Every year from the end of August to the beginning of September, the US Open is held in New York City. Tennis players come from all over the world to crown the best players in the sport. The US Open consists of the fourth part of the Grand Slam tournament; the other three are the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. Winning each of these four tournaments is a spectacular feat for any tennis player. Only a select few have achieved this prestigious goal. The last US Open ended on September 12, 2021. Several new champions were anointed, and fans were allowed to stand in the stands once again after they were not present in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This article will look at the long and big history of the US Open. I will also list some of the best matches ever that have taken place in this tournament. Let's first go back to the late 1880s, when the US Open tennis tournament began.
Early years
The current version of the US Open evolved from the US National Championship, which began in August 1881. Technically, this makes the US Open one of the oldest tennis championships in the world. The tournament was first held at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island. Games were played on grass pitches. In the first year, only members of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA) were allowed to compete. This rule was soon reversed.
In the first year of the tournament, only men were allowed to play. Then, in 1887, women were allowed to compete in the championship, albeit in a division separate from the men. This is why it is a men's single and a single for women in the US Open. As the years went by, more divisions were added to the US Open. The men's doubles were added in 1888, while the Mixed Doubles division first took place in 1892. The women would get their division in 1899.
Move to New York City
During the first 27 years of US Open existence, tournaments were held in neighboring New York, such as Rhode Island and New Jersey. All this changed in 1915. In that year, a group of 100 tennis players signed a petition in favor of moving the tournament. The group argued that several tennis clubs, players and fans lived in the New York City area. Therefore, moving to the New York area would increase the popularity of the US Open. Not everyone supported this view. The petition was opposed by a separate group of tennis players. The issue was put to the vote at the annual USNLTA meeting. Those who supported it ran out those who were against it 128 to 119.
With the victory, the 1915 men's singles tournament at the US Open took place at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York City. However, the women's division was held in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill.
The tournament would bounce around in places for several years. It was not until the 1950s that the US Open was permanently resident in the New York City area.
The open era
Until the 1960s, only amateur tennis players were allowed to compete in the US Open. In 1968, professional tennis players were finally allowed to play in the tournament. This change started "Open time" tennis; basically that professional tennis players participate in tennis tournaments. The prize money for the US Open in 1968 was $ 100,000 96, and 63 men and XNUMX women signed up to take the chance to take home the prize.
First, the prize money for men and women was of different amounts. The men received larger amounts, while the female players won significantly less money. In 1973, the US Open awarded equal prizes to men and women:$ 250,000
Another notable change occurred in the 1970s. For years, the US Open was played on grass courts. This playing field received complaints from players. They claimed that the ball bounced badly on the grass. With these complaints in mind, the US Open switched to clay courts in 1975. This change was also an experiment. The US Open wanted to make the matches more TV-friendly; campgrounds looked better on TV.
Post 1978
The US Open underwent several changes in 1978. First, the playing surface changed from clay to hardcourt. Second, the tournament moved to the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City. Since then, the US Open has remained at the USTA National Tennis Center, now called the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
From 1984 to 2015, the US Open used a planning strategy known as "Super Saturday". In this schedule, men's and women's last matches were played on the last Saturday or Sunday in their respective tournaments. Semi-final matches were played the day before. The planning strategy increased TV viewers, especially in the women's division, which grew in popularity in the early 2000s. However, the players came to dislike this schedule. It gave them a rest period between the semifinals and the finals.
Later years
In recent years, there have been several additions to the US Open. In 2018, the tournament added a shot clock that controlled the time players took between points. The US Open was the first Grand Slam tournament to include this feature. The other tournaments followed. In 2020, all Grand Slam tournaments used shotguns.
In 2020, the US Open was held without spectators due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This was the first time in the history of the tournament where the fans were absent from the stands. But thanks to increased vaccination rates, the US Open 2021 welcomed fans. However, an increase in the cases due to the delta variant led to the US Open to require fans to document a negative test result or evidence of vaccination.
This tournament welcomed a new generation of tennis players who fought for the coveted championship. There were many great fights and surprising uprisings, all of which have become a staple of the US Open.
Remarkable matches
Here are some of the biggest fights ever at the US Open. Some of these matches were epic matches between two top tennis players. Others contained inspiring comebacks or surprising uprisings. And finally, some matches anointed a new champion in the tennis world. So let's get started.
Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer:Semifinals 2011
This competition took place between arguably two of the best and most recognizable male tennis players of the 21st century. Federer and Djokovic, together with Rafael Nadal, make up the big three of men's tennis. This trio has dominated men's tennis with an overall victory of 60 Grand Slam titles. At the US Open, the big three have won a total of 12 titles. So it's no surprise that two members of the trio would meet in the semifinals in 2011 to decide who would continue to compete for a new championship.
The match saw Djokovic make an impressive comeback. He lost the first two sets 6-7 and 4-6 to Federer, but Djokovic gathered back in the middle of the sets. After forcing a fifth set, Djokovic faced elimination in five games to three. Federer was about to earn to a battle point of 40-15. Djokovic returned the serve with an excellent crosscourt return that saved him the match. Former tennis player John McEnroe called the return "one of the biggest shots ever." Djokovic then saved Federer's second match server and won the next four sets to seal the victory.
Djokovic still won the title for men in singles, and further contributed to his impressive championship CV.
