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On This Day In US Open History...
HISTORY - ON THIS DAY IN US OPEN HISTORY...
AUGUST 23
1926 - Molla Mallory fights off a match point and a 0-4 final-set deficit to win the U.S. women's singles title with a 4-6, 6-4, 9-7 victory over Elizabeth Ryan.
1931 - Helen Wills Moody wins her record seventh U.S. women's singles crown, defeating Eileen Bennett Whitingstall, 6-4, 6-1, in the final.
AUGUST 25
1997 - The United States Tennis Association dedicates Arthur Ashe Stadium with a dramatic oncourt ceremony featuring Ashe's widow, Jeanne Moutassamy Ashe, Whitney Houston and 38 former champions. Tamarine Tanasugarn defeats Chanda Rubin, 6-4, 6-0, in the firstever match in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Venus Williams makes her US Open debut, also on Arthur Ashe Stadium court, and defeats Larisa Neiland in the first round, 5-7, 6-0, 6-1.
2003 - In an emotional on-court ceremony at Arthur Ashe Stadium, five-time US Open champion Pete Sampras announces his retirement from professional tennis.
2008 - On Opening Night, the US Open celebrates 40 years of Open Tennis with a performance by Earth, Wind and Fire and a parade of champions featuring singles winners from the past 40 years. Those in attendance included past champions Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl, as well as current champions Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Andy Roddick and Roger Federer. Also making an appearance representing 1968 men's champion Arthur Ashe was Ashe's widow, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, and daughter, Camera Ashe. James Blake closes the night with his second night-match five-setter in two years, holding off 19-year-old Donald Young, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
AUGUST 26
1933 - Helen Wills Moody's 45-match winning streak at the U.S. Championships is ended as she is forced to retire, trailing Helen Jacobs, 0-3, in the final set of the women's singles final.
1986 - John McEnroe suffers his first and only first round loss at the US Open when Paul Annacone dismisses the four-time champion, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. Andre Agassi makes his US Open debut as a 16-year-old, losing to Jeremy Bates, 7-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, in the first round. Agassi will not miss a US Open through his retirement in 2006.
1991 - Andre Agassi commits 61 unforced errors in his 7-5, 7-6, 6-2 first round loss to Aaron Krickstein.
2002 - The USTA pays tribute to the City of New York nearly one year after the Sept. 11 World Trade Center tragedy with a moving on-court "Opening Night" ceremony at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The World Trade Center flag that flew over the Kandahar Airport in Afghanistan is unfurled on court, then raised over the stadium. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Tony Bennett, Judd Hirsch, Queen Latifah, John McEnroe and Billie Jean King join New York City police and fire fighters for the ceremony.
AUGUST 27
1903 - Laurie Doherty of Great Britain becomes the first foreign player to win the U.S. Championships, defeating William Larned, 6-0, 6-3, 10-8, in the men's singles final in Newport, R.I.
1909 - Larned wins his fifth U.S. men's singles title with a five-set victory over William Clothier in Newport, R.I.
1928 - Helen Wills needs only 33 minutes to win her fifth U.S. women's singles title, defeating Helen Jacobs, 6-2, 6-1, in the final.
1975 - In front of a crowd of 4,949 at the West Side Tennis Club, Onny Parun of New Zealand defeats Stan Smith, 6-4, 6-2, in the first night match ever played at the US Open.
1985 - Mary Joe Fernandez, at the age of 14 years and eight days, becomes the youngest player to win a match at the US Open when she defeats Sara Gomer, 6-1, 6-4, in the first round.
1991 - Fifteen-year-old Lindsay Davenport makes her US Open debut, losing in the first round to fellow American Debbie Graham, 6-3, 6-2.
1996 - Stefan Edberg begins his 14th and final US Open (the last of his 54 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments played) with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory against reigning Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek.
2007 - The USTA commemorates the 50th anniversary of Althea Gibson's triumph at the 1957 U.S. National Championships with an Opening Night celebration themed, "Breaking Barriers." The tribute includes a celebration of African-American women who broke barriers in the world of sports, entertainment, politics and the arts. Among the featured pioneers are Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, Dr. Mae Jemison, Roberta Flack and Aretha Franklin. The ceremony is followed by back-to-back singles matches featuring two-time US Open women's singles champions Serena Williams and Venus Williams--the first time in US Open history that Opening Night featured back-to-back women's matches.
AUGUST 28
1950 - Althea Gibson becomes the first black player to compete in the U.S. Championship when she takes the court in the first round of the women's singles at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y. Gibson wins her first round match, defeating Barbara Knapp of Britain, 6-2, 6-2.
1984 - Fifteen-year-old Steffi Graf makes her US Open debut and loses in the first round to countrywoman Sylvia Hanika, 6-4, 6-2.
1989 - Eighteen-year-old Pete Sampras wins his first US Open singles match, defeating Agustin Moreno of Mexico, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, on Court 18 at the USTA National Tennis Center.
1990 - Stefan Edberg becomes the first No. 1-seeded player since John Newcombe in 1971 to lose in the first round of the US Open when he is defeated by Alexander Volkov of the USSR, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2.
1991 - In the early hours of the morning (1:35 a.m. to be exact), Jimmy Connors defeats Patrick McEnroe, 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, in one of the most dramatic first round matches ever at the US Open. Connors, ranked No. 174 and five days shy of his 39th birthday, trails McEnroe 4-6, 6-7, 0-3, 0-40 before rallying to victory.
1995 - After a two-year absence, Monica Seles returns to the U.S. Open and defeats Ruxandra Dragomir, 6-3, 6-1, in the first round--28 months after being stabbed in the back during a changeover in Hamburg, Germany.
2001 - Marcelo Rios completes one of the longest days in US Open history, finishing off Markus Hipfl of Austria, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-0, at 1:25 am on the Grandstand Court. Rain delays cause many matches to begin later than scheduled, including the Rios-Hipfl match, which goes on court at 10:50 p.m.
2006 - The US Open becomes the first Grand Slam tournament to use instant replay technology to oversee line calls in the main stadiums (Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong). American Mardy Fish ushers in the age of instant replay when he questions a line call in his match against Simon Greul. A night-match record 23,736 fans attend the ceremony renaming the USTA National Tennis Center in honor of Billie Jean King, followed by the first match of Andre Agassi's final US Open. Agassi does not disappoint the partisan crowd, defeating Andrei Pavel, 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-2.
2008 - Ana Ivanovic becomes the first No. 1-seeded woman to lose before the third round in the Open Era--and the first to lose in the second round since Billie Jean King in 1966-- falling to qualifier Julie Coin of France, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Coin entered the US Open ranked No. 188. Ivo Karlovic serves an astonishing 42 aces--just six away from Richard Krajicek's 1999 record--in just three sets in a 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Florent Serra. Karlovic, who averages 2.8 aces per game in the match, has just two double faults. Serra does not register a single ace.
AUGUST 29
1952 - Two years after Althea Gibson breaks the color barrier as the first black player to compete in the U.S. Championships, Dr. Reginald Weir becomes the first black man to accomplish the feat when he takes the court in the first round of the men's singles. Weir is defeated in the first round by William Stucki, 11-9, 5-7, 8-6, 6-1. One day later, George Stewart also loses in the first round of the U.S. Championships to Bernard "Tut" Bartzen, 6-3, 9-7, 6-0.
