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Tag Archive: US Open

  1. Catch up with Lucy Shuker

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    We had the pleasure of having a catch up with Lucy Shuker. She filled us in on all the action this year’s US Open Grand Slam in
    New York.
    Read Lucy’s update below

    Us Open

    This year was my fourth appearance at the US Open and another opportunity to try and get my first win in New York City.
    For Men’s and Women’s Wheelchair Tennis players, it’s only the top 7 in the world that earn direct qualification into the event. With the 8th place being awarded to a tournament wildcard. Grand Slam events are effectively Masters competitions for wheelchair tennis players and you have to remind yourself that simply qualifying is a great achievement.

    The Result

    As a competitor, we are all there for the same thing – to win. With no easy draws and just the top players in the world you know you have to bring your A game to get anywhere. This year I drew current World No.5 KG Montjane from South Africa. I have had mixed results with her over the last 12 months or so. I knew I had the game to beat her, but I also knew that KG was a strong player and it would be a close fight and that it was. Unfortunately, it ended with a 6-4 6-4 defeat for me.
    It was difficult and disappointing three weeks of competition with some tough losses in both singles and doubles events. Tennis is undoubtedly a sport which has many ups and downs and I’ve definitely encountered my fair share of these throughout my career. I love tennis and this in a way is what I love most about the game. The problem solving, the continual challenge of the game, of my disability and of my opponents.

    Reflection

    I have a great team behind me and I know I can put these weeks to the back of my mind and move on. They don’t define me as a tennis player and I will always keep fighting and working hard to create new opportunities for myself.

    The US Open was a fantastic event to be part of. The USTA did a great job at increasing exposure of wheelchair tennis and of individual players. Several matches were scheduled on Arthur Ashe, Louis Armstrong and other show courts with international TV coverage and live streaming.
    They also produced a fantastic series of videos in partnership with Deloitt. You can check out the feature about me including why you should watch wheelchair tennis here – https://youtu.be/jmwmzgNkVBM
    Lucy x

  2. US Open – Our Five Historic Highlights

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    Flushing Meadows is known for raucous crowds and crazy late-night schedules. There have been some wonderful highlights at the US Open over the years. We’ve picked out just five of our favourites.

    1/ ASHE MAKES HISTORY – 1968

    Arthur Ashe became the first African American man to win a Grand Slam. At the start of the Open era and before tie-breakers, he defeated a Dutchman called Tom Okker in a five-set thriller. The opening set was a feat of endurance in itself. In the end it all boiled down to who wanted the title more. Ashe’s will-power prevailed and he triumphed 14-12, 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

    Ashe achieved instant hero status within the American civil rights movement. He never won the US Open again, yet his name will be remembered at the tournament forever.

    (In 1997 Arthur Ashe Stadium became the main stage at the US Open, four years after the tennis star sadly passed away.)

    2/ MARATHON MAN MCENROE – 1980

    John McEnroe’s surge to glory involved two of the most memorable matches the US Open has ever seen. First he defeated one arch-rival, Jimmy Connors, despite being “bagled” in the third set. Supermac hit back to win  6-4, 5-7, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6. Somehow he still had the energy to take revenge on the man who had edged him in a Wimbledon classic earlier that summer – the brilliant Bjorn Borg.

    Despite the Swede’s dramatic comeback in the final, McEnroe won the title 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-7 (5), 5-7, 6-4 to complete his marvellous marathon

    3/  NAVRATILOVA STUNS GRAF – 1991

    Steffi Graf had won their previous four meetings and it looked as though time had finally caught up with the magnificent Martina Navratilova. Then we were treated to their classic semi-final, an enthralling battle of wills.

    Navratilova emerged triumphant 7-6 (7-2), 6-7, (8-6), 6-4. It was her reward for relentless attacking and her refusal to crack, just when it appeared she might choke in the third set.

    (Monica Seles defeated a jaded Navratilova 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 in the final to claim her first US Open. Yet it was the semi-final that lingered longest in the memory.)

    4/ SAMPRAS AND AGASSI EARN STANDING OVATION – 2001

    Just before 9/11 changed New York forever, we were treated to one of the city’s very finest sporting moments. Even before this scintillating quarter-final was over, the 23, 033 crowd rose to give Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi a spontaneous standing ovation, a display of love and appreciation that almost reduced Sampras to tears.

    ‘That was the first time I was ever affected by a crowd to the point where it got me out of a match mentally,’ Sampras later confessed.

    “Pistol Pete” quickly refocused to close out an epic 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5). Agassi wasn’t broken all match – and still lost!

    Were it not for the tie-breakers, they would prbably still have been slugging it out the following morning.

    5/ HENIN EDGES CAPRIATI IN SPORTING WAR – 2003.

    Justine Henin-Hardenne, as she was known back then, didn’t just face Jennifer Capriati in their semi-final. The whole of America was backing the home favourite. Capriati was desperate not to disappoint. But the plucky Belgian refused to be beaten, despite being two points from defeat several times. The match turned into one of the most memorable clashes of all time in any sport, not just tennis. Inspired by the memory of her late mother, Henin finally managed to bludgeon Capriati into  submission 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4)… but at what price?

