Greatest Moments of the US OpenJuly 10, 2015

Pat Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt, and Sam Stosur won their first Grand Slam singles title in Flushing Meadows. The 1997 US Open saw Pete Sampras, the top seed and defending champion, lost to Petr Korda in the fourth round. This could have been Michael Chang's best chance to win his second major crown. He was the second seed in the tournament. He was a part of that small group of American players who dominated the ATP Tour for more than a decade. But Rafter dashed his hopes in the semifinals. Another Aussie would beat Sampras four years later; Hewitt's straight-set win marked the beginning of his dominance in the men's tour. Stosur faced Serena Williams in the finals of the 2011 Open. She was the underdog, but her 6-2, 6-3 win was unexpected. The US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the year, is held in New York. Crazy things have happen in this city. (Expect night matches.) It's also the only major tournament played in three different surfaces. And its last twenty five years have never been more memorable. Let's take a look: 1. Pete Sampras and Gabriela Sabatini were unlikely winners of the 1990 US Open. Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, and Ivan Lendl were the top three seeds in the men's singles, but the finals saw Sampras and Agassi battling for the crown. Many knew that Sampras, who was nineteen years of age, would rule the game. (Only a few favored him to win over Lendl and John McEnroe in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively.) On the women's side, Steffi Graf was nearly invincible. Sabatini played the German many times, and lost. But not this time. 2. Jimmy Connors was 39 years of age when he reached the semifinals of the 1991 US Open. Fans of Roger Federer are hopeful that their idol will his 18th Grand Slam singles title, and they have good reason. Connors was granted a wild card at the 1991 US Open. He was a five-time winner of the tournament, but no one was betting on him. He reached the semifinals. He was 39 years of age. Federer will turn 34 this August. 3. Stefan Edberg and Michael Chang made history in the 1992 US Open. Chang was a counter puncher, which made him victorious in many five-set matches. He might have wished he was the winner in his semifinal match against Edberg, the defending champion. It lasted five hours and twenty six minutes, the longest in the Open Era. There have been longer matches, but it happened in Davis Cup. 4. Juan Martin del Potro ended Roger Federer's reign in Flushing Meadows in 2009. Federer was the five-time defending champion in the 2009 US Open. It was an Open Era record, and he would face the Argentine in the finals. Some fans would be reminded of Sampras in 1990; del Potro came back after a two-set deficit. He has yet to win another Grand Slam title. The Swiss hasn't reach another finals in Flushing Meadows. 5. Andy Murray wins his first major title in Flushing Meadows in 2012. There was relief when Murray lifted the trophy. Lendl was coaching him. It was turning out to be a summer to remember after the Scot won the Olympic gold medal in the men's singles. Some would point out that the approaching storm was a positive sign, postponing the semifinals match between Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer. Maybe they were right.

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