1968 - Open tennis begins at the U.S. Championships and Billie Jean King plays the first stadium match at the US Open, defeating Long Island dentist and alternate player Dr. Vija Vuskains, 6-1, 6-0. Amateurs Ray Moore and Jim Osborne register upset wins over professionals; Moore defeats No. 10 seed Andres Gimeno, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-1, and Osborne tops Barry MacKay, 8-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
1978 - The gates open at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., for the facility's grand opening. Bjorn Borg and Bob Hewitt play the first match at the new facility, with Borg winning the best-of-three set first round match, 6-0, 6-2.
2005 - US Open blue tennis courts make their debut at the USTA National Tennis Center after serving as a unifying element at the 10 Olympus US Open Series tournaments leading up to the event. The courts, however, are not kind to Svetlana Kuznetsova, who becomes the first defending women's champion eliminated in the first round, falling 6-3, 6-2 to fellow Russian Ekaterina Bychkova. Comedian Jim Carrey makes an unscheduled appearance in Arthur Ashe Stadium before the opening ceremonies. After the pomp and circumstance, Andre Agassi defeats Razvan Sabau, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, for his 25th win in a night match at the US Open, breaking a tie with Jimmy Connors for most US Open night wins.
AUGUST 30
1927 - Helen Wills wins her fourth U.S. women's singles crown, defeating 16-year-old Betty Nuthall of Great Britain, 6-1, 6-4, in the final
1978 - The USTA National Tennis Center hosts its first full day of US Open tennis. Arthur Ashe plays the most exciting match of the day, saving three match points in the second-set tiebreak to defeat Ross Case, 4-6, 7-6, 6-1, in a best-of-three-sets first round match. Ashe calls the new USTA National Tennis Center "the greatest thing since sliced bread." 1979 - In one of the wildest matches ever at the US Open, John McEnroe defeats Ilie Nastase, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, in a night match that features Nastase being defaulted by chair umpire Frank Hammond. An 18-minute free-for-all ensues in which fans become uncontrollable and Nastase is reinstated by tournament referee Mike Blanchard. Blanchard then replaces Hammond on the chair for the remainder of the match. Earlier in the day, Kathy Horvath is five days past her 14th birthday when she loses a first round match to Diane Fromholtz, 7-6, 6-2, becoming the youngest person to play a match at the US Open
1988 - Eighteen-year-old Jim Courier and 17-year-old Pete Sampras make their US Open debuts. Courier defeats Horst Skoff of Austria in the first round, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3, while Sampras is defeated by Peru's Jaime Yzaga, 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2
1989 - Down match point, Boris Becker benefits from a let-cord passing shot at match point down and rallies to defeat Derrick Rostagno, 1-6, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. Also in the stadium, qualifier Paul Haarhuis stuns No. 4 seed John McEnroe, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, in one of the biggest upsets in US Open history. In the next match on the stadium court, 18-year-old Pete Sampras upsets defending champion and No. 5 seed Mats Wilander, 5-7, 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4.
2005 - No. 4 seed Andy Roddick loses his first round match against 68th-ranked Gilles Muller, 7-6(4), 7-6(8), 7-6(1), on his 23rd birthday during the night session. The loss spoils American Express' ad campaign surrounding the former champion's "mojo." 2007 - In a wild match in front of a raucous night crowd, James Blake posts his first career five-set victory by outlasting Fabrice Santoro, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, in a second round matchup. Both men receive a standing ovation from the packed house, who stay until the very end-the first featured night match of the 2007 US Open to go past midnight. It is just the 19th match since Arthur Ashe Stadium opened in 1997 to close the day in the highest of style--five sets of tennis. 2008 - The match between Andy Roddick and Ernests Gulbis runs so long, both players age one year. A match that started the evening of August 29 runs deep into the morning as Roddick turns away Gulbis, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 7-5. The match ends at 1:34 a.m. on August 30, which just happens to be Roddick's 26th birthday and Gulbis' 20th.RICAL HIGHLIGHTS
AUGUST 31
1969 - Two 41-year-olds, Torben Ulrich and Pancho Gonzalez, thrill the crowd at the West Side Tennis Club with an exciting, five-set third round match won by Gonzalez, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 8-6, 6-2
1977 - John McEnroe plays his first US Open match and also receives his first US Open code of conduct penalty in his 6-1, 6-3 win over fellow 18-year-old Eliot Teltscher in a first round night match. "I was just mumbling under my breath and she assumed I said something," McEnroe says of the called infraction by chair umpire Patty Ungersol. "No one knows what I said. I was just saying I can't believe the match was going like this and she said ‘Love-15.' I guess she was just trying to show her authority, but I think she went overboard."
1979 - Sixteen-year-old Tracy Austin defeats 14-year-old Andrea Jaeger, 6-2, 6-2, in the second round; six years later, both players would be out of the game. Earlier in the day, John Lloyd defeats Paul McNamee, 5-7, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 7-6, in the longest match by games at the US Open since the introduction of the tie-break. The two players contest 63 of a maximum 65 games, and Lloyd wins in three hours and 56 minutes on Court No. 17.
1999 - Patrick Rafter becomes the first defending US Open champion to lose in the first round, falling to Cedric Pioline, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-0, ret. Rafter is forced to quit the match due to a shoulder injury. Earlier in the day, No. 1 seed Pete Sampras, who is attempting to win a record-breaking 13th Grand Slam tournament, withdraws from the event with a herniated disc in his back.
2001 - Former collegiate No. 1 James Blake makes a name for himself by seizing a two-sets-to-one lead against eventual champion Lleyton Hewitt, who draws the ire of the packed house in Louis Armstrong Stadium with his fiery antics. Blake succumbs to dehydration and cramping in the fourth set, eventually losing the match, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0. Women's No. 1 seed Martina Hingis finds herself similarly pitted against crowd favorite Iva Majoli in Arthur Ashe Stadium. In their second US Open meeting since Majoli defeated Hingis for the 1997 Roland Garros title, Hingis and Majoli battle for three sets before Hingis emerges with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 victory. Hingis trails 4-2 in the final set tie-break before winning five of the last six points.
2002 - The first-ever, all-women's night session at the US Open is played in Arthur Ashe Stadium as Martina Hingis defeats Amanda Coetzer, 6-3, 6-4, Jennifer Capriati tops Meghann Shaughnessy, 6-2, 6-2, and the doubles team of Hingis and Anna Kournikova defeat Laura Granville and Jennifer Hopkins, 6-1, 6-2.
2006 - In the most thrilling match of the 2006 US Open--and arguably the best match of the year--Andre Agassi fends off retirement and eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis to advance to the third round. The fifth set is high drama, with Baghdatis cramping badly but still hitting winners. At 5-5 in the final set, Baghdatis earns three break points but Agassi saves them all and breaks Baghdatis in the next game to secure the final victory of his illustrious career, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 7-5.
2007 - In a marathon second round five-setter, No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic defeats Radek Stepanek, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(2), tying the tie-break-era US Open record for most games played (63 out of a maximum 65). The original record was set exactly 28 years prior (Aug. 31, 1979), when John Lloyd defeated Paul McNamee, 5-7, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 7-6. The Djokovic-Stepanek match checked in at four hours, 44 minutes.
