Some players seemingly came out of nowhere to win their first-ever Grand Slam singles title at the US Open. For others, lifting their first trophy in New York was long overdue and, more often than not, a matter of “when” rather than “if.”
We take a look at the players who won their first major title at the US Open and examine what led to their success in the Big Apple and what came next in their careers.
Entertaining, theatrical, combustible and talented, John McEnroe was equal parts shot-maker and trouble-maker.
A precocious junior player, McEnroe went from the public courts in Port Washington, N.Y., to the stadium courts of the US Open as quickly as his temperament could swing from hero to villain.
Much like the lifecycle of a butterfly from adolescent to adult, McEnroe went through a similar rapid transformation from unknown teen to champion.
His main metamorphosis started as an amateur in 1977, transitioned into collegian in 1978, progressed to professional later that year, and, in 1979, he won his first career Grand Slam men’s singles title at the US Open.
By the time he lifted the first of what would become seven major singles titles, McEnroe had gone from caterpillar to full-fledged butterfly, ready to spread his wings and fly.
Of course, McEnroe had made his US Open debut as a 15-year-old at Forest Hills in 1974, playing doubles with veteran and former Wimbledon doubles champ Antonio Palafox, who had been working with McEnroe for the previous three years.
McEnroe played doubles at the US Open the next two years, as his game continued to improve against older, more experienced players. He won the mixed doubles title at the French Open with Mary Carillo and made a surprise run to the 1977 Wimbledon singles semifinals as a qualifier, still an amateur, who had won just one Grand Slam main-draw match in his career.
The following year, he played tennis at Stanford University, where he won both the NCAA singles and team championships. With little to prove as an amateur or collegian, McEnroe went pro and reached the semis of the US Open.
Entering the summer of 1979, McEnroe had already made a name for himself. He had won, and defended, titles in Stockholm and Wembley, and he helped the U.S. to its first Davis Cup title in six years—a championship McEnroe and Team USA would defend in California three months after the US Open.
Now 20 years old, McEnroe came into New York City as the No. 3 seed, and his performance lived up to the billing.
He won an infamous four-set battle with Ilie Nastase in the second round, in which Nastase was initially defaulted before play resumed with a new umpire officiating the match. McEnroe then received a walkover against John Lloyd in the third round before dropping just seven games against Tom Gordon in the Round of 16.
McEnroe benefitted from No. 9 seed Eddie Dibbs’ retirement three games into their quarterfinal, and he defeated world No. 2 and defending champion Jimmy Connors, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5, in an entertaining semifinal. The victory ended Connors’ run of five consecutive US Open finals, although Connors did still go on to reach the semis or better for 12 straight years.
In the championship match, McEnroe defeated friend, countryman and fellow first-time finalist Vitas Gerulaitis, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3.
He went on to defend his title in 1980, and then again in 1981, a season that saw him capture his first Wimbledon crown. The American won on London’s lawns again in 1983 and 1984, and he claimed what proved to be his seventh and final major title at the US Open in 1984.
McEnroe reached the semis or better five more times over the final eight years of his playing career, notably in 1985, when he lost in the US Open final to Ivan Lendl. He also reached the final of the year-ending World Championship Tennis Final in 1987, an event he won for a fifth time two years later.
McEnroe’s final year came in 1992, when he won the Wimbledon doubles championship—his fifth—and helped Team USA to a 30th Davis Cup title. In the final against Switzerland, McEnroe partnered with Pete Sampras, rallying from two sets down to win a pivotal five-set battle that gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead and paved the way for Jim Courier’s title-clinching singles victory.
