This year, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the US Open, we’re counting down the 50 most memorable moments in the history of America’s Grand Slam. Today, we take a look back at No. 22.
When the US Open moved from Forest Hills to Flushing Meadows in 1978, the new surroundings were ideal for the leading American – a left-hander named Jimmy Connors. He had already won the Open twice at Forest Hills, routing Ken Rosewall in the 1974 final on grass with one of his signature performances and overcoming Bjorn Borg in the 1976 final contested on clay courts. The triumph over Borg was a rousing demonstration of the Connors way of winning, featuring grit, gumption and the purest of ball striking.
And yet, the setting at the West Side Tennis Club did not fit Connors as well as the public facility in Flushing Meadows. The tournament had now expanded its base to appeal to a wider range of sports fans, rather than focusing so largely on longtime tennis followers. Connors had the propensity to bring the younger generation who had seldom paid attention to tennis into the fold. He was audacious, a contentious street fighter, who was not always politically correct, and a man who wore his heart on his sleeve – even when that led him into trouble.
He seemed in his element at Flushing Meadows in 1978 in Louis Armstrong Stadium. It was his kind of arena. In the round of 16, Connors was on the brink of losing to the talent-rich Italian Adriano Panatta, the French Open champion of 1976. Panatta led 5-3 in the fifth set of that spellbinding encounter, but Connors, boosted immeasurably by a crowd who cheered him on vociferously, rallied to win.
He never looked back, crushing Brian Gottfried, John McEnroe and Borg without losing another set. He was dazzling down the stretch. Connors soaked in the highly charged atmosphere and moved into his fist-pumping mode full throttle. The New York audiences gave him their unabashed support, and Connors responded with his most inspired tennis of the 1978 season.
By taking that first US Open on the hard courts at Flushing Meadows, Connors established himself as the only player – male or female – to prevail on three different surfaces in US Open history. Beating Borg was especially gratifying because the Swede had dissected him in the Wimbledon final. He told the media after stopping Borg, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in the final, “I played like a crazy man. Now I’ve won the tournament on three different surfaces. It feels good to know I can still play like No. 1.”
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