SEPTEMBER 1
1971 - John Newcombe becomes the first top-seeded man to lose in the first round of the US Open when he is defeated by Jan Kodes, 2-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-3.
1975 - Bjorn Borg ends the Rod Laver era at the US Open, defeating "The Rocket," 6-1, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, in the round of 16 in Laver's final US Open match.
1977 - Renee Richards, the 43-year-old transsexual who fought for more than a year for the right to play in the women's singles of a major tennis championship, is beaten in the first round by Wimbledon champion Virginia Wade, 6-1, 6-4. Barry Lorge of The Washington Post described the match as a media circus, saying that "a swarm of photographers, broadcasters and reporters were on hand to record the details of what was purposed to be a grand gesture for human rights by some, and a freak show by others." Later that evening, 5-foot, 90-pound Tracy Austin, at the age of 14 years, eight months, 20 days, becomes the youngest player to play in the US Open, defeating Heidi Eisterlehner of West Germany, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, in the first round. Austin's mark would be broken in 1979 by 14-year-old Kathy Horvath.
1987 - Fifteen-year-old Michael Chang defeats Paul McNamee, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, to become the youngest man to win a match at the US Open.
1993 - Goran Ivanisevic and Daniel Nestor play the longest tie-break in the history of the US Open (38 points). Ivanisevic prevails, 6-4, 7-6(5), 7-6(18), in a first round encounter.
1994 - Thirty-four-year-old Ivan Lendl plays what becomes his final professional tennis match when he is forced to retire with back pain, trailing Bernd Karbacher of Germany, 6-4, 7-6, 1-0, in the second round of the US Open. Lendl would announce his retirement due to his back problems on Dec. 20.
1997 - Two-time defending US Open champion Pete Sampras has his 17-match winning streak, the fourth longest of the Open Era in men's singles, snapped with a 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 loss to Petr Korda of the Czech Republic.
1998 - Patrick Rafter saves himself from the dubious distinction of becoming the first US Open defending champion to lose in the first round by coming back from two-sets-to-love down to defeat Morocco's Hicham Arazi, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
2007 - British tennis star Tim Henman closes out his Grand Slam tennis career on Louis Armstrong Stadium, falling to France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-6(2), 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, in the second round. Henman had announced on August 23 that he would retire following the US Open and a final Davis Cup match against Croatia at the All England Club later in the year.
SEPTEMBER 2
1924 - Bill Tilden wins his fifth straight U.S. men's singles title with a 6-1, 9-7, 6-2 victory over Bill Johnston in the final.
1970 - The tie-break makes its debut in Grand Slam tennis on the opening day of the 1970 US Open. A total of 26 tie-breaks (the nine-point sudden death tie-break) are played on the first day of the tournament with Bob McKinley and Ray Ruffels both winning matches in fifth-set tie-breaks. Jimmy Connors plays his first match at the US Open on his 18th birthday, losing to Mark Cox, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.
1971 - Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors win their first US Open singles matches. Playing in her first US Open, the 16-year-old Evert wins the first of her record 101 US Open matches, defeating Edda Buding, 6-1, 6-0, in 42 minutes. Playing on his 19th birthday, Connors comes back from a two-set deficit to defeat Alex Olmedo, 2-6, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5.
1977 - Using the eventually outlawed "spaghetti strings," 22-year-old Mike Fishbach upsets No. 16 seed Stan Smith, 6-0, 6-2, in a best-of-three-set second round match. Fishbach, described as "an amply bearded, amusing, apple juice-slugging refugee from the satellite circuit," by The Washington Post, uses a racquet he has strung with two interwoven layers of gut reinforced with fish test line, adhesive tape and twine that help him generate extraordinary amounts of spin.
1987 - Gabriela Sabatini finishes her 6-3, 6-3 victory over Beverly Bowes at 1:30 a.m. and is asked if she felt worried about starting her match just after midnight. Says Sabatini, "I wasn't worried when I saw Beverly sleeping in the Players' Lounge."
1991 - Jimmy Connors turns 39 years old and comes back from a two-sets-to-one and a 2-5 fifth-set deficit to defeat 24-year-old Aaron Krickstein, 3-6, 7-6, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6, in a fourhour, 41-minute rousing Labor Day round of 16 encounter. Says Connors of his heroic efforts, "I've either got to be nuts or else I love the game more than I thought I did. For me to pull off another stunt like this, I mean, how can you not laugh about it? Seriously."
1996 - Fifteen-year-olds Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova, labeled as the women's tennis superstars for the turn of the century, face the past two US Open women's singles champions, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and Steffi Graf, with mixed results in the fourth round. Hingis, the No. 16 seed, upsets the fourth seed and 1994 champ Sanchez-Vicario, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, while Kournikova bows to defending champ Graf, 6-2, 6-1.
1993 - Karel Novacek upsets two-time defending champion Stefan Edberg, 7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, in the second round.
2000 - Five years after playing what is believed to be her last US Open match, Martina Navratilova is back and playing women's doubles with Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in Arthur Ashe Stadium. With a second round match against Jennifer Capriati and Anna Kournikova, Navratilova becomes the only player to compete in all three main stadiums at the US Open: West Side Tennis Club stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium at the USTA National Tennis Center and Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA National Tennis Center.
2004 - Sargis Sargsian defeats Olympic gold medalist Nicolas Massu, 6-7(8), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4, in five hours and nine minutes in the second round, marking the second-longest match on record at the US Open. The match is 18 minutes shy of breaking the record for longest match, set in 1992 when Stefan Edberg defeated Michael Chang in 5:26 in the semifinals.
2005 - Several of the leading doubles players on the men's tour hold a press conference announcing a lawsuit against the ATP in order to stop proposed changes to doubles tournaments and tour events. The suit is eventually dropped.
2008 - Both 2007 US Open men's finalists go five sets in back-to-back matches during the Day Session in Arthur Ashe Stadium, with Novak Djokovic defeating Tommy Robredo, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, and Roger Federer beating Igor Andreev, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, in a pair of fourth round matchups. The Day Session runs so long the night match between Jelena Jankovic and Sybille Bammer is moved to Louis Armstrong Stadium, and Andy Roddick follows Federer in Arthur Ashe Stadium with a straight-sets victory over Fernando Gonzalez
SEPTEMBER 3
1945 - Sgt. Frank Parker, after enduring a 9,000-mile flight from Guam to defend his U.S. title, defeats Bill Talbert, 14-12, 6-1, 6-2, in the final of the first post-war U.S. Championships.
1975 - Eighteen-year-old Martina Navratilova, competing in her third US Open, defeats 33-year-old Margaret Court, competing in her 11th and final US Open, 6-2, 6-4, in the women's quarterfinals. Navratilova would go on to win 18 Grand Slam tournament singles titles, while Court would conclude her career with 24 Grand Slam tournament singles titles.
1977 - Ken Rosewall, two months shy of his 43rd birthday, is defeated by 24-year-old Jose Higueras, 6-4, 6-4, in a best-of-three-sets third round match that marks Rosewall's final US Open singles match.
