Best US Open semis ever?
- Thread starter smoledman
- Start date
jm1980
Talk Tennis Guru
Fresh as a daisy Fed vs exhausted Novak/Kei final looms large.
There's no way he'll lose to Monfils or Cilic.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
2008 says hello, by a frickin landslide. Not to mention many other years.
okdude1992
Hall of Fame
Perfect final:
Nishikori vs Monfils
Sadly, I expect a predictable Djokovic victory over Fed in the final.
Nishikori vs Monfils
Sadly, I expect a predictable Djokovic victory over Fed in the final.
Gonzo_style
Hall of Fame
jm1980
Talk Tennis Guru
Nadal fan detected
Assuming we do get a Fed/Djoko final, who do Nadal fans root for?
D
Deleted member 688153
Guest
Monfils has played very well, except that such results make people forget how inconsistent the man is. Unlike the Novaks or Rafas of the tour, just because he plays lights-out for a round or two does not mean that he will even take a set in the next match. You cannot gauge his form like that.
Even if he plays really well today, he could certainly beat Roger, but only because Roger is inconsistent also these days.
The match is on healthy Fed's racquet (as is usually the case vs. anyone but Rafa/Novak, except for all but the most deluded of us). Based on rankings alone, it is his to lose.
What happens depends on Roger's form more than anything else.
Even if he plays really well today, he could certainly beat Roger, but only because Roger is inconsistent also these days.
The match is on healthy Fed's racquet (as is usually the case vs. anyone but Rafa/Novak, except for all but the most deluded of us). Based on rankings alone, it is his to lose.
What happens depends on Roger's form more than anything else.
dudeski
Hall of Fame
Nadal fan detected
Assuming we do get a Fed/Djoko final, who do Nadal fans root for?
Lesser of two evils:
Evil 1: Novak wins and increases his points so much Nadal has no chance of getting number 1 until pretty much next summer at the earliest.
Evil 2: Fed gets #18
I am thinking they pick Evil 1.
beast of mallorca
G.O.A.T.
Nishikori vs Cilic finals is better, me thinks yo. :twisted:
Like Chang vs Ivanisevic. :lol:
stringertom
Bionic Poster
1980 wasn't very shabby either:
Borg d. Kriek 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1
McEnroe d. Connors 6-4, 5-7, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6
THUNDERVOLLEY
G.O.A.T.
They were semifinals for the ages. Beyond classic matches.
BreakPoint
Bionic Poster
Yup, remember both of those matches well.
In the 2nd semi, at one point in the middle of the match, McEnroe lost 10 straight games in a row. :shock:
RFGOAT1992
Semi-Pro
Dedans Penthouse
Legend
1984 US Open Super Saturday Still Resonates
NEW YORK — Martina Navratilova recalls the endless wait. John McEnroe remembers the sizzling energy as day turned to night. Jimmy Connors would rather forget.
"I remember I lost," says the five-time U.S. Open winner. 'I'm glad it was a great day, but not so good for me."
Unfortunately for Connors, few have forgotten, even 25 years later.
On that day — Sept. 8, 1984, which has since been rechristened "Super Saturday" — some of the sport's most luminous stars took the court at the U.S. Open. Seven of eight were or would become Grand Slam champions and Hall of Famers.
Every match on Louis Armstrong Arena — two men's semifinals, the women's final sandwiched in between, even the seniors event that kicked off the session — went the distance.
It started at 11:07 a.m. and ended at 11:16 p.m. — a blockbuster day of tennis for a single ticket, but a relatively early finish by today's insomniac standards.
"It was one of those unique circumstances where everyone felt they were part of something special," says Jim Curley, who was in attendance that day as a player agent and now is the U.S. Open tournament director.
Ivan Lendl and Pat Cash played the first semifinal, which followed a warm-up match between American Stan Smith and Australian John Newcombe.
When the first match went three sets and threatened to cut into the TV window, the broadcaster sent a note down to Newcombe, who was part of the commentating crew.
"What the hell are you doing?" it said, according to Curley.
Lendl, known for his metronomic baseline game, advanced to his third consecutive final 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-4) but not before saving a match point with a running topspin lob winner — easily the most memorable shot of the day.
Lendl thought Cash was going to put the ball away, but a tentative volley gave him time to track it down. It was more accident than brilliant tactical decision.
"I chose that shot because I didn't have the proper grip," says Lendl, 49, who has five daughters and reached a record eight consecutive U.S. Open finals from 1982-89. "I had a backhand grip. I didn't expect to have a play on it because he had been putting volleys away all match."
Cash, a 19-year-old Australian ranked outside the top-10 (who would go on to win the 1987 Wimbledon title), said recently he was "haunted" for years by the loss.
"It's only years later you look back and acknowledge how spectacular the whole day had become," he said.
Navratilova, at the height of her rivalry with Chris Evert, says the two were stuck wondering when they would get on to play. At the time, the U.S. Open was the only major without a set starting time for the women's final.
"It was an interminable wait to play," says the 52-year-old naturalized American, who defeated Evert 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to win the second of her four U.S. Open titles.
When the Williams sisters rose to prominence, organizers switched the women's final to prime time in 2001 to attract a bigger television audience.
That restored some competitive balance to what was an "unfair" situation both for the women and the men, says Navratilova, since the previous format gave the second semifinal winner less time to recover for the next day's final.
"They got greedy," the 18-time major winner says of the USTA, "but out of the greed came a good thing."
The last match featured McEnroe and Connors, two warriors with a well-known antipathy for one another. Connors was two-time defending champ, and Queens native McEnroe had ruled New York from 1979-81.
McEnroe prevailed in a nighttime thriller, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, and went on to crush Lendl in the final less than 24 hours later for his last major in New York — and in his career.
"It was a long day," says McEnroe, 50. "I knew I was in for a war. … At the same time, I was playing the best tennis of my life. … The energy was electric. You could tell by the end of that day something special happened."
Not everyone had that immediate sensation.
"I don't remember much to tell you the truth," says Lendl, who was in a competitive bubble and fixated on preparing for the final. "I wasn't thinking about it being an historic day. I was hoping (McEnroe and Connors) would play 7-6 in the fifth set, and they did, but it didn't help me the next day."
Navratilova doesn't remember it as an instant classic like last year's Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
"That evolved over time," she says, adding that the 12 hours of tennis was for some akin to "OD-ing on tennis."
Connors, 57, says people still come up to him and talk about that day.
"To have been a part of that as a player and as a fan — you walked away with your jaw dropping," he says.
Because the USTA changed the format eight years ago to two sessions, fans aren't likely to witness so much drama on one court in one day.
"Super Saturday can't really happen again," Curley says. Plus, he adds, "You can't always capture that magic in a bottle."
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