There were an incredible number of phenomenal, twisting-and-turning, logic-defying matches during the 2022 US Open. For two weeks, thrilling matches rocked the house on hot days and late into the wee hours—including the latest ever. The memorable fortnight was marked by career-defining wins, shocking upsets and history-making retirements.
Quarterfinal: Carlos Alcaraz [ESP] def. Jannik Sinner [ITA], 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3
This marathon quarterfinal feast of mind-blowing shotmaking, athleticism, and endurance shattered the US Open record for latest finish—2:50 a.m.! And at 5 hours and15 minutes, it ranks as the second-longest match ever at the Open. The hypersonic quality was beyond belief, and it never let up. Alcaraz and Sinner were slugging the ball so ridiculously that the match looked more like oversized table tennis. It wasn’t merely the best match at this year’s Open; it was one of the greatest ever played in Flushing Meadows, period. Alcaraz let certain advantages slip in sets two and three, saved a match point in the fourth, and came back from a break down in both the final sets. Neither Sinner nor Alcaraz slowed over five hours, and each had just played enervating five-setters in the previous round. Scintillating on all levels, and a major announcement that two huge new stars—ages 19 and 21—in men’s tennis are here to stay, and probably rule for years to come. Impossible as it may sound, the two youngsters appeared to be improving before our very eyes.
Round 3: Ajla Tomljanovic [AUS] def. Serena Williams [USA], 7-5, 6-7, 6-1
This was one for the history books. In the third round, with Serena’s swan song picking up steam as her level increased with each match, the elegant ball striker and Croat-born Aussie played the match of her life to overcome Williams and 24,000 Serena fans. Tomljanovic, ranked No. 46, was down 2-5 in the opening set but never wilted. Neither did Serena, it has to be said. Even down 5-1 in the final set, Williams summoned all of her legendary willpower to bat back five match points, each one raising the sound in Arthur Ashe Stadium to new ear-splitting levels. To top it off, Tomljanovic gave the most graceful address imaginable on court after her victory, paying full tribute to Serena’s career and inspiration. Rather than be cast as the villain, as Tomljanovic feared, she instantly earned the crowd’s respect and accolades across the globe.
Round 4: Frances Tiafoe [USA] def. Rafael Nadal [ESP], 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 Rafael Nadal hadn’t lost a match at a major all year. The 36-year-old Spaniard had triumphed at 22 straight (he had to withdraw from Wimbledon before the semis with an abdominal tear). Tiafoe, the 24-year-old Maryland native who had never been past the fourth round at his home major, had boldly advertised, “I’m coming for him,” before this fourth-round match with the all-time great. And the American did just that. He cracked his forehand and served lights out, maintaining his level at a high throughout. Tiafoe thoroughly outplayed the four-time US Open champion in the last two sets and absolutely rocked the Labor Day house. Tiafoe’s immigrant parents were in the stands to see him take down “one of the Mount Rushmore guys” in the sport, as the affable American later put it.
Quarterfinal: Karen Khachanov def. Nick Kyrgios [AUS], 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4
The combustible Canberran had knocked out the defending champ and No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev in the previous round. With Nadal also out of the tournament, Kyrgios was, for the first time in his up-and-down career, suddenly viewed as the odd-on favorite to take home his first major title. In the quarters, with a seemingly clear path to the final, Kyrgios met another bruising ball striker, the 27th-seeded Khachanov, who matched him blistering groundstroke for groundstroke and towering serve for serve. The two tall combatants combined for 61 aces and 138 winners in nearly four hours of play. As Kyrgios predicted, he and Khachanov would indeed “live and die by the sword.”
Round 3: Petra Kvitova [CZE] def. Garbine Muguruza [ESP], 5-7, 6-3, 7-6
Sure, this was “only” a third-round match, but what a barn-burner between two bruising six-footers who each have won two majors in their careers. How close was it? The No. 23-seeded Czech edged the No. 9 Spaniard 12 points to 10 in in the final-set tiebreak. Not close enough? Okay, how about this: in two hours and 38 minutes of play, Kvitova the victor finished with 109 points total, Muguruza 108. Kvitova saved a match point with an ace at 5-6 in the third set. Then she saved two more in the tiebreak. Both players lived dangerously on the razor’s edge, but the Czech held on to win her sixth consecutive match against Muguruza.
Semifinal: Carlos Alcaraz [ESP] def. Frances Tiafoe [USA], 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-7, 6-3
Alcaraz survived three consecutive five-setter night matches (well, two became early morning matches) to make it to his first major final, and frankly all of them could appear on any reasonable list of the best matches at this year’s Open. The Spanish teen somehow found the reserves and the will to again outlast a determined opponent—the resilient and resolute Tiafoe—and a raucous crowd that included former First Lady Michelle Obama and actor Jamie Foxx. The ebbs and flows of this match were dizzying; the shots dazzling. Just when you thought you knew which way it was going, one of the two combatants stepped up to say: Not so fast! Tiafoe won his seventh and eight consecutive tiebreaks of the Open, a record—but it still wasn’t enough to topple Alcaraz. It was Friday Night Lights, tennis edition.