1980 - Bjorn Borg and Johan Kriek perform dramatic quarterfinal escapes to advance to the men's singles semifinals. Borg avenges his loss to Roscoe Tanner in the 1979 quarterfinals by coming back from two-sets-to-one down--including 2-4 down in the fourth set--to defeat the hard-serving left-hander, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. Kriek wins the last five points of the fifth-set tie-break to defeat Wojtek Fibak, 4-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(5).
1989 - Chris Evert defeats 15-year-old Monica Seles, 6-0, 6-2, for her 101st and final US Open singles victory.
1990 - Twenty-one-year-old Steffi Graf needs only 53 minutes to end 14-year-old Jennifer Capriati's first US Open with a 6-1, 6-2 fourth round dismissal.
1991 - Fifteen-year-old Jennifer Capriati advances to her first US Open semifinal with a 6-3, 7-6 upset win over defending champion Gabriela Sabatini. Capriati's second semifinal appearance would come 10 years later.
2000 - In one of the most unusual and exciting matches in US Open history, eventual champion Marat Safin overcomes two rain delays to defeat Sebastien Grosjean of France, 6-4, 7-6(3), 1-6, 3-6, 7-6(5), in the third round of men's singles. Safin endures an 85-minute rain delay at 4-4 (30-15) in the fifth set and is forced to borrow a new pair of socks from fellow pro Jeff Tarango. Safin then leads Grosjean 5-4 in the fifth-set tie-break before an hour and 45-minute rain delay interrupts play, during which Safin seeks a new shirt, socks and shorts from Nicolas Kiefer. After the second rain delay, Safin requires a little more than a minute to win three points to take the tie-break 7-5. Later, on the Grandstand, No. 3 seed Magnus Norman saves four match points, including two in the fifth set tie-break, in a 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, 7-6(9) win over Max Mirnyi.
2001 - Four-time US Open champion Pete Sampras defeats two-time US Open champion Patrick Rafter, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4, in the round of 16. Approximately 18 hours earlier, No. 1 seed Gustavo Kuerten finishes off a two-sets-to-love comeback at 12:17 a.m., defeating Mirnyi, 6-7(5), 5-7, 7-6(4), 7-6(3), 6-2, to become only the third No. 1-seeded man to come back from two sets down in the Open Era at the US Championships. Kuerten serves 33 aces and hits 104 winners and celebrates his victory with many flag waving, singing Brazilian fans.
2002 - Due to rains during the previous day, a US Open-record 103 matches are played, highlighted by Chanda Rubin's near upset of two-time defending champion Venus Williams. Williams survives with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 victory. Much earlier in the day--2:14 a.m., to be exact--Younes El Aynauoui becomes the first player from Morocco to reach a US Open quarterfinal by defeating Wayne Ferreira, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5, 7-6. The 2:14 a.m. finish is the second-latest finish in US Open history--14 minutes shy of the 2:26 a.m. finish of the Mikael Pernfors-Mats Wilander match in 1993.
2006 - In a day match in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Andre Agassi plays the final match of his career, losing to German qualifier Benjamin Becker, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4, 7-5. Agassi is given a thunderous ovation before and after the match by the standing-room only crowd, which is silenced only when Agassi gives a post-match speech thanking the fans for their support and inspiration. "I was sitting there realizing that I was saying goodbye to everybody out there and they were saying goodbye to me," Agassi says afterward. "It's a necessary evil, but we were getting through it together. That felt amazing." Agassi receives a second standing ovation--this time from the players--when he enters the locker room after the match.
SEPTEMBER 4
1959 - Sixteen-year-old Arthur Ashe makes his debut at the U.S. Championships and loses to 21-year-old Rod Laver, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2, in the first round. Allison Danzig of The New York Times says Ashe "served well and hit with a good pace and length off the ground, particularly on his forehand." Danzig, however, notes that Ashe was "not so effective in his volleying."
1983 - Sixteen-year-old amateur Aaron Krickstein comes back from two sets down to upset 29-year-old and 15th-seeded Vitas Gerulaitis, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, in the third round. Krickstein, the reigning USTA National Boys' 18 champion, loses in the round of 16 to Yannick Noah.
1992 - In his record 115th and final US Open singles match, Jimmy Connors is defeated by Ivan Lendl, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-0, in a second round night match.
1993 - Mats Wilander finally defeats Mikael Pernfors, 7-6(3), 3-6, 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-4, in a four-hour, one-minute match that concludes at 2:26 a.m.--the latest-ever conclusion of a US Open match. In the post-match press conference, when asked if he had ever played this late in the evening, Wilander deadpanned, "Played what?"
1999 - In a battle of teenagers, 17-year-old Serena Williams, the eventual champion, defeats 16-year-old Kim Clijsters, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, in a dramatic third round match in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Williams comes back from a 3-5, third-set deficit and wins 16 of the last 17 points of the match.
2001 - On a day marked by a momentary flying insect infestation, former champions Lindsay Davenport (1998) and Serena Williams (1999) battle for two hours, 14 minutes in a quarterfinal match full of momentum shifts before Williams wins, 6-3, 6-7, 7-5.
2003 - The US Open's first "four-day" match is completed as Francesca Schiavone of Italy completes a 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-2 victory over Ai Sugiyama of Japan in the round of 16. The match began on Monday, September 1, in Louis Armstrong Stadium and finally concluded on Court No. 10 after the two players went on and off the courts seven times during four days of rain at the USTA National Tennis Center.
2005 - The 14th meeting between sisters Venus and Serena Williams occurs in the fourth round (the earliest the two have met in a tournament since their first pro encounter in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open). It is their third meeting at the US Open and a rematch of the 2001 and 2002 finals, which they split. Venus wins the match, 7-6(5), 6-2, to level the head-to-head series at seven matches apiece.
2006 - The US Open establishes a single-day attendance record when 60,506 fans pass through the turnstiles on Labor Day. It is the first time attendance tops 60,000 in a single day in US Open history.
2007 - David Ferrer wraps up his four-set upset of No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal at 1:51 a.m. to advance to the quarterfinals. The match becomes the third-latest finish in recorded US Open history--just 35 minutes shy of the record, held by Mats Wilander and Mikael Pernfors (2:26 a.m.). The night session began after 8 p.m. with Justine Henin and Serena Williams, which followed lengthy four-setters that featured Carlos Moya defeating Ernests Gulbis and Novak Djokovic beating Juan Monaco.
2008 - Rafael Nadal finally closes out Mardy Fish at 2:11 a.m. for the third-latest finish in US Open history--just 15 minutes shy of the record set by Mats Wilander and Mikael Pernfors in 1993. Nadal and Fish go on the court at 11:30 p.m. on September 3, following a classic quarterfinal battle between sisters Venus and Serena Williams. Serena turns away 10 set points in the match and rallies from down 6-3 in the second-set tie-break to win, 7-6(6), 7-6(7). The Williamses followed a four-hour match between Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro that closed the Day Session.
SEPTEMBER 5
1949 - Twenty-one-year-old Pancho Gonzalez needs 67 games--the most ever in a U.S. final--to defeat Ted Schroeder, 16-18, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4, for his second straight U.S. title. Fifteen days later, Gonzalez turns professional and does not appear at Forest Hills again until 1968.
1951 - Sixteen-year-old Maureen Connolly wins the U.S. women's singles title for the first of three times with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 victory over Shirley Fry.
