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. 15.
Although the US Open takes place annually from the end of August until the weekend after Labor Day, the end-of-summer tennis festival always had a taller task attracting spectators on weekdays, particularly during the second week of the fortnight. People who were an integral part of the workforce were trapped in their offices, wishing they could be out at the tournament watching tennis but knowing their professional responsibilities prohibited them from attending.
That all changed in 1975 at Forest Hills. For the first time, night tennis was included on the menu of options, and at long last, those with jobs could finish up their work late in the afternoon, hop on the subway and spend their evening watching top-flight tennis in the cooler evening air. And what a treat it was for the people who spent their leisure time coming out to the tennis and seeing the lights go on for the first time.
For some of us, the seminal moment in this adventure was witnessing a four-set battle in the round of 16 between a pair of highly strung and deeply driven Americans named Jimmy Connors and Harold Solomon. They waged a spirited war from the baseline, gave the gallery in the fabled Forest Hills stadium great value for money and put on a dazzling show. Connors – who would lose in the final to Manuel Orantes – upended Solomon in four tough sets, but not before his compatriot made him work inordinately hard to get across the finish line.
All in all, night play at the US Open was a resounding success. Ron Bookman, editor of World Tennis, summed it up succinctly and accurately, writing, “Playing at night was an experiment but one that paid such dividends as to make everyone wonder why it took so long.”
Join the celebration. Share your favorite on/off-court moments from the US Open using hashtag #USOpen50, and be sure to tag @usopen to be featured here.
