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.
It was commonly referred to as the Big Four, but Andy Murray was missing one critical piece of hardware that his peers – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – had collected in abundance: a Grand Slam singles trophy.
By the time 2012 rolled around, Murray had clearly established himself as one of the best in the world. He had finished at No. 4 in the year-end rankings for four consecutive years – an impressive accomplishment for most players but maddening for Murray, who strived to crack the triumvirate above him. Moreover, the great Scot had proven himself a major contender but not yet a titlist, having reached the Australian Open final in 2010 and 2011, the US Open final in 2008 and three successive Wimbledon semifinals, from 2009-11.
And so Murray arrived at the 2012 US Open looking to join the ranks of major champions. There was reason for optimism. He showed well at the first three Slams of the year, reaching the semis in Melbourne, the quarters in Roland Garros and the final at Wimbledon, where he dropped a tough four-setter to Federer.
Then came the first breakthrough. Murray turned the tables on the Swiss to capture the gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Breakthrough No. 2 came in Flushing Meadows. A little over a month after winning the Olympics for the biggest title of his career, Murray topped himself, downing Djokovic in five wind-swept sets to capture the US Open title, and with it, his maiden Grand Slam crown.
Of course, no one said winning your first major would be straightforward, and Murray’s toil through the tournament befitted his gritty baseline game. For all his firepower and shot-making ability, Murray has been, throughout his career, a grinder, willing to stick it out on the baseline, retrieve as many balls as possible and use his varied arsenal to wear down his opponents.
Never did he do it better than for these two weeks in New York.
After two routine wins to start out, Murray required four sets – and three tiebreaks – to outlast Feliciano Lopez in the third round. From there, he easily dispatched No. 16 seed Milos Raonic in the fourth round before things turned tough again: arduous four-set wins over No. 12 Marin Cilic and No. 6 Tomas Berdych to set up a title tilt with Djokovic.
Murray and Djokovic were familiar rivals. The two men, separated in age by just seven days, had faced off throughout the junior ranks and again as pros. And while Murray had won his share of those matchups, Djokovic had won both their major encounters, both at the Australian Open, in the 2011 final and the 2012 semis.
Murray seemed intent on ending that streak in a US Open final played under abnormally gusty conditions. He gutted out the first set in a marathon tiebreak and won the second, as well, putting the Serb on the brink. But nothing comes easy on the concrete floors of Flushing Meadows, and Djokovic did not go quietly. He captured the third and fourth sets easily and seemed to have gathered the momentum.
Murray, however, reasserted himself in the decider, breaking early and turning a potential heartbreaking defeat into the finest moment of his career: a 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 victory and his first Grand Slam singles title.
50 Fact: With his victory in New York, Murray became the first man in tennis history to win an Olympic gold medal in singles and a US Open men’s singles title in the same year. The only other men to have won both in their careers are Beals Wright (1904 Olympics; 1905 US Open), Andre Agassi (1996 Olympics; 1994 and 1999 US Opens) and Nadal (2008 Olympics; 2010, 2013 and 2017 US Opens).
