The Last Grand Slam of the Year: U.S. Open
This is the last Grand Slam of the year, and it surely ends with the Bang. U.S Open is the oldest and the most ancient Grand Slam played in the Tennis history. The first men’s single game was contested in 1881 and since then it has come a long way in terms of the playing condition and the player’s participation. The final Grand Slam of the year is held annually between August and September in New York. It consists of five different event championships men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles, with special tournaments for senior, junior and wheel chair players. This is the only tournament which still has all five set tie-breaks. All the other Grand Slams have four set tie-breaks and the last set is not divided with the tie-break.
The surface of the court in U.S Open is fast and helps the players with fast service. The winner of the tournament is awarded with 2000 ATP points, with the runners up 1200 and semi finalist ends with 720. In starting the tournament was held only for Men, it was participated and contested without any female contestant, the female induction to the tournament was made late in 1887, six years later after the Men’s tournament. In 1968, the tournament was open for all the professionals and players from all around the world started participating in the tournament, from that time onwards, there has been a considerable amount increase in the viewer ship and price money in the tournament. The use of the technology in the game has increased with time and in year 2006 U.S Open adopted to hawk eye for the instant reviews to get the right decision and since then the game has benefited significantly from its use.
The glow and beam of any tournament depends with the type of play and competition which is involved in it and for over 100 years, U.S. Open has seen some significant display of tennis, of highest skill and caliber. Some great players have embraced the championship with their zeal and grit. The names like, Roger Federer, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras in Men and Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Mary Browne, Serena Williams in Women, have all showcased their talents and class to claim this priced championship.
American Pete Sampras has defeated his opponents 5 times in the final to claim the prized trophy, while his fellowmen and long time rival Andre Agassi worked his way up twice to be crowned as a champion. Great American champion Jimmy Connors has this title to his name 5 times, while William Larned dominated the early part of 1900’s with 7 titles. Along with these great American superstars, Fred Perry from Great Britain has claimed the title thrice while Swiss legend Roger Federer was awarded with U.S Open cup 5 times. In women also the feat achieved by Steffi Graf is unparallel she won the tournament 5 times, while American Champion Martina Navratilova repeated this triumph 4 times.
The US Open has provided some of the greatest and historic matches in Tennis history. This includes legendary matches between: Pete Sampras vs. Andre Agassi, Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams, Martina Navratilova vs. Chris Evert, and John McEnroe vs. Bjorn Borg. And there is no better place to watch a piece of history than in-person. You can get those tickets here US Open tickets.