    The winner left the arena with a drip attached to her arm, totally exhausted and dehydrated.

    ‘I’m so tired but I know my mother is fully aware of what I’m doing,’ she said. Incredibly, just twenty hours later, Justine somehow summoned the strength to defeat arch-rival Kim Clijsters in the final.

    So those are our five most memorable US Open highlights. You’ll have your own, of course. And doubtless we’ll have a few more to savour in the next fortnight and then cherish forever.

    Bring it on!

  3. Grand Slam Tournaments: The Run Down

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    Grand Slam History: Wonderful Wimbledon Aces Them All

    All the Grand Slams have their history – but nowhere has quite as much as Wimbledon. You can feel it when you walk in. That magic took many years to create. You can’t feel it anywhere else, for all the qualities and diversity of the world’s other venues.
    Who would have thought, when the newly-named All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club held its inaugural Wimbledon Championship in 1877, that it would be the start of such an incredible journey?

    Spencer Gore was the first winner, though Britain’s William Renshaw was the first 19th-Century tennis star, with his seven Wimbledon wins in the 1880s.

    ball and racquet

    Pete Sampras and Roger Federer repeated the feat in the Open era and their task was somewhat harder. Once he became champion, all Renshaw had to do was to turn up for the next final to see off his latest challenger. How times have changed!

    The “Other” Opens

    It might surprise some to know that the USA started its own national championships as early as 1881, at the Newport Casino, Rhode Island.
    The French weren’t far behind in setting up their own national tournament in 1891. And the dawn of the 20th century saw one of their greatest stars – Max Decugis – dominate the scene. Between 1903 and 1914 he won the French title eight times and might have continued his amazing run were it not for the outbreak of the First World War.
    By then the Australians were up and running too, their first tournament having taken place in 1905.

    The Tournaments Find Their Home Grounds

    So which was the first championships to move to its current home? Wimbledon of course, in 1922. The French followed six years later when Roland Garros was established. The US Open didn’t move to Flushing Meadows until 1978, while the Aussie Open only found its current home in 1988.
    But the French can boast the first true superstar of the game – Suzanne Lenglen. The world marveled at her grace and talent. She took six top titles in France or Belgium and six more at Wimbledon to capture the hearts of just about every sports fan around.
    Then the Brits came up with a superstar of their own. Fred Perry won Wimbledon three times in the 1930s. As we all know, it took until last year for a Brit to win it again. But Perry did something Andy Murray can still only dream about. He became the first player to win the French, Australian and US titles too, all in that same decade.
    Amazingly, an American called Maureen Connolly Baker achieved the same feat while she was still a teenager, between 1951 and 1953.
    Each country or tournament has its giants. Home-grown Roy Emerson won the Australian six times in the 1960s, while in the Open era Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic managed such glory four times Down Under.

    The Tennis Giants

    Wimbledon’s true giants of the Open era haven’t been British. Pete Sampras has won it seven times, along with Federer. Martina Navratilova won Wimbledon an extraordinary nine times. Each champion has been hailed by an adoring British public, which became very used to putting nationality aside during the many years when a Brit couldn’t quite cut it.
    US champions William Larned, Richard Sears and Bill Tilden may not be mentioned very often these days; but they took seven singles titles apiece on that side of the Atlantic. Jimmy Connors, Sampras and Federer managed five in the Open era.
    It was in 1968 that professionals were finally allowed to join amateurs and do battle at the “Majors.” That’s when the Grand Slam era really began. Few who were already alive will ever forget Arthur Ashe taking the US title and striking a fresh blow for racial equality.
    The increased intensity of competition can’t diminish the achievements of someone like Margaret Court, whose career saw out the old and welcomed in the new. She won 24 Slams including eleven Australian, five French, three Wimbledon and five US Open titles. Yet perhaps Steffi Graf’s 22 titles, all won in the Open era, are even more admirable, given the new physical demands of the game.
    And Rafael Nadal’s eight Roland Garros titles between 2005 and 2013 had everyone shaking their heads in awe, and wondering how many more he could win.
    We know how wonderful the modern era is. We know we are currently watching giants who can be compared favourably against champions of any era. Wimbledon has welcomed these giants down the years, and been enriched by their magnificence. That’s what makes Wimbledon so very special.

    You step back in time when you walk through those gates, you can almost touch the all-time greats; yet you are always invited to embrace the present and future too.     

    The new Number One Court arrived in 1997, the retractable roof on Centre Court is even more recent and spectacular. Beautiful modern architecture somehow blends perfectly with the traditional feel to the venue. How has Wimbledon moved so stylishly with the times? Either there are some very special people behind the scenes, or it’s magic!
    The other Grand Slam venues are great in their own way, of course. But history tells us Wimbledon is the home of competitive tennis. Always was, always will be. In fact we don’t need to be told, because we can feel it.
    Want to be part of history at the next Wimbledon? Want to taste that unique atmosphere? Just click on the following link to buy your tickets today.