The US Open is the fourth and final Grand Slam of the tennis season, and for many, it’s the best.
Beginning in 1881, the US Open has seen 145 editions and was the second major tournament to be created after Wimbledon.
Though the competition has been played on hard court for almost 50 years, it was actually the only Grand Slam to be played on all three surfaces.
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Like the Australian Open, the US Open started on grass but transitioned to clay for a brief period in the 1970s.
The switch to clay was an attempt to make the event more ‘TV friendly’, and also due to player complaints about the uneven ball bounce of the grass surface at the then-venue Forest Hills.
Jimmy Connors’ historic feat at the US Open
The clay era of the US Open lasted from 1975 to 1977, before switching to hard court in 1978 for the foreseeable future.
Heading into the first edition of the event on clay in 1975, Jimmy Connors was the defending US Open champion, having won his first of five crowns the year prior.
Connors reached the final in 1975, but was beaten by Spanish clay-court specialist Manuel Orantes in straight sets.
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The next season, though, Connors bounced back and clinched the title after beating second seed Bjorn Borg in the championship match.
It was the fourth of his eight Grand Slam titles, but it was not his last triumph at the US Open.
Four years later, he captured the trophy again and became the first and only player in history to win the same Grand Slam on three different surfaces.
It’s a feat that may never be achieved ever again, with the surfaces of each Grand Slam unlikely to be changed anytime soon.
What John McEnroe said about Jimmy Connors
Connors recorded a legendary career in tennis and still holds the record for the most ATP titles won in history with 109.
He did so in a competitive era, having to battle past the likes of Borg and John McEnroe, who had high praise for him in 2013.
As per Tennis Channel, McEnroe said: “Jimmy is the ultimate battler, the ultimate hustler, the ultimate fighter.
“He is the only guy I ever played who, I would be trying as hard as I possibly could, and I’d look across the net, and he would be trying even harder. He hated losing.”
He also said of his rival: “One of the things I respected about Connors was that one second he would be spewing a four-letter word, the next second he would do something that had people falling off the aisles. Yet he never seemed to lose his concentration.”
Connors and McEnroe clashed 34 times on the ATP Tour, with the latter leading the head-to-head 20-14.
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