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(Bloomberg) — Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka clinched the 2024 US Open men’s and women’s singles titles over the weekend, drawing a crowd that included some of the most prominent names in finance, sports and entertainment.
Sunday afternoon’s men’s final drew executives including Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, KKR & Co.’s Henry Kravis, Sixth Street Co-Chief Investment Officer Julian Salisbury, General Atlantic’s Bill Ford and Sculptor Capital’s Jimmy Levin. Lazard’s Peter Orszag and Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive were also among those watching the first US Open final to feature an American man in almost two decades.
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Others in attendance included Mousse Partners’ Arthur Heilbronn, Paulson & Co.’s John Paulson, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO David Solomon, most of whom joined the thousands of fans trying to catch a glimpse of Taylor Swift and NFL player Travis Kelce.
Fans packed Arthur Ashe Stadium, with some stopping at an outpost of New York restaurant Coqodaq to spend $100 on six chicken nuggets adorned by either Petrossian caviar, creme fraiche and chives, or black truffle and truffle mayo.
Italian business titans including Ferrari Chairman John Elkann and Ermenegildo Zegna’s Gildo Zegna watched Sinner make history as their first countryman to win the US Open.
Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman, seated nearby, was also at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Friday, kicking off the weekend by competing in a Pro-Am fundraiser tournament — with an entry fee of $30,000 — against the likes of Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn, Samlyn Capital’s Rob Pohly, Taconic’s Frank Brosens and Atalaya Capital Management’s Ivan Zinn.
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Some amateurs donated an additional $1,000 to the USTA Foundation to attempt to return the serve of retired pro John Isner, who is 6′ 10″, Zinn said, describing it as “untouchable.”
Blue Owl Capital co-CEO Marc Lipschultz picked Alexei Popyrin’s seismic third round upset of defending champion Novak Djokovic as the best match of the fortnight.
“The underdog victory was inspiring, but the real draw for me here was that Popyrin was wearing the Blue Owl patch on his shirt,” said Lipschultz, referencing a first-time effort by his firm to sponsor lower-ranked players.
Apollo Global Management Inc. partner and head of global principal structured finance Jamshid Ehsani described the US Open as a “must attend” event every year. Friday night’s men’s semifinal, in which Taylor Fritz defeated Frances Tiafoe in five sets, was one of his favorite battles of the fortnight alongside Sabalenka’s semifinal win over Emma Navarro the night prior.
“I like her energy, resilience and drive to win,” Ehsani said of Sabalenka, who beat Jessica Pegula in straight sets to earn her third Grand Slam crown on Saturday in front of a packed stadium that included JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon, KKR co-CEO Joe Bae, IBM Vice Chairman Gary Cohn, Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg, New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, television producer Shonda Rhimes and basketball star Steph Curry.
Pegula’s father Terry Pegula’s NFL team, the Buffalo Bills, took to social media on Saturday to wish good luck to the sixth seed. As runners-up, she and Fritz banked $1.8 million in prize money, while Sinner and Sabalenka took home $3.6 million apiece — both checks representing a 20% jump on 2023 earnings.
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