1975 - After losing in the women's semifinals to Chris Evert, 18-year-old Martina Navratilova of Czechoslovakia appears at the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service office in New York and asks for political asylum.
1979 - In a match described by Barry Lorge of The Washington Post as a "pulsating match that will undoubtedly be discussed for years to come when bizarre and dramatic tennis classics are relived," Roscoe Tanner defeats No. 1 seed Bjorn Borg, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6, under the lights at the USTA National Tennis Center, avenging his loss to Borg in the Wimbledon final. Tanner fires 11 aces and 17 service winners in the match, which features an eight-minute delay due to the net breaking when hit with a 140 mph Tanner serve.
1983 - No. 16 seed Bill Scanlon shocks top-seeded John McEnroe, 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, in the round of 16.ORICALHIGHLIGHTS
1987 - John McEnroe defeats Slobodan Zivojinovic in a third round match that features many McEnroe tirades, prompting chair umpire Richard Ings to give McEnroe a game penalty. McEnroe's antics result in a $17,500 fine and a two-month suspension.
1989 - Chris Evert is defeated by Zina Garrison, 7-6, 6-2, in a quarterfinal match that marks Evert's 113th and final US Open match. Following the loss, writes Robin Finn of The New York Times, "Evert calmly packed up her racquets on the Stadium court for the last time, gave a smile and rotating wave of farewell to her fans and put a steadying arm around the shoulders of Garrison, who couldn't suppress a few confused tears. Then Chris Evert, with an unequaled match record of 1,304-145, 18 Grand Slam titles, a United States Open record of 101-12 and nearly $9 million in prize money, walked purposefully from her favorite court for the last time and slipped into a vacant rest room for a private cry." Writes The New York Times' George Vecsey of Evert: "If there is one thing Christine Marie Evert never was, it was average. She stood apart, cool and methodical as a teenager, poised and commanding as a young woman and then, best of all, she re-created herself through exercise and more daring strokes in her final years."
1990 - Pete Sampras ends Ivan Lendl's bid for a record ninth straight U.S. men's final with a 6-4, 7-6, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 victory in the quarterfinals.
1992 - John McEnroe defeats Richard Fromberg, 6-3, 6-1, 6-4, in a third round men's singles match--the 65th of his US Open career--in what ultimately is McEnroe's final US Open singles victory.
1996 - Defending champion and No. 1 seed Pete Sampras, fighting off fatigue and becoming ill on court, outlasts Alex Corretja, 7-6(5), 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(7), in the quarterfinals in one of the most dramatic matches ever at the US Open.
1997 - Venus Williams and Irina Spirlea duke it out in one of the most dramatic women's semifinal matches in US Open history with Williams prevailing, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(7), after overcoming two match points and a controversial changeover collision with Spirlea.
1998 - In a match concluded at 1:33 a.m., Carlos Moya defeats Michael Chang, 3-6, 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-3, in three hours and 50 minutes. Moya, the reigning French Open champion, staves off three match points in the third set before prevailing in the fifth set.
2001 - The 32nd edition of the Andre Agassi-Pete Sampras rivalry produces the match of the tournament--arguably the match of the Open Era. The players receive a standing ovation just before the fourth-set tie-break and Sampras wins, 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 7-6(2), 7-6(5), with neither player having lost serve in the match.
SEPTEMBER 6
1920 - Bill Tilden wins the first of seven U.S. men's singles crowns, defeating Bill Johnston, 6-1, 1-6, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3, at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y.
1941 - Bobby Riggs wins his second U.S. men's singles title, defeating Francis Kovacs, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3, in the final.
1975 - Chris Evert defeats Evonne Goolagong, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, to win her first US Open singles title. Manuel Orantes performs one of the great comebacks in tennis history, saving five match points to defeat Guillermo Vilas, 4-6, 1-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4, after trailing two-sets-to love and 0-5 in the fourth set.
1980 - John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors lock horns in perhaps their greatest US Open match, with McEnroe edging Connors, 6-4, 5-7, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), in the men's singles semifinals. Writes John Feinstein of The Washington Post, "Time and again the match turned around as the two protagonists kept the enthralled 20,086 fans in Louis Armstrong Stadium not just on the edge of their seats but leaping out of them as the battle went into the night."
1986 - Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf complete one of the great US Open women's semifinal matches as Navratilova comes back from three match points down to claim a 6-1, 6-7, 7-6 semifinal victory over the 17-year-old West German. Navratilova, who put on a display of fist-shaking and finger-waving emotion, led the match 4-1 in the first set before the match was delayed a day due to rain and completed the emotional victory in two hours and 19 minutes. Writes Roy Johnson of The New York Times: "It took more than 24 hours to complete, with emotions that ranged from exultation to disappointment. In between, two players tested and stretched one another and provided a sellout crowd at the National Tennis Center with the most dramatic match of the tournament."
1991 - In a US Open women's singles semifinal described by Robin Finn of The New York Times as "a slugfest conducted by a pair of teenagers whose strokes defied age, gender and the legal speed limit" 17-year-old Monica Seles defeats 15-year-old Jennifer Capriati, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(3), to reach her first US Open women's singles final.
1998 - Patty Schnyder defeats Steffi Graf, 6-3, 6-4, in the round of 16 in what ultimately becomes Graf's final match at the US Open. Graf announces her retirement 11 months later, on August 13, 1999.
1999 - In a rematch of their 1991 semifinal, considered one of the best women's matches of all time, Jennifer Capriati, who is unseeded, and No. 4-seed Monica Seles meet in the round of 16. The outcome is the same, but the fireworks not as grand as Seles wins, 6-4, 6-3.
2000 - At 1:22 a.m., Todd Martin completes an incredible two-sets-to-love comeback to defeat former world No. 1 Carlos Moya of Spain, 6-7(3), 6-7(7), 6-1, 7-6(6), 6-2, in the fourth round of men's singles. Martin saves a match point at 6-5 in the fourth-set tie-break to win in four hours and 17 minutes. Following the match, Martin laps center court and exchanges high fives with the die-hard fans who stayed to the bitter end.
2003 - Twenty-two hours after walking off the court following a dramatic semifinal win over Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin-Hardenne becomes the first Belgian to claim the US Open title, defeating countrywoman Kim Cljisters, 7-5, 6-1, in the women's final. In the wee hours of the morning, Henin-Hardenne finally defeats Capriati, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(4), in the women's semifinal in a match that concludes at 12:27 a.m. The Capriati-Henin-Hardenne match lasts three hours and three minutes, with Capriati serving for the match in both the second and third sets and being two points from winning the match 11 times. Capriati and Henin-Hardenne both win 127 points in the match.
2008 - Heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hanna wreak havoc with Super Saturday. Due to the inclement weather, the men's singles semifinal between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic starts an hour early, and the other semifinal between Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray is moved to Louis Armstrong Stadium. Federer completes his victory in four sets, but Murray and Nadal are halted in the third set. The heavy rains postpone the women's singles final to Sunday and push the men's singles final back to Monday for the first time since 1987. In order to complete the tournament on schedule, the junior boys' and girls' semifinal matches are moved to Sound Shore Indoor Tennis Club in Port Chester, N.Y.
SEPTEMBER 7
1915 - Bill Johnston wins the first of two U.S. men's singles titles, defeating Maurice McLoughlin in the final.
