As the crowds flocked back to Flushing Meadows, the talk of the tennis circuit ahead of the 2021 US Open revolved around a few notable absentees. For the first time since way back in 1997, neither Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Serena Williams, nor Venus Williams would be present in the singles draw of a major. Novak Djokovic almost seemed like the relic of a bygone era, even as the reigning world number one sought to achieve the scarcely precedented feat of a calendar Grand Slam.
In truth however the changing of the guard has already happened. Injuries as well as pandemic restrictions have changed the face of the tour over the past eighteen months, with Ash Barty and Naomi Osaka leading a new pack of female challengers, while Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Matteo Berrettini, and Stefanos Tsitsipas are now more likely than Nadal or Federer to find themselves in the latter stages of a men’s draw.
The 2021 US Open accelerated the trend for the shiny and new. The most remarkable two weeks in the history of modern tennis heralded fresh faces on both sides of the draw. Five set epics, topsy-turvy clashes, and more than a slither of controversy provided the backdrop as fans inside the Billie Jean King Tennis Center celebrated a glut of sporting upsets. From start to finish, as the concession stands whirred into action and the smells of popcorn and hot dogs scented the air, rambunctious crowds and intrepid youngsters brought a carnival atmosphere to New York.
Still there was life in the old dog yet. And none seemed gruffer or mangier than Andy Murray, who emerged ready for a scrap in the first round out on Arthur Ashe Stadium. As the obstinate Scot continues to work his way back valiantly from two bouts of hip surgery, his opponent in the first round seemed like a stern test in the form of the third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. But it was Murray who proved the quicker man out of the starting blocks, as he raced away to take the first set.
Murray, now 34 years old, broke his duck at the majors with victory at the US Open back in 2012. The cherubic 23-year-old Tsitsipas on the other hand still awaits his first major, having come precariously close at the French Open in June. With Murray still lacking for match practice and Tsitsipas enjoying his highest ranking to date, the Greek trailblazer edged the second set tie-break, but everything was to play for when Murray found another foothold in the third set.
The humid conditions had already forced both players off court. Dripping with sweat, their underwear showing through sodden shorts, Murray loudly bemoaned his lack of additional footwear. Now at two sets apiece, Tsitsipas once more retreated backstage for a toilet break. And as his opponent conducted his business away from the prying eyes of the public, Murray turned his attention to the umpire and any other official within earshot, berating them over the length of time Tsitsipas was taking on the commode.
After more than seven minutes, the Greek returned to face a braying crowd and the bloodshot eyes of his opponent. The tide of the match had turned, with Tsitsipas now clearly possessing the upper hand, but though he prevailed in the fifth set he had lost the fans, with Murray accusing the young challenger of cheating. Between broadsides from Murray and Zverev, the toilet saga refused to flush, with Twitter posts, internet memes, and scrupulous crowds turning comfort breaks into one of the long-running stories of the tournament.
In the meantime some of the big hitters of times past suffered early exits, with John Isner and the 2014 champion Marin Čilić going out in the first round. Pablo Carreño Busta, a bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, and Alex de Minaur, Lorenzo Sonego, and Karen Khachanov also took the briefest of bites out of the Big Apple. But Djokovic progressed with relative ease in four sets against the Danish qualifier Holger Rune, who seemed sorely in need of a bathroom break as he waddled about the court for the best part of two sets, suffering from cramp.
Controversy in the men’s draw was offset by the sheer quality of the tennis among women. The first round of the draw boasted several clashes that would have graced the second week of the tournament, as Simona Halep defeated Camila Giorgi in two hard-fought sets. Possessing similar styles, as two of the fastest players on tour with the capacity to really muscle the ball from the back of the court, in the end Halep managed to disrupt the rhythm of the Italian to prevail 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). If anything the victory for the former world number one was an upset, as Halep entered the tournament with a thigh strain while Giorgi won big in Montreal at the Canadian Open.
Sloane Stephens ousted Madison Keys in the battle of home favourites and former US Open finalists, and there were other intriguing matchups as Ash Barty opened her tournament against the veteran Vera Zvonareva, Angelique Kerber defeated the capable young Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska, and Garbiñe Muguruza saw off the always dangerous Donna Vekić. The first round of the tournament also brought one final match from Carla Suárez Navarro, who returned to the tour free from cancer after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma late last year.
When Arthur Ashe Stadium received its retractable roof in 2016, the design had not accounted for the noise of the spectators, which reverberated through the rafters and muffled the calls of umpires and linespeople down on court. The United States Tennis Association had to bring in a team of sound engineers to boost the acoustics. So when Louis Armstrong added a roof of its own in 2018, as part of a $200 million reconstruction project, the new stadium boasted improved sound and a world’s first in the form of natural ventilation even when the retractable roof needed to be closed.
