History of US Open

Well, well, well. Hang on. We saw the action in Australia, France and ultimately at the All England Club. The Grand Slam season is not over yet. The thrill continues after one of the best tennis tournaments was witnessed in England where the King of Grass Roger Federer reiterated his might with a thumping win over Andy Murray to capture his record 15th Grand Slam victory. We are into the final Grand Slam of the year- the US Open. The year started with Rafael Nadal taking away the honours at the Australian Open, the first of the Grand Slams of a calendar year. From there on, it has been Federer all the way, lifting the Cup in France and England.
It has been the reign of Roger Federer at the Flushing Meadows since 2004 i.e. five years in succession. Now the question that arises here is- Will Roger Federer make it six in a row and create history.
Started in 1881, the US Open is one of the oldest tennis tournaments. In chronological order, it comes fourth after the Australian Open in January, French Open in mid May and early June and Wimbledon in June-July spanning 13 days. Played in the months of August and September spanning over a two week period, it consists of five championships- men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles. It is played on Acrylic hard court. However, it wasn’t always like this. Initially, in August 1881, there were two separate tournaments of men’s singles and women’s singles. The championships for men were known as the US National Singles Championship for men.
Six years down, in 1887, the first official US Women`s National Singles Championship was held. US Women`s National Doubles Championship followed in 1889. The US mixed doubles was held alongside the women’s singles and doubles. It was only in 1900 that the National Men`s Doubles Championship was held for the first time. The open epoch came in 1968 when all the five events were amalgamated into the newly named US Open. It was then that the professional tennis players were allowed to compete.
The tournament continues to be played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the Queens borough of New York City, which got its name from Billie Jean King, a pioneer in women’s tennis.
The US Open differs from the other 3 Grand Slam tournaments in the way that there are final-set tie breaks. In the other three majors, the fifth set for the men and the third set for the women continue until someone wins by two games. In 1970 the US Open was the first of the Grand Slam tournaments to introduce the tie-break at the end of a set.
The turf at the US Open is a fast paced surface with lower bounce as compared to the hard courts in the Australian Open. This is the reason why players like Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, who believe in the serve and volley game, have their names etched in the history of US Open. There is a story regarding the turf too. US Open was originally played on grass courts. It then moved on to clay in Forest Hills in 1975. In the year 1978, the event moved to its present home Flushing Meadows which had Deco Turf. This turf comprises of layers of acrylic, rubber, silica.
The US Open was also the first to introduce instant replay system. It was in the 2005 edition of the US Open that the players were allotted two challenges per set and one additional challenge during a tiebreak. However, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced, that starting 2008, each player would be allotted three challenges per set with an extra challenge if the set goes to a tiebreak.
So keep glued to your seats and watch the fight for another inheritance unfurl. Who will it be? We can only wait for the answer. Stay tuned to Zeenews.com for the latest updates on the US Open.