US Open Trivia & Records

We present some interesting facts on the US Open and the players who have been successful at Flushing Meadows in the past.

The Court Surface

The US Open is played on a hard court surface known as Deco Turf. What is interesting about a hard court surface is that it plays at a speed which is roughly half the speed of the fast grass of Wimbledon and the slow clay of the French Open.

Compared to the red clay at Roland Garros, a hard court allows the ball to retain more forward speed, provides the sidespin on serves with much better traction and produces a relatively high topspin bounce.

Compared to the Rye Grass of the All England Club, hard courts allow more time to line up groundstrokes and present a higher point of contact on the ball.

The hard court's response to topspin, as well as its' sure footing, make the US Open the best venue for the serve-and-volleyers of the game. Stefan Edberg, Patrick Rafter and Martina Navratilova were renowned for their serve-and-volley tactics, and they won at Flushing Meadows more than once.

However, it is now only the serve-and-volley specialists who have been victorious at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Groundstroke and return specialists have also been triumphant.

They benefit from the predictable bounce and medium speed of the surface, which in turn allows then time to prepare an aggressive swing. A multitude of power baseliners like Steffi Graf and Ivan Lendl have dominated at Flushing Meadows in their day.

US Open Champions who have won the most titles in the Open Era

(match wins in brackets)

• Jimmy Connors - 109 (1222)
• Ivan Lendl - 94 (1070)
• John McEnroe - 77 (867)
• Pete Sampras - 64 (762)
• Andre Agassi - 60 (870)
• Roger Federer - 45 and still going!
• Arthur Ashe - 33 (613)

Other US Open Trivia & Records

• In 1936 Fred Perry defeated Don Budge, 2-6 6-2 8-6 1-6 10-8, winning the Grand Slam final after saving two match points.
• In 1991 Richard Krajicek hit 49 aces in the quarterfinal of the US Open, only to lose to Yevgeny Kafelnikov in five sets.
• The fastest serve ever recorded at the US Open since 1991 was a blistering 145mph or 233km/h. Taylor Dent of the USA accomplished this feat in 2004.
• John McEnroe holds the Open Era record for the most wins in all competitions with eight - four singles and four doubles crowns.
• Current world number one, Roger Federer holds the record for the most consecutive wins with four.
• Martina Navratilova is the Open Era record-holder of the most wins in all competitions. She claimed 16 titles - four singles, nine doubles and three mixed doubles.
• Chris Evert holds the record for the most wins since 1968, with six.