More difficult to anticipate than a noisy crowd, by the middle of the week the US Open was forced to reckon with Hurricane Ida, which had wreaked havoc in Louisiana before steadily making its way up the East Coast. During the third night session, the match between Diego Schwartzman and Kevin Anderson on Louis Armstrong Stadium was halted twice as torrential rain whipped in through the space between the concourse and retractable covering, drenching spectators and making for perilous conditions on court. Schwartzman and Anderson finally finished their match over on Arthur Ashe.
By nightfall New York was in the grip of a tornado warning. In the meantime however Sloane Stephens had swept past Coco Gauff, and there were comfortable victories for Simona Halep and Aryna Sabalenka, as the second seed progressed to the third round despite suffering a nasty fall. Ash Barty held off the challenge of the young Danish contender Clara Tauson, and in a prelude of things to come, Karolína Plíšková snatched victory from Amanda Anisimova at the end of a long third-set tie-break as the resurgent American roused the crowd before falling narrowly short.
By the end of the first week, some of the breakthrough stories of the 2021 US Open were already beginning to form. Anisimova had set the tone against Plíšková in the earlier night session, and as the cloak of evening fell on Friday, the young Canadian Leylah Fernandez went one better by fighting past the reigning champion Naomi Osaka in three sets. Younger still, Emma Raducanu backed up her promising performance at Wimbledon by sailing through to the fourth round after victories versus Stefanie Vögele, Zhang Shuai, and the in-form Sara Sorribes Tormo. And Stefanos Tsitsipas, still reeling from the bathroom fiasco, succumbed to Carlos Alcaraz in five thrilling sets.
The teens were taking over, as the air of change around tennis erupted with the shock of the new. The 18-year-old Alcaraz was establishing himself as the face of the next generation, making the likes of Zverev, Tsitsipas, and Medvedev seem familiar and old-school. In July, the Spaniard became the youngest player in thirteen years to win an ATP Tour title, earning inevitable comparisons to Rafa Nadal even as he claims to model his aggressive style after the Swiss swordplay of Roger Federer.
Already accustomed to the grind of the tour, Fernandez won her first WTA Title in March at the Monterrey Open. But as she celebrated her 19th birthday during the course of the US Open, the precocious Quebecer was still enjoying her best ever performance at a major. Meanwhile the 18-year-old Raducanu had been forced to battle her way through the qualifiers in only her second appearance at a Grand Slam.
Elsewhere the battles continued among the established stars of the women’s game. In the third round, Angelique Kerber beat Sloane Stephens and Garbiñe Muguruza toppled Victoria Azarenka in three sets. Elise Mertens put paid to the latest bid by Ons Jabeur, even as the Tunisian continues her steady climb up the rankings. And with Naomi Osaka still struggling for form, perhaps the shock of the round came from her compatriot Shelby Rogers, who edged past the world number one Ash Barty to become the last American standing in the women’s draw.
The men were faring better on home soil. Frances Tiafoe stormed past the fifth seed Andrey Rublev in the early hours of Saturday morning, letting the forehand winners fly in the decisive fifth set. The canny wildcard Jenson Brooksby saw off Aslan Karatsev. Reilly Opelka scored victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili. And as the men continued to rack up the five-setters, Jannik Sinner squeezed past Gaël Monfils, while Félix Auger-Aliassime broke Roberto Bautista Agut, as the athletic Canadian threatened another major breakthrough for Quebec.
Defeats for Rublev and Denis Shapovalov added to the dearth of top seeds, with Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Carreño Busta, and Hubert Hurkacz among the players to fall in the first week. Instead a couple of youngsters and a handful of qualifiers were rounding out the men’s draw. The best of them proved to be the swinging South African Lloyd Harris, who eased past Opelka, the Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp, who stretched past Diego Schwartzman in five sets, and Carlos Alcaraz, as the Spaniard beat the German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk to become the youngest man to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open since the Open Era began back in 1968.
But in the quarter-finals, a sense of order was restored as Alexander Zverev brushed past Harris and Daniil Medvedev bested Van de Zandschulp in four sets. Alcaraz, who had relied on a second wind to get past Tsitsipas and Gojowczyk, was forced to retire against Félix Auger-Aliassime owing to a right adductor injury. And despite dropping an early set for the fourth time in five matches, Novak Djokovic repeated his feat from the Wimbledon final, easing past the sixth seed Matteo Berrettini in four sets.
Not so in the women’s game, where the sense of disruption prevailed as the big names continued to fall. Not content with ousting Osaka, in the fourth round Leylah Fernandez upset another contemporary icon. After taking the second set at the end of a nip-and-tuck tie-break, the Canadian ran away from the thrice major winner Angelique Kerber. And Emma Raducanu rolled past Shelby Rogers, putting an end to American hopes in the draw.
