Monday, September 9

Italy's Jannik Sinner managed to beat the US's Taylor Fritz in an action-packed US Open final yesterday, closing out the tournament that included some major upsets.

After Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, the two favorites to win the tournament, were knocked out in major upsets last week, clearing the path for someone new to take the win this year.

The semifinals came down to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs the UK's Jack Draper and the US's Taylor Fritz vs his close American friend Frances Tiafoe. Sinner ended up beating Draper, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2, while Fritz edged out Tiafoe in a five-set thriller, 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

The tournament finished off with an intense match between Fritz and Sinner where the Italian took the win in straight sets-- 6-3, 6-4, 7-5. While Fritz had 10 aces compared to Sinner's 6 and 4 double faults to Sinner's 5, the American just couldn't battle Sinner's groundstrokes-- Fritz lost five out of his seven break points and won only 79 points compared to Sinner's 96.

This means that the US's wait for a Men's Grand Slam win will continue-- the country hasn't won a major men's tennis championship since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003. However, this ends Italy's drought, which is even longer-- Italy hasn't won a men's tennis championship since Adriano Panatta won the French Open in 1976!

Upcoming Events this week:

• International Day to Protect Education from Attack (Monday, September 9)

• Solheim Cup Begins (Tuesday, September 10)

• United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation (Thursday, September 12)

• International Day of Democracy (Sunday, September 15)

• Solheim Cup Ends (Sunday, September 15)

• Mawlid-al-Nabi (Sunday, September 15)

• Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Sunday, September 15)

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): The highest grossing Christmas movie is actually Dr. Seuss' The Grinch.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. (Bindi Irwin)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Memento (noun)- Memento is a synonym of souvenir; it refers to something that is kept as a reminder of a person, place, or thing.

In a Sentence: The box on the shelf in her closet is filled with mementos of her basketball career—awards, newspaper clippings, team photographs, and her old uniform.