I had another idea for tonight's post in mind. Then, while watching the US Open, I decided to completely scrap it and go with something else. Why? Because for this 50th anniversary US Open, I decided I would rather celebrate the greatest players in US Open history.
Over the last 50 years, only 26 men and 24 women have won the US Open, a number of tennis Hall of Famers among them. But they haven't all been US Open legends. Rafael Nadal, for example, has won the US Open three times, but he'll always been known for his exploits at the French Open. Venus Williams, meanwhile, is a two-time US Open champ who made the final in her first appearance in 1997 and has been back every year since. But her career is defined by her five Wimbledon titles.
So, who are my top 10 on each side? Remember, we're talking about the US Open here, so it's only players from the last 50 years. Don't worry, though. There were still plenty of big names to choose from.
10. Arthur Ashe (1968): A man so revered, they named the freakin' stadium after him! Ashe won the first US Open in 1968, and he also won that year's US National Championship (they held both an open and an amateur event for the first few years of the Open Era). His legacy extends far beyond what he did on the court, though, and his name will forever be associated with the US Open.
9. Stefan Edberg (1991-92): Edberg's quiet greatness isn't fully appreciated nowadays in this Federer-Nadal-Djokovic Era, but he was consistently in the top five in the late 80s and early 90s. Edberg made back-to-back semis in 1986-87 and won consecutive titles in 1991-92 (the last of his six career Grand Slam titles).
8. Rafael Nadal (2010, 2013, 2017): Clay Boy has won 85 French Open titles, but he's also one of just six players to win the US Open three or more times. He's spread the wins a few years apart (2010, 2013, 2017) and usually surrounds them around an early exit (he only has one other final, a loss to Djokovic in 2011, and has only made the semis two other times). But he's still a three-time champ, and you've gotta respect that.
7. Andre Agassi (1994, 1999): Andre Agassi's US Open career is full of superlatives. For starters, he played 21 consecutive times from 1986-2006. He made the final 16 years apart. Of his four final losses, three came to Sampras and the other was against Federer, so he easily could've won more than two titles. And even those two titles came from opposite ends of the spectrum--an unexpected unseeded run in 1994 and as the 2-seed during a dominant 1999-2000 season when he won three out of the four and made the final at the other.
6. Novak Djokovic (2011, 2015): When it's all said and done, Djokovic's major will be the Australian. But the Djoker, who's favored to win his third title this year, has been just as consistent at the other hardcourt Slam. Until missing last year with an injury, he'd made it to at least the semis in 10 consecutive years, including four straight finals from 2010-13.
5. John McEnroe (1979-81, 1984): Before he was a renowned tennis commentator, John McEnroe was making the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open pretty much every year in the late 70s and early 80s. After making the semis as a 19-year-old in 1978, he won the title in each of the next three years before adding another in 1984.
4. Ivan Lendl (1985-87): Just like Rafael Nadal is always a safe pick to win the French Open nowadays, it was the same thing with Ivan Lendl at the US Open in the 80s. He made the final eight consecutive times from 1982-89. After losing the first three, he won three straight titles from 1985-87 before dropping the last two during that stretch. Believe it or not, the eight consecutive finals at the same Grand Slam is a record the current Big Three hasn't managed to take away.
3. Roger Federer (2004-08): Roger's legacy will always be at Wimbledon. But he's also a five-time champion here, winning every year from 2004-08. Yes, he's been stuck on that number for a decade. But he's made two finals and three semis since then. In 17 career US Opens (not including this year), Federer's never lost earlier than the third round...which happened once. In his first US Open! His five consecutive titles and 40 consecutive wins are both US Open records.
2. Pete Sampras (1990, 1993, 1995-96, 2002): Another guy whose Wimbledon legacy is enhanced by his achievements at Flushing Meadows. How many great US Open moments from the 1990s involve Pete Sampras? But that's only the half of it. He won five titles, the first and last of which came 12 years apart. Sampras was 19 when he beat rival Andre Agassi in 1990. He beat Agassi again as the 31-year-old No. 17 seed in 2002. Then he retired. Part of what made that 2002 title so remarkable is that Sampras had lost in the final in both 2000 and 2001 before capturing that 14th and final Grand Slam crown.
1. Jimmy Connors (1974, 1976, 1978, 1982-83): It's kind of a shame that they have a roof now. Because it means no more rain delays, and no more Connors-Krickstein from 1991. That's the year of his remarkable semifinal run as a 39-year-old. Connors made the semis 14 times and the quarters 17 times in 22 US Opens. He won his fifth title in 1983, and he still shares the record with Sampras and Federer. Oh, yeah, and his five wins came on three different surfaces, making him the only player in history able to make that claim. They invented the US Open night session for Jimmy Connors.
There you have it. That's what I've got for the men. I told you there were plenty of Hall of Famers, and six of the seven retired players (Connors, McEnroe, Lendl, Sampras, Ashe, Agassi) have already been inducted into the US Open Court of Champions, as well. And for those of you wondering where Rod Laver is, he did win the US Open to complete a Grand Slam in 1969, but the majority of his success at the US Championships came as an amateur, which doesn't count for this exercise.
Stay tuned for our next installment, where the women will get their props. And you can rest assured, there will be plenty of familiar names at the top of that list, as well.
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