After working her way into the tournament through close victories over Giorgi and Elena Rybakina, the movement and consistency of Elina Svitolina proved too much for Simona Halep in the fourth round. Two more former Grand Slam champions fell by the wayside, as Belinda Bencic shattered Iga Świątek and Maria Sakkari battled past Bianca Andreescu. And the sense of controversy switched briefly to women’s tennis, as Garbiñe Muguruza called Barbora Krejčíková ‘unprofessional’ for the timing of a medical break which seemed to shift momentum away from the Spaniard in the second set.
By now Fernandez was battle-tested, so it was no surprise when her quarter-final match with Elina Svitolina went deep into the third set. And though the tie-break seemed like a toss-up, it was the Canadian who kept her wits to keep Svitolina waiting for Grand Slam success. Raducanu on the other hand faced her first seeded player in the form of Belinda Bencic, still on a high after returning from the Tokyo Olympics with solo gold. But the young Brit recovered from an early setback to sweep through in two sets. Maria Sakkari outfought the fourth seed Karolína Plíšková, and Arya Sabalenka triumphed as the demure Krejčíková seemed totally out of sorts.
By the second week of the tournament, the toilet talk had begun to wane while discussions around vaccine mandates were put on a gentle backburner. For the time being, torrential weather felt like a thing of the past. But after the washout of last autumn, when the coronavirus pandemic left a sea of empty seats and closed-off stadiums, the crowds had returned to the Billie Jean King Tennis Center with their own sense of punctiliousness as well as a pent-up roar.
They had railed against the toilet antics of Tsitsipas and any player who dared to linger too long at stool thereafter. And they had turned on Naomi Osaka when she lost her composure towards the end of the second set versus Fernandez. If there was ever any doubt, the call was for more tennis whatever the cost. They willed on Alcaraz when the youngster appeared to be out of gas, they rooted for Fernandez as an American surrogate, and they eyed Raducanu the new British sensation with an air of intrigue.
As the last Grand Slam of a long tennis season, the US Open tends to greeted with a mixture of anticipation and fatigue. Niggling injuries and early withdrawals are commonplace. Now in addition to the noise of the crowd, the fast courts were also playing their part in the flurry of upsets. One of the two tennis majors played on hard surfaces, the speed of the courts tends to wax and wane between the US Open and Australian Open. This year the US Open organisers seemed to have taken things up a notch.
The kick carried through to the serve, with more holds and more tie-breaks, especially as the five-setters continued to come thick and fast on the men’s side of the draw. In the first round, Kevin Anderson and Jiří Veselý played for 4 hours and 22 minutes with three tie-breaks, yet long rallies were scarce as the South African hit 49 aces, tying his career record. In the second round, even the below-par Tsitsipas scored 27 aces for a new career high. And Plíšková and Anisimova went the best part of two sets without registering a single break point, the Czech prevailing in large part thanks to her serve, with 24 aces a new US Open women’s record.
Now in the semi-final match between Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic, the leggy German leaned on his booming serve as he raced away with the first set. A final appearance last year at Flushing Meadows and victory over Djokovic at the Tokyo Olympics gave Zverev plenty of cause for optimism, but over five sets his major hopes once more fell agonisingly short.
An early break in the second set saw the world number one wrest control of the match. Zverev continued to battle, staving off one set point late in the third at the end of a mammoth 53-shot rally which would remain the longest point of the tournament. And he rebounded in the fourth set, boosting his aggression on serve to take the match into a decider.
But Djokovic, still renowned for his return, has cannily worked on the pace and accuracy of his own serve, which now rivals the best in tennis. Relying on the shot to get him out of a jam, racing to the net in a tactic which surprised onlookers throughout the tournament, the Serb stretched ahead in the fifth set and held on to win the match. Cheerleading for the younger generation, Djokovic had warm words for his opponent, but Zverev will continue to play with a question mark as allegations of domestic abuse resurfaced during the tournament.
If Daniil Medvedev remained the most likely challenger, first he had to deal with Félix Auger-Aliassime, with the young Canadian finding the right balance between consistency and power on route to his first Grand Slam semi-final. But despite testing the Russian’s will towards the end of the second set, the match proved a fairly one-sided affair as Medvedev swept to a comfortable victory.
Steady improvement faced the impetuousness of youth in the semi-finals of the women’s draw. Maria Sakkari reached her first major semi-final in June at the French Open, where she succumbed in three long sets to the unseeded Barbora Krejčíková despite holding one match point. Then at Wimbledon in the flush of July, Aryna Sabalenka reached her first Grand Slam semi-final but lost out in three sets to the resurgent Plíšková. Now veterans of the tour, both women hoped to go one better in New York.