1953 - Maureen Connolly becomes the first woman to complete the Grand Slam when she defeats Doris Hart, 6-2, 6-4, in the women's singles final. Tony Trabert wins his first U.S. men's singles title, defeating Vic Seixas, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, in one hour in the final.
1969 - Margaret Court defeats Nancy Richey, 6-2, 6-2, for the women's singles title. In the post-match ceremony, Vice President Spiro Agnew presents the champions' trophy to Court.
1975 - In one of the biggest upsets in US Open history, Manuel Orantes upends No. 1 seeded Jimmy Connors in straight sets to win the 1975 US Open.
1980 - John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg stage one of the greatest US Open finals ever as the 21-year-old McEnroe fends off a Borg comeback to win his second consecutive title, 7-6, 6-1, 6-7, 5-7, 6-4.
1985 - Hana Mandlikova wins her only US Open singles crown, defeating Martina Navratilova in the final, 7-6, 1-6, 7-6.
1986 - It's an all-Czech day at the US Open, as all four singles finalist are Czechoslovakian-born. Ivan Lendl, a Czech living in Greenwich, Conn., defeats Miloslav Mecir for the men's title, while Martina Navratilova, a Czech who became a U.S. citizen, defeats Helena Sukova for the women's crown.
1991 - Seventeen-year-old Monica Seles defeats 34-year-old Martina Navratilova to win her first US Open women's singles title.
1992 - Andre Agassi defeats Carlos Costa of Spain, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, in the round of 16. Sitting in Agassi's box is Barbra Streisand, who describes Agassi's game and mental capabilities on court as that of a "Zen Master." "He's very much in the moment," says Streisand.
1997 - The first two US Open singles finals are played on the new Arthur Ashe Stadium Court. Sixteen-year-old Martina Hingis and 17-year-old Venus Williams play the youngest Grand Slam final in the Open Era, with Hingis winning her first US Open title by 6-0, 6-4 margin. Patrick Rafter outduels Greg Rusedski, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, to win the men's crown.
1999 - Todd Martin stages another in a series of great comebacks at the US Open, defeating Greg Rusedski, 5-7, 0-6, 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-4, in the round of 16. Rusedski serves for the match at 5-4 in the third set and leads 4-1 in the fifth. Amid chants of "Let's Go, Todd" from the evening crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Martin wins 20 of the final 21 points of the match to advance into the quarterfinals in a match that concludes at 12:50 a.m.
2001 - At 12:43 a.m., 20-year-old Lleyton Hewitt outlasts 19-year-old Andy Roddick, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, in the men's quarterfinals.
2002 - For the second consecutive year, Venus and Serena Williams meet in a prime-time US Open women's singles final. However, unlike 2001, younger sister Serena comes out on top in this one, defeating the two-time defending champion, 6-4, 6-3, to win her second US Open women's singles title.
2003 - Andy Roddick wins his first Grand Slam tournament title, defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-3, 7- 6(2), 6-3, in the men's singles final.
2005 - Day turns to night at the US Open as the final three matches in Arthur Ashe Stadium go the distance. In the final match of the day session, Robby Ginepri holds off Guillermo Coria in a five-set quarterfinal battle that lasts three hours, three minutes. The opening match of the night session starts at 7:40 p.m. and Elena Dementieva outlasts Lindsay Davenport, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(6), as the final set lasts more than an hour. The quarterfinal between Americans Andre Agassi and James Blake follows at 10:16 p.m. The match goes down as one of the most exciting in the history of the event, with Agassi rallying from a two-sets-to-none deficit to win, 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(6). After the match during his live on-court interview, Agassi says, "One-fifteen in the morning…20,000 people still here. I wasn't the winner, tennis was." Two days later The New York Times headline "14 Years Later, A New Classic For The US Open" proclaims the match an instant classic rivaling the Jimmy Connors-Aaron Krickstein 1991 quarterfinal.
2008 - Nine years after her first championship in Flushing Meadows, Serena Williams wins her third US Open final with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Jelena Jankovic. The final is pushed back to Sunday at 9 p.m. after rains postpone play on Saturday. The day also features the final tournament broadcast by USA Network (who showed the women's doubles final) after 25 years of televising the US Open. ESPN carries the US Open in 2009.
SEPTEMBER 8
1946 - Jack Kramer wins the first of two U.S. men's singles titles, defeating Tom Brown, 9-7, 6-3, 6-0, in the final.
1957 - Althea Gibson becomes the first African-American to win a U.S. Championships title when she defeats Louise Brough, 6-3, 6-2, in the women's singles final. Mal Anderson becomes the first unseeded player to win the U.S. Nationals, defeating Ashley Cooper in the final.
1968 - Virginia Wade upsets top-seeded Billie Jean King, 6-4, 6-4, to win the first "Open" U.S. women's singles title.
1969 - Rod Laver completes the fourth Grand Slam in tennis history (his second after his 1962 slam) by defeating Tony Roche in a rain-delayed Monday final, 7-9, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.
1973 - Margaret Court wins her final Grand Slam tournament title, defeating Evonne Goolagong in the women's final, 7-6, 5-7, 6-2.
1984 - Perhaps the single greatest day in tennis history, as each of the four matches played on stadium court extends to the maximum number of sets: Stan Smith defeats John Newcombe in the men's 35s semifinal, Ivan Lendl defeats Pat Cash, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7, 7-6, in the men's semifinal, Martina Navratilova defeats Chris Evert, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, for the women's title and John McEnroe defeats Jimmy Connors, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, in the second men's semifinal. Play begins at 11:07 a.m. and ends at 11:16 p.m.
1985 - Ivan Lendl wins his first of three straight US Open titles, defeating John McEnroe in the final, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4.
1990 - Gabriela Sabatini captures her lone Grand Slam tournament singles title, upsetting top-seeded Steffi Graf, 6-2, 7-6, in the women's singles final.
1991 - Playing nearly flawless tennis in his first US Open final, Stefan Edberg wins his first men's singles title by defeating another first-time US Open finalist, Jim Courier, 6-2, 6-4, 6-0.
1996 - Pete Sampras and Steffi Graf win the men's and women's singles titles, respectively, in the last US Open championship matches played in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Sampras defeats Michael Chang 6-1, 6-4, 7-6, while Graf defeats Monica Seles, 7-5, 6-4.
1999 - Richard Krajicek serves a record 49 aces in his 7-6(0), 7-6(4), 3-6, 1-6, 7-6(5) quarterfinal loss to Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
2000 - Venus Williams rallies from a 3-5, 15-30 third set deficit to defeat No. 1 seed Martina Hingis, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, in the women's semifinals.
2001 - Venus Williams captures her second US Open singles title, defeating younger sister Serena, 6-2, 6-4, in the first all-sister US Open singles final in the first ever prime-time Grand Slam singles final. Diana Ross opens the magical evening at the USTA National Tennis Center by singing "God Bless America."
2002 - In a US Open final for the ages, Pete Sampras defeats Andre Agassi, 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, to capture his fifth US Open singles title and his 14th career Grand Slam tournament singles title in his final professional match.
