Legends of US Open: Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras – A legend hailing from the US Open

The colourful attires, the fast paced tennis, the glowing night matches and so many other things make US Open the most glamorous Grand Slam, or at least viewed so in the eyes of many.

But from the player’s perspective, it should be counted as the most grueling tournament – simply because when they do step into the year’s final Grand Slam – they get drained out almost completely, consequent to the rigorous eight months’ schedule. This, probably, is one of the reasons why we do not often find lengthy winning streaks in Flushing Meadows.

Roger Federer, a pure genius that he is, has been the lone exception. He went on to win five consecutive US Open titles from 2004 to 2008 and therefore, remains the only man to do so in the open era.

There were also other players who managed pocketing five titles in the past, but none in such succession. If you consider the ATP circuit alone, there were only two other players who had won five titles in New York and both of them were Americans – Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras.

While Connors was the only man to have won this Grand Slam on three different surfaces, Federer was the only man to have captured the crown for five successive years. However, though Sampras’s accomplishments at this venue do not carry any special reverence as the other two, it was here that the genius of the great man first came to light. But, we hardly remember that, do we?

The dominance of the Greek American at All England Club was so mind-blowing that we tend to ignore his staggering performances in Flushing Meadows. Through this article, let us relive some of the glorious moments that the 14 time Grand Slam champion has had during his outings at Glamour Slam.

1990 – The maiden Grand Slam

Sampras’s romantic affair with Wimbledon started in the year 1993 and continued till 2000, notwithstanding a brief hiccup which he had in 1996. But it was here in New York that he won his maiden Grand Slam title – and that too as a 19-year old – thereby becoming the youngest male player ever to have achieved this feat.

The shades of his class were very much on display during the fortnight, as he dismissed some big names like Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe on his way to the final. It was no ordinary feat for the American, considering the level of experience that he had to compete against. His victory against Lendl was particularly impressive, as he nailed the veteran in a topsy-turvy five setter with a tight score line of 6-4, 7-6, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2.