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.
From a young age, Pete Sampras’ game was built for grass: serving big, rushing the net and attacking from the ground at every opportunity.
Seven Wimbledon titles in eight years speak to just how suited his game for London’s lawns became. But for all the highs in England, and there were many, New York will always hold a special place in Sampras’ heart.
New York City was the site of his first Grand Slam men’s singles title in 1990 and the place where he won his 14th and final major title 12 years later.
In between, Sampras won three US Open titles in four years between 1993 and 1996, and reached the final in 1992 as well as in consecutive years in 2000 and 2001.
Historically speaking, his five titles at Flushing Meadows are tied for the most in the Open era with Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer. His eight finals rank first with Ivan Lendl and Novak Djokovic. He’s also the youngest-ever men’s champion (19 years, 28 days), and no man can match his 88.8 (71-9) overall winning percentage.
In 1990, Sampras came into New York with just seven Grand Slam match wins under his belt since his debut two years earlier. He reached back-to-back fourth rounds at the US Open in 1989 and the Australian Open in 1990, but he missed the French Open and lost in the first round at Wimbledon for the second year in a row.
Sampras was the No. 12 seed at the 1990 US Open, but he played a title contender the whole fortnight. He didn’t drop a set through his first three matches, and he rallied from a set down to dispatch Austria’s Thomas Muster in the Round of 16. The 19-year-old won a five-set thriller against No. 3 seed Ivan Lendl in the quarters and then defeated four-time US Open champ John McEnroe in the semifinals.
With the win, and combined with Agassi’s victory over second-seeded Boris Becker, the stage was set for the second all-American final at the US Open in the Open era, and the first since 1979, when McEnroe played Vitas Gerulaitis.
The final pitted two players with very different strengths. Sampras had arguably the biggest weapon in the game, with a booming first serve that got into the mid-120s. Agassi was the premier returner of his generation, a man who seemingly read the ball better than anyone and then had the hands and feet to get the ball back with interest.
On this day, Sampras reigned supreme, winning 92 percent of points on his first serve and holding serve all 13 times.
“It hasn’t settled in,” Sampras said after his victory. “I’m just looking at this trophy right here, and I see these great players in Connors and McEnroe and Becker and Lendl, and I’m going to be one of those guys on that trophy. It’s going to take me a couple weeks to really realize what I just did.”
Sampras reached the final again in 1992 before really coming into his own in the mid ’90s. The American won two Slams in four of the next five years, reaching the quarterfinals or better in 21 of the next 27 majors between 1992 and 1998.
Sampras missed the 1999 US Open, but he returned to reach the final in 2000, where he fell to Marat Safin. He avenged the defeat by beating Safin in the semifinals the following year, but this time it was Lleyton Hewitt who stood in Sampras’ way of a 14th major title.
After failing to get past the fourth round of the Australian Open, French Open or Wimbledon for the second year in a row, Sampras entered the 2002 US Open with question marks surrounding both his form and his future.
But Sampras’ career came full circle in New York that summer, as he defeated longtime rival Agassi in what would be the final match of his hall-of-fame career.
“I still want to play,” Sampras told members of the media after his win. “I love to play. But to beat a rival like Andre in a major tournament at the US Open, a storybook ending, it might be nice to stop.
“He's made me a better player. He's brought moments to my career that are like Borg and McEnroe. Those guys needed each other. I've needed Andre over the course of my career. He's pushed me. You know, he's forced me to add things to my game. He's the only guy that was able to do that. He's the best I've played.”
Sampras didn't play in 2003, and he formally announced his retirement at a press conference on Day 1 of the 2003 US Open.
“It's been quite a process this past year,” he said. “I know that the process is now over. So I am a hundred percent retired. It brings back a lot of memories, coming back here to the site, being back in New York. … I'm content, and I'm at peace with it. It's time to, you know, call it a career. Couldn't happen at a better place than here in New York, where everything happened for me at 19, and it ended for me last year here."
