As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the US Open, we look back at the 50 champions who have left an indelible mark on this inimitable event.
The 1970s was a decade of supersized stars. John Newcombe. Arthur Ashe. Ilie Nastase. Jimmy Connors. Bjorn Borg. John McEnroe. And, of course, Guillermo Vilas.
Celebrated as the “Young Bull of the Pampas,” the muscular Argentine Vilas played a heavyweight game built on punishing, looping, topspin groundstrokes, and he had the stamina and mental strength to wear out and down his opponent.
He was also the game’s Renaissance man – a longhaired poet, songwriter, author, musician and prolific reader.
On Sunday, Sept. 11, 1977, Vilas helped make tennis history and tennis lore.
This was the last US Open final to be played at the venerable Forest Hills horseshoe stadium before the tournament moved down the road to the USTA National Tennis Center. Contested on the Har-Tru dirt, the No. 4 seed Vilas was matched up against defending champion and top-seeded Jimmy Connors in a duel of two of the finest champions of clay-court tennis.
The left-handed pair did not disappoint and locked up in a tense three-and-a-half-hour battle that forced the CBS television coverage to run over its allotted time. The ending was well worth the wait.
After dropping the first set, Vilas made a subtle change in his tactics to blunt Connors’ strengths and ran off the next three sets to claim his first US Open crown, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-0. When the final shot was called out, the adoring crowd rushed on the court to hoist Vilas atop their shoulders to celebrate the improbable victory. The scene prompted CBS announcer Tony Trabert to remark it “was shades of Buenos Aires.”
Vilas’ US Open title was the jewel in a brilliant 1977 campaign that had started with a runner-up finish at the Australian Open. In the spring, he had won his first French Open title. Vilas finished the season with a 145-14 singles record, 17 ATP titles and his third season-ending Grand Prix Masters crown.
In addition to his US Open crown, Vilas won two Australian Open titles and the French Open, and he reached four other major finals.
A national hero at home, Vilas was a Davis Cup stalwart, running up a 45-10 singles record and leading the Argentine team to the 1981 final.
50 Fact: Vilas was in the stands to watch his compatriot Juan Martin del Potro upset Roger Federer in the 2009 US Open final.
Photo above: On the 30th anniversary of his US Open championship, 1977 men's winner Guillermo Vilas (center) poses with 2007 finalists Novak Djokovic (left) and Roger Federer prior to the 2007 men's final. (credit: Getty Images)