2007 - Justine Henin's 6-1, 6-3 victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova makes her the first player to defeat three former US Open champions en route to the title since Serena Williams accomplished the feat in 1999. Henin knocks off two-time champion Serena Williams in the quarters, two-time champion Venus Williams in the semis and then 2004 champion Kuznetsova in the final. Henin is also the first player since Serena in 2002 to win the title without dropping a set. Moreover, with her victory, Henin becomes the 10th woman in the Open Era to win multiple US Open women's singles championships.
2008 - In the first Monday final since 1987, Roger Federer defeats first-time Grand Slam finalist Andy Murray, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2. The victory is the fifth straight US Open singles title for Federer, an Open Era record (for a man or woman) at the US Open. The five titles tie Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras for the most by a man at the US Open in the Open Era.
SEPTEMBER 9
1956 - Ken Rosewall defeats Lew Hoad, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3, to win his first U.S. Championships singles crown.
1968 - Arthur Ashe wins the first US Open of the Open Era, defeating Tom Okker in the final, 14-12, 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Ashe is the first African-American male to win a Grand Slam tournament.
1974 - Twenty-two-year-old Jimmy Connors needs only 78 minutes to defeat 39-year-old Ken Rosewall, 6-1, 6-0, 6-1, in the most one-sided final in the history of the U.S. Championships/US Open. Billie Jean King wins her final US Open singles title, defeating Evonne Goolagong in the final, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
1978 - Chris Evert wins her fourth consecutive US Open title with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over 16-year-old Pam Shriver.
1979 - John McEnroe defeats Vitas Gerulaitis, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3, in an all-New Yorker US Open men's singles final. Tracy Austin, at the age of 16 years, 8 months and 28 days, becomes the youngest US Open women's singles champion, ending Chris Evert's 31-match win streak at the US Open.
1984 - John McEnroe wins his fourth US Open singles title, defeating Ivan Lendl in the final, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.
1988 - A stomach flu nearly wipes out a full day's schedule on Stadium Court as Chris Evert and Rick Leach are forced to default their respective women's singles semifinal and men's doubles final matches.
1989 - Steffi Graf trails Martina Navratilova by a set and a service break but fights back to win 10 of the last 12 games of the match and, with it, her second US Open singles title, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.
1990 - At the age of 19 years and 28 days, Pete Sampras becomes the youngest US Open men's singles champion with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Andre Agassi.
1995 - Despite losing the second set 6-0, Steffi Graf wins her fourth US Open women's singles crown, fending off Monica Seles, 7-6, 0-6, 6-3, in the women's singles final. The tournament marks Seles' first US Open since 1992; she missed two years after being stabbed at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany, in May 1993.
2000 - Venus Williams wins her first US Open singles title, defeating Lindsay Davenport, 6-4, 7-5, in the women's final. Combined with younger sister Serena's US Open title from 1999, the Williams sisters become the first set of sisters to win US Open singles titles. Earlier in the day, President Bill Clinton becomes the first sitting U.S. President to attend the US Open and watches Russian Marat Safin defeat Todd Martin, 6-3, 7-6, 7-6, and Pete Sampras defeat Australian Lleyton Hewitt, 7-6, 6-4, 7-6, in the men's singles semifinals.
2001 - Lleyton Hewitt defeats four-time US Open champion Pete Sampras, 7-6, 6-1, 6-1, in a men's final that, for a second consecutive year, symbolizes a "Battle of the Ages." Hewitt's victory against the 30-year-old Sampras marks a second consecutive triumph for youth as Hewitt, at 20 years, 6 months and 13 days, becomes the second-youngest men's champ of the Open Era. In 2000, 20-year-old Marat Safin defeated Sampras for the title.
2005 - Twins Bob and Mike Bryan partner to win their first US Open men's doubles title and avoid the self-proclaimed "anti-slam," having lost in the final of the three other Grand Slam events that year. The second seeds defeat top-seeded Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi, 6-1, 6-4, in the final to become the first siblings to win the men's doubles title since Howard and Robert Kinsey in 1924.
2006 - Maria Sharapova, who was born in Russia but raised in Florida, wins her first US Open by defeating Justine Henin-Hardenne, 6-4, 6-4. A few hours later on the same Arthur Ashe Stadium court, Martina Navratilova teams with Bob Bryan to win the mixed doubles crown in her final Grand Slam match. Navratilova's 16th US Open title comes 29 years after her first, the 1977 women's doubles with partner Betty Stove.
2007 - Roger Federer defeats Novak Djokovic, 7-6(4), 7-6(2), 6-4, to become the first men's player to win four consecutive US Open titles since Bill Tilden won the last of his six U.S. Championships in 1925. Federer also claims the richest payday in tennis history, earning a total US Open purse of $2.4 million--$1.4 million in US Open prize money and, as the Olympus US Open Series Bonus Challenge champion, $1 million in bonus prize money. For the first time in US Open history, the 700,000th fan passes through the turnstiles and total attendance reaches 715,587 for the two-week tournament. The previous US Open attendance record, set in 2005, was 659,563.
SEPTEMBER 10
1932 - Ellsworth Vines wins his second consecutive U.S. men's singles title, defeating Henri Cochet in the final.
1933 - Fred Perry ends Jack Crawford's bid for the first Grand Slam of tennis and wins his first U.S. men's singles title with a 6-3, 11-13, 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory over the Australian.
1962 - Rod Laver becomes the first man since 1938 to win the Grand Slam when he defeats Roy Emerson in the final of the U.S. Championships. Margaret Smith wins the women's singles title to become the first Australian woman to win the U.S. women's title.
1972 - Ilie Nastase trails two sets to one and faces break point at 1-3 in the fourth set, but comes back to defeat Arthur Ashe, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, in the men's singles final.
1978 - Jimmy Connors becomes the first player to win the US Open on three different surfaces, defeating Bjorn Borg, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, in the first men's final played on the Deco Turf II courts at the new USTA National Tennis Center. Connors previously won the 1974 US Open on grass and the 1976 US Open on clay courts.
1983 - Martina Navratilova wins her first US Open women's singles championship, defeating Chris Evert Lloyd in the final, 6-1, 6-3.
1988 - Steffi Graf becomes the third women to complete the Grand Slam, defeating Gabriela Sabatini in the women's final, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
1989 - Boris Becker becomes the first German man to win the US Open, defeating Ivan Lendl in the final, 7-6, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6. Lendl appears in his eighth straight US Open final, which ties him with Bill Tilden for the all-time record.
1994 - Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario becomes the first Spanish woman to win the US Open when she defeats Steffi Graf, 1-6, 7-6(3), 6-4, in the women's singles final.
1995 - Pete Sampras wins his third US Open men's singles title, defeating No. 1 seed and defending champion Andre Agassi, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, in the final.
1998 - In one of the closest matches in US Open history, Mark Philippoussis defeats Thomas Johansson, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-6(10), in the men's quarterfinals. Philippoussis trails 4-2 in the fifth set and fights off three match points in the fifth-set tie-break.
1999 - Martina Hingis breaks up a potential Williams sister US Open singles final by defeating Venus Williams, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, in the women's singles semifinals. Earlier in the day, Serena Williams defeats defending champion Lindsay Davenport, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4, to advance to her first US Open singles final.
2000 - Marat Safin stuns four-time US Open champion Pete Sampras, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, to become the first Russian to win the US Open men's singles title. Doing so at age 20 years, 7 months and 14 days, Safin is the third-youngest men's singles champion of the Open Era, behind Sampras and John McEnroe.
