With the current suspension of the ATP and WTA Tours, we are opening up our US Open vault to bring you full match videos of classic encounters through the years in New York.
Join us Saturday at 4 p.m. ET for the latest #USOpenClassics on Facebook Live and Twitter. Next up in the series is a full-match live stream of the 2003 semifinal between Andy Roddick and David Nalbandian. The full match is also available on the US Open YouTube Channel.
Andy Roddick was playing in just his fourth career US Open, but after back-to-back quarterfinal runs, the American was starting to feel the weight of expectation as he competed in his third Grand Slam semifinal of 2003, against David Nalbandian of Argentina.
Turning 21 at the start of the '03 tournament, Roddick had already reached the final four at the Australian Open (l. to Rainer Schuettler) and Wimbledon (l. to Roger Federer) that year. In his previous two US Open bids, he was turned back at the quarterfinal stage by eventual champions Lleyton Hewitt in 2001 and Pete Sampras in 2002.
Roddick was seeded No. 4 for this tournament, his first time in the Top 10 in New York, and he enjoyed a straightforward run to the semifinals, dropping just one set—to Ivan Ljubicic in Round 2—in his opening five matches.
Nalbandian quickly changed that in the semifinals, putting the American on the brink by winning the first two sets, and forcing a tiebreak in the third. The Argentine came within one point of the upset, at 6-5 in the breaker. Unfortunately for him, that point came on the Roddick serve. After surviving the set, thanks in large part to some clutch serving, Roddick took command in sets four and five.
He continued to roll in what was his first major final, firing past Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets for his first and only Slam title. Roddick would go on to finish the 2003 season as the ATP's top-ranked man, the only American to do so in the 21st century.
Watch the full #USOpenClassics match via Facebook Live and Twitter on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. For a coming attraction, view the highlights below.