Steffi Graf vs Monica Seles:1995 finale
The final match between Monica Seles and Steffi Graf is equally known for its structure in addition to the tennis that is played. Seles played in his second tournament after a two and a half year absence from tennis. In April 1993, Seles was stabbed by a German fan while playing a tennis match. The flag wanted to take Seles out of the competition so that Graf, a German, could regain superiority over Seles as number one. Many tennis fans eagerly waited for Seles to return to tennis; they wanted to see if she could regain the number one status.
Meanwhile, Graf spent large parts of the US Open in 1995 facing questions from the German press about his father, who was in prison for failing to pay income tax on his daughter's $ 1.5 million income. All these circumstances created an exciting final match for women.
Graf won the match against Seles 7-6, 0-6 and 6-3. The first was very competitive, with Seles thinking she won after hitting a tiebreaker shot. However, the shot was ruled out, and Graf continued to win the opening set. Seles easily won the second set, but Graf took the third and decisive set with some of the best tennis games of his career. Seles did not go without a fight, but she lost in the end when she failed to return Graf's winning server.
The drama on and off the court made the 1995 women's singles final one of the best and most compelling in US Open history.
Bianca Adrescu vs. Serena Williams:The Final in 2019
Serena Williams may be the greatest player of her time. Williams has won 23 major singles Grand Slam titles and has dominated women's singles for long periods. On eight separate occasions, from 2002-2017, the Women's Tennis Association ranked the Williams single as world number one. On the sixth occasion, she had a record-breaking status of 186 weeks in a row. On her way into 2019, Serena Williams was on the comeback path. In 2017, she took time off from tennis after giving birth to her daughter Olympia. In 2018, Williams lost the final of the US Open against Naomi Osaka. In 2019, Williams looked set to win the Grand Slam title again.
Bianca Adrescu became a prominent role in the tennis world in 2019. But she experienced her share of ups and downs. In the last two US Open, Andreescu lost in the qualifying rounds. Andrescu also treated nagging injuries, including a torn rotator cuff and back problems. Andrescu, however, showed remarkable resilience. She fought back from injury, improved the game and went into the top 10 rankings.
The match between Williams and Andreescu was filled with drama and excitement. Andreescu jumped to an early sentence lead, and Williams soon found himself 1-5 in set two. Williams, however, fought back to equalize 5-5. The audience was excited about the Williams comeback, but she failed to complete it. Andreescu refused to crack under pressure and won the set 7-5, sealing the title win.
This exciting match makes it one of the biggest title matches in the US Open in history. It also established a great new young tennis star in Bianca Andreescu.
Jimmy Connors vs. John McEnroe:Semifinals in 1980
Both of these tennis greats were famous for both their exceptional play and explosive personalities. Both men were meaningful and extremely emotional, and on top of that, both disliked the other. This sometimes led to outbursts on the court. In the 1980 US Open semifinals for men, there were many emotional outbursts in addition to great tennis games.
McEnroe jumped fast, won the first set and was ready to win the second. But Connors roared back to take the second set and went on to win the third set. Now McEnore lost the match. After being frustrated, McEnroe started arguing with the judge in court. McEnroe called the official "Mr Incompetent" along with other less flattering names. Although these outbursts were not as famous as McEnroe's "You Can't Be Serious" rant at Wimbledon in 1981, his US Open tirade gave him further infamy with tennis fans.
McEnroe regained his composure and won the fourth set. In the fifth set, McEnroe stood on the doorstep to win the match. Then something unexpected happened. McEnroe lost control of his racket; it flew across the field and barely missed Connors. This action cost McEnroe a $ 250 fine. The match went into a fifth set draw to determine the winner. McEnroe won when he built a strong lead against Connors, a lead he would not give up. McEnroe advanced to the final, where he won against Björn Borg.
This hotly contested battle between two explosive personalities ranks this battle as one of the greatest in US Open history.
Andre Agassi vs. Peter Sampras:Kvartfinale 2001
At the time of this match, the rivalry between Andre Agassi and Peter Sampras was already established as one of the greatest in tennis history. The match in the quarterfinals in 2001 is without a doubt the best match in their legendary rivalry. The fight was hotly contested. In fact, the battle was so close that not a single service break occurred.
Sampras quickly established an early lead, but Agassi fought back to level up. Agassi fought to win the first set tiebreaker 9-7, which was an impressive feat. But Sampras would not let this stop him. He won the second, third and fourth sets of tiebreaker, and he was ready to win the fifth set of tiebreaker. However, Agassi fought back to put the score 6-5. It seemed as if Agassi wanted to win the tiebreaker, but he missed a crucial shot that sealed the victory for Sampras.
Many consider the 2001 quarter-final match between Andre Agassi and Peter Sampras to be the best US Open match. And there is good reason to believe this. The much-discussed tennis match back and forth provided a lot of excitement, and it added another chapter to a historical rivalry.
A Grand Slam-Tournament
The US Open consists of one of tennis' four Grand Slam tournaments. It was not until 1881 that the US Open was technically the longest run of the four Grand Slam tournaments. And since its inception, this tennis tournament has undergone several changes. Initially, only a select few were allowed to compete in the tournament, such as men and association members. However, this rule evolved to include women as well as professional players.
The US Open has had its share of great tennis matches. Some matches involved intense duels between two tennis greats. Others saw inspiring comebacks or shocking uprisings. And last of all, some matches decided the next star in tennis. This article shows just a few of the unique matches to be played at the US Open. There are countless others to mention. And every year, more and more stand-out matches are played at the US Open. It's safe to say that the history of the US Open is going on forever.