2005 - Kim Clijsters collects a $2.2 million paycheck for winning both the US Open and Olympus US Open Series. Clijsters captures the first and only Grand Slam tournament singles title of her career in her fifth appearance in a Grand Slam final, defeating Mary Pierce, 6-3, 6-1. Clijsters finishes the summer hard-court season with a 22-1 record, also winning three of the four Olympus US Open Series tournaments she played. As Series champion, Clijsters earned double her prize money at the US Open. Robby Ginepri sets a US Open record with his fourth consecutive five-set match, losing an all-American semifinal against Andre Agassi, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
2006 - Roger Federer becomes the first man ever to win back-to- back Wimbledon and US Open crowns for three straight years when he fights off Andy Roddick in the men's singles final, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. In the stands are Roddick's new coach, Jimmy Connors, and golf great Tiger Woods, who attends as a guest of Federer's and celebrates with him in the locker room afterward.
SEPTEMBER 11
1937 - Don Budge defeats Germany's Gottfried von Cramm to win his first U.S. men's singles title.
1955 - Tony Trabert defeats Ken Rosewall, 9-7, 6-3, 6-3, to win his second and final U.S. men's singles championship.
1977 - Guillermo Vilas defeats Jimmy Connors, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-0, for the men's singles title in the last US Open match played at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y.
1982 - Chris Evert wins her sixth and final US Open singles crown, defeating Hana Mandlikova in the final, 6-3, 6-1.
1983 - Jimmy Connors wins his second consecutive and fifth overall singles title at the US Open, defeating Ivan Lendl in the final, 6-3, 6-7, 7-5, 6-0.
1988 - Mats Wilander outlasts Ivan Lendl, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, in four hours and 55 minutes--the longest men's final in US Open history--and wrests the world's No. 1 ranking from Lendl in the process.
1993 - Steffi Graf wins her third US Open singles title with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Helena Sukova.
1994 - Andre Agassi becomes the first unseeded man since Fred Stolle in 1966 to win the US Open when he defeats No. 4 seed Michael Stich of Germany, 6-1, 7-6, 7-5, in the men's singles final. Agassi's victory comes 28 years to the day after Stolle won his title as an unseeded player, when he defeated John Newcombe in the final.
1999 - Two years after her sister Venus became the first black US Open finalist since Arthur Ashe in 1972 and the first black woman in a women's singles final since Althea Gibson in 1958, Serena Williams, seeded No. 7, captures the US Open women's singles crown by defeating top-seeded Martina Hingis, 6-3, 7-6. At 17 years, 11 months, Serena is the fifth-youngest champion in tournament history.
2004 - Svetlana Kuznetsova becomes the first Russian woman to win the US Open when she defeats countrywoman Elena Dementieva, 6-3, 7-5, in the women's singles final. The women's final is played on the third anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and both Russian finalists pay tribute in pre-match and post-match activities. Kuznetsova enters Stadium Court for the final wearing an FDNY hat for the Fire Department of New York, while Dementieva wears a NYPD hat to honor the New York Police Department. In post-match speeches, both players pay tribute to the heroes and victims of Sept. 11 as well as the Russian school massacre 11 days earlier in Beslan, Russia.
2005 - Roger Federer successfully defends his US Open singles title by defeating 35-year-old Andre Agassi in the men's singles final, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-1. Federer becomes the first man in the Open Era and third overall to successfully defend the Wimbledon and US Open titles in the same year, joining Don Budge (1937-38) and Bill Tilden (1920-21). Playing his 20th consecutive US Open, Agassi is the oldest player to compete for the singles title here since a 39-year-old Ken Rosewall was runner-up to Jimmy Connors in 1974.
SEPTEMBER 12
1936 - Fred Perry becomes the first foreigner to win three U.S. men's singles titles when he defeats Don Budge, 2-6, 6-2, 8-6, 1-6, 10-8, in the final. Alice Marble ends the four-year reign of Helen Jacobs as U.S. women's singles champion, defeating Jacobs, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the final.
1976 - Jimmy Connors wins the second of his five US Open singles titles, defeating first-time finalist Bjorn Borg in the final, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.
1981 - Tracy Austin wins her second US Open singles title edging first-time finalist Martina Navratilova in the final, 1-6, 7-6, 7-6.
1982 - Jimmy Connors returns to the winner's circle at the US Open for the first time since 1978, defeating Ivan Lendl in the title match, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
1987 - Martina Navratilova wins her fourth US Open singles title, defeating Steffi Graf in the final, 7-6, 6-1.
1992 - Stefan Edberg and Michael Chang play what is believed to be the longest match in the history of the US Open. The No. 2-seeded Edberg needs 5 hours and 26 minutes to defeat the fourth-seeded Chang, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4. Monica Seles wins her second straight US Open singles title, defeating Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the final.
1993 - Pete Sampras defeats Cedric Pioline, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, to win his second US Open singles title. Pioline is the first Frenchman since Henri Cochet in 1932 to reach the singles final at the U.S. Championships/US Open.
1998 - Lindsay Davenport captures her first Grand Slam tournament singles title, defeating Martina Hingis, 6-3, 7-5, in the final. Davenport also becomes the first American-born woman to win the US Open since Chris Evert won her last of six singles titles in 1982.
1999 - Andre Agassi wins his second US Open singles title, coming back from two-sets-to-one down to defeat Todd Martin, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-2. Agassi never loses his serve in the first five-set US Open final in 11 years.
2004 - Roger Federer wins his first US Open men's singles title in ruthless fashion, defeating 2001 champion Lleyton Hewitt, 6-0, 7-6(3), 6-0, in the final.
SEPTEMBER 13
1964 - Roy Emerson wins his second U.S. men's singles title, defeating Fred Stolle in the final.
1970 - Margaret Court defeats Rosie Casals, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1, to complete the fifth Grand Slam in tennis history. Thirty-five-year-old Ken Rosewall wins his second U.S. Championship--14 years after he first won the singles title--defeating fellow Aussie Tony Roche, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-3. The third set features the first tie-break in a Grand Slam singles final.
1981 - Bjorn Borg leaves the US Open never to return, losing to John McEnroe in the men's singles final, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. The championship was McEnroe's third in a row at the US Open, making him the first man since Bill Tilden (1920-25) to win three straight U.S. titles.
1992 - Defending champion Stefan Edberg defeats 1990 US Open champion Pete Sampras, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2, in the first U.S. men's singles final since 1947 and first in the Open Era to feature the last two singles champions.
1998 - Patrick Rafter defends his men's singles title, defeating fellow Australian Mark Philippoussis, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0. The singles final is the first all-Australian men's singles final at the US Open since Ken Rosewall defeated Tony Roche in the 1970 men's singles final.
SEPTEMBER 14
1929 - Bill Tilden wins his seventh U.S. men's singles crown, defeating Francis Hunter, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, in the final.
1987 - Ivan Lendl requires four hours and 47 minutes to defeat Mats Wilander, 6-7, 6-0, 7-6, 6-4, in a rain-delayed Monday final.
SEPTEMBER 15
1971 - Stan Smith fends off Jan Kodes to win his first Grand Slam tournament singles title.
