈥� to close it out.
Another break by Sinner early in the second and the match was virtually over.
Sinner led 14-8 in aces and gave Fritz hardly any chances
Sinner served better than he had all week, leading 14-8 in aces without any double-faults.
鈥淗e served absolutely lights out. So many lines,鈥� Fritz said. 鈥淗e 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.鈥�
Fritz will still rise to a career-high No. 4
Fritz was attempting to become the event鈥檚 first American champion 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 was No. 4 in August 2007.
It鈥檚 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.
鈥淚 feel like I鈥檝e gone up a level and I鈥檓 much more confident in my game,鈥� Fritz said.
At the start of the week, that his 鈥渃areer has always been a very steady progression and just improving a little bit each year.鈥�
Davis Cup and Nadal's retirement are next
Both Sinner and Fritz will conclude their seasons representing defending champion Italy and the United States, respectively, in the Davis Cup finals, which start Tuesday in Malaga, Spain, and which will also mark .
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AP tennis:
Andrew Dampf, The Associated Press
