US open başlarken…
Written on August 24, 2007 by orhanomay
US open benim Agassi’ye tapınmamı başlatan ve gene Agassi’yi ağlayarak seyredip vedalaşmama neden olan benim için French ve Wimbledon’dan daha güzel turnuva. Bu sene sanki Federer alamayacak zaten Nadal alamaz hissi var içimde. Eurosport Top 10 US open final yapmış. Lend’ı falan ne yazık ki hiç seyretmedim hatırlamıyorum. Seles’in Steffi’yi yenmesi evet çok üzücüydü hatırlıyorum, Agassi’yi yenip 14. kez slam kazanan samprasin 1 numarada olmasi hos, ama Agassi’nin veda macinin olmamasi? ne olursa olsun final olsun olmasin koy be onu oraya :)
10. Wilander outlasts Lendl
1988 Men’s final: Mats Wilander vs. Ivan Lendl
The longest final in US Open history lasted just five minutes shy of five hours and saw two greats of the game do battle when both were at the height of their powers. Lendl was going for his fourth US title in a row but was out gunned by the Swede 6-4 4-6 6-3 5-7 6-4 in an epic contest.
Wilander won 3 of the 4 Grand Slam titles that year (just missing out on Wimbledon) while Lendl would go on to compete in a record-tying eighth consecutive US Open final the following year, losing to Boris Becker.
9. Austin humbles Evert
1979 Women’s Final: Tracey Austin v Chris Evert
At just 16 years and eight months, Austin became the youngest player to ever win a Grand Slam when she defeated Evert in straight sets 6-4 6-3.
Evert - a seasoned veteran at 24 - had won the previous four years running and admitted that she had not been as hungry for the title as Austin was.
8. Seles makes comeback
1995 Women’s Final: Monica Seles v Steffi Graf
In April 1993, 6000 fans watched in disbelief as a 19-year-old Seles was stabbed in the back by a crazed Graf fan during a semi-final match in Hamburg.
Barely a month after making a winning comeback at the 1995 Canadian Open Seles reached the US Open final and renewed what had, prior to the attack, been shaping up to become one of the greatest rivalries in the Open era.
Although she lost 6-7 6-0 3-6, it was a welcome return for the then eight-time Grand Slam champion who - despite winning the Australian Open in 1996 - never managed to regain the form of her early years.
7. Ashe makes a statement
1968 Men’s final: Arthur Ashe vs. Tom Okker
So much more than a mere sports star, Arthur Ashe used his fame to promote major issues such as racial prejudice, apartheid, and AIDS.
He put himself on a platform where people would listen by beating Tom Okker 14-12 5-7 6-3 3-6 6-3 in the first ever “US Open” final, for the first of his three Grand Slams.
The decision to name the centre court at Flushing Meadows after him was a fitting tribute to a great man.
6. Henin-Hardenne survives Capriati
2003 Women’s Semi-finals: Justine Henin-Hardenne v Jennifer Capriati
In a match lasting three hours and three minutes, Henin-Hardenne outlasted Jennifer Capriati 4-6 7-5 7-6(4).
The American served for the match in both the second and third sets and was only two points from victory an amazing 11 times. But Henin-Hardenne hung on and eventually completed her victory at 12.30am, after both players had won 127 points each.
Barely 22 hours later, Henin-Hardenne became the first Belgian to win the US Open when she made light work of compatriot Kim Clijsters 7-5 6-1.
5. McEnroe and Connors enthral 20,000+
1980 Men’s semi-final: John McEnroe vs. Jimmy Connors
McEnroe and Connors played many great games throughout the years, and this was perhaps the best of the lot as the momentum swung to and fro before McEnroe finally triumphed 6-4 5-7 0-6 6-3 7-6.
The match was played in front of a packed house and those who were in the stadium that day still talk about the noise created.
The win allowed New Yorker McEnroe to go on to avenge his famous Wimbledon final defeat to Bjorn Borg earlier that year, with another classic five set victory over the Swede in the final.
4. Connors turns back the clock
1991 Men’s 1st round Jimmy Connors vs. Patrick McEnroe
With 98 wins, Jimmy Connors has won more US Open matches than any other man, so perhaps it seems strange to suggest that the five-time winner’s greatest game came in a first round match when he was almost 39 and ranked 174th in the world. However, there can be few more exhilarating comebacks ever played out than this 4-6 6-7 6-4 6-2 6-4 Connors victory over Patrick McEnroe in 1991.
Connors trailed 4-6, 6-7, 0-3, and 0-40 before amazingly clawing back the deficit to clinch the win at 1:35 a.m.
He also overcame a 2-5 fifth-set deficit to beat Aaron Krickstein in the fourth round, and his fairytale run lasted all the way until the semi-finals when he was finally beaten by Jim Courier.
3. Evert bids farewell
1989 Women’s Quarter-finals: Chris Evert v Zina Garrison
Not her greatest match at Flushing Meadows but the moment that 34-year-old Evert pulled the curtain down on an illustrious career, having won a record 101 US Open matches, with the 1989 quarter-final only the second time in 19 years that she had failed to reach at least the semi-final stage.
Evert won the tournament for four consecutive years between 1975 and 1978, also winning in 1980 and 1982. She reached the final a further three times.
2. Graf completes her Grand Slam
1988 Women’s Final: Steffi Graf v Gabriela Sabatini
Widely considered to be the greatest female player of all time, Graf captured 22 Grand Slam titles and spent a massive 377 weeks as the world number one.
But perhaps her best moment came when she beat Sabatini 6-3 3-6 6-1 in the 1988 US Open final to complete her first “Grand Slam” having already won the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon that year. She repeated this feat in 1994.
Later Graf made this a “Golden Slam” when she won the Gold medal at the Seoul Olympics, becoming the only women ever to do so.
1. Sampras bows out in style
2002 Men’s final: Pete Sampras vs. Andre Agassi
In what eventually proved to be his final competitive game, Pete Sampras defied all odds to win his 14th Grand Slam title.
After two consecutive final defeats - and a disappointing 2002 season - Sampras had all but been written off as a Grand Slam threat but he recaptured the spark for two more magical weeks in 2002.
It culminated in this 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Agassi, 12 years after Sampras had beaten the same man to become the youngest ever US Open winner.
The quarter-final meeting between the two the previous year - when neither player dropped their serve - was a better match but Sampras’ resurrection in 2002 was the gripping final chapter that his remarkable story deserved.
Follow the US Open live on Eurosport and www.eurosport.yahoo.com from Monday
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