At the 1973 US Open, John Newcombe and Margaret Court each won US$25,000 for winning the tournament. It was the first time equal prize money was awarded at a Slam, a cause championed and driven by Billie Jean King. This year is the 50th anniversary of that cause and both the Men’s and Women’s Champions will receive US$3 million, a much bigger slice of the bounty. Continue reading US Open Preview 2023
Carlos Alcaraz has been touted for a few years as the next big thing; now the 19 year old from Spain can prove it. Casper Ruud from Norway is aiming to be the first ever Norwegian to win a Grand Slam title.
French Open champion and world number one Iga Swiatek from Poland will take on the Tunisian shot maker Ons Jabeur. They have split their previous four matches with Swiatek winning their last match in Rome this season in straight sets on the clay. This final on hard court will be different though, as the quick New York courts should suit Jabeur, either way its shaping up as a contrast in styles barn burner. Continue reading US Open Womens Final Preview 2022
What a year in tennis it has been already. Ash Barty won the Australian Open and Rafa did the same, albeit after the Australian Government deported Djokovic considering him “a threat to the nation”, just let that sink in. Rafa also won Roland Garros and was actually looking good at Wimbledon until injury forced him out, Novak would go on to win defeating Kyrgios in the final. Continue reading US Open Preview 2022
In this era of greatness Novak Djokovic is one match away from accomplishing a feat that his greatest rivals, Federer and Nadal could never do. That’s win all four slams in the same season. In over a hundred years of Grand Slam tennis only two men have done it, the American with the sublime backhand Don Budge in 1938 and remarkably Rod Laver did it twice, in 1962 and 1969. Continue reading US Open mens final preview 2021
This will be the first major final between two teenagers since 17-year-old Serena Williams defeated 18-year-old Martina Hingis way back in 1999 at the US Open. Tomorrow Emma Raducanu, an unseeded 18 year old from Great Britain who won three qualifying matches to get into the main draw will play also unseeded 19 year old Leylah Fernandez from Canada who has taken out Osaka, Kerber, Svitolina and Sabalenka to get this far. Before the tournament Raducanu was 100/1 to win the tournament, Fernandez 200/1, if anybody had those bets I salute your physic ability. Continue reading US Open womens final preview 2021
They should rename this the Novak Djokovic Open as his storyline at this tournament will perhaps be the biggest in tennis in decades, since Steffi Graf won her ‘Golden Slam’ in 1988 and Rod Laver won his second Calendar year Slam in 1969. Only Serena’s chase in 2015 could rival it, but here for the next two weeks, the Serb will get all the headlines, especially without Federer, Rafa or Serena who are all missing due to injuries. Continue reading US Open Preview 2021
This should be a repeat of the Australian Open final eight months ago. Thiem vs Djokovic, but Novak’s moment of madness ended that possibility, which must make the 27-year-old Austrian somewhat more comfortable going into this US Open final. It will be his third Slam final, only this time there’s no Rafa or Novak across the net. Continue reading US Open Mens Final Preview 2020
This match is a repeat of the final from three weeks ago that never happened. Osaka vs Azarenka was supposed to have been played at this very site in the lead up tournament to this Grand Slam, but Osaka withdrew with a hamstring injury. Now we get to see it. They’ve both won two majors but their careers couldn’t be more different. Continue reading US Open Womens Final Preview 2020
There’s been no Grand Slam tennis since January’s Australian Open because of the pandemic. Yet, here we are seven months later, Wimbledon was cancelled and now within a six week period the US Open and Roland Garros will be played. Grand Slam tennis is back, at least as of today. Continue reading US Open Preview 2020