In their way stood the teenagers Fernandez and Raducanu. And the first semi-final proved another close call, with Sabalenka showing real grit to pull herself back into the match after a disappointing end to the first set tie-break. Dominating with her forehand as she had in the early stages of the match, the Belarusian tied Fernandez at one set all. But in the crucial moments it was the younger athlete who kept her composure, as Fernandez prolonged rallies and drew on the crowd to earn a break in the decider, leaving Sabalenka to hack and slash her way off the court. Two double faults and a wayward forehand handed the Canadian the match.
Fernandez became the youngest woman to reach a Grand Slam final since Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon back in 2004. Mere moments later, Raducanu stepped out onto Arthur Ashe Stadium and proceeded to claim that title, effectively manhandling Maria Sakkari as she swept the match in two sets. After squandering seven break points in the early going, Sakkari struggled to put a dent in her opponent’s serve, with Raducanu maintaining a high winning percentage while swatting away the returns. Reflecting on her loss, Sakkari said ‘She plays fearless. She absolutely goes for it. She does the right thing actually. She has nothing to lose’.
Already the first qualifier to reach a semi-final in the history of the US Open, now Raducanu was the first qualifier ever to make the final of a Grand Slam. But her progression through the tournament had been so seamless that despite the three extra qualifying matches, Raducanu had still logged less time than Fernandez out on court. The Canadian had faced three-set matches against four consecutive top seeds on her course to the final. It was to be the first all-teenage major final since Serena Williams ushered in a new era of women’s tennis, beating Martina Hingis at the US Open in 1999.
Yet despite all of these assorted firsts, the international media scrum, celebrity fans, and a soaring sense of anticipation, the women’s final at the US Open proved more like business as usual for Raducanu, who silenced the New York crowd as she won through in two sets. Once more impressive on serve and proactive in the return game, she found winners at the right moments as Fernandez struggled to gain a foothold in the match.
The snapping cross-court winners which have already become a trademark helped her to the first set, then restored parity in the second following an early break by Fernandez. Raducanu pressed on into a 5-2 lead, only for her opponent to save two championship points. Then at 5-3, Fernandez won the opportunity to break back, at the end of a frantic rally which saw Raducanu scrape her knee as she scampered across court. A medical timeout was called to halt the bleeding, and while the Canadian complained at the net, Raducanu emerged unscathed to finally seal the match with an ace.
The final scoreline read 6-4, 6-3 as Emma Raducanu won the US Open women’s singles title without dropping a set. As she collapsed to the court then climbed up into the player’s box, Virginia Wade watched on from the stands as the last British woman to win a major some 44 years ago. Fernandez paid tribute to the city of New York which earlier that day had commemorated the twentieth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and Raducanu had warm words for her opponent before being whisked off on a long victory lap, which included congratulations from Simona Halep, who along with Li Na served as one of the young prospect’s idols.
While the women’s game celebrated youth and a flurry of firsts, Novak Djokovic was hoping to be the last man standing come the men’s final. As he sought to become the first man to achieve a calendar Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969, and took square aim at a record-setting 21st Grand Slam title, for the time being he could content himself with tying up another record, as he joined Roger Federer by reaching his 31st major final.
There were warning signs for Djokovic however, who from his third round match with Kei Nishikori had made a habit of dropping the first set. Against Nishikori, Brooksby, and Berrettini, the indomitable Serb had still managed to wrap things up in four sets, stretching to five in his semi-final match versus Zverev. But if Daniil Medvedev was able to build up a head of steam, the gangling Russian might prove harder to catch.
So it turned as Medvedev stormed into an early lead with an immediate break of service. Thumping down his own serve, the crafty second seed raced through the first set in just 36 minutes. And when he managed to stave off five break points at the start of the second set, Medvedev put a dampener on the usual comeback of his opponent. A dauntless backhand down the line and another big serve led to a smashed racket, another sign that Djokovic was struggling. Then in the very next game, as Djokovic continued to charge the net, a dinked backhand and a drifting volley gave the challenger his own break which soon thereafter became a two set advantage.
The third set progressed in similar fashion, with Medvedev securing an early break then adding more margin for error. At 5-2 he served for the match, only to clam up as two double faults and the raucous crowd helped Djokovic to his senses. The glimmer of hope for the three-time US Open champion and the possibility for more tennis led the crowd to get behind Djokovic like never before, and at the next change of ends he grew tearful.
Sometimes respected more than loved, a fearless champion who came of age amid the most vaunted rivalry in the history of tennis, this was a man who had been heckled earlier in the tournament even as he handled himself with unusual restraint. Last year, after the Adria Tour went awry, Djokovic arrived in New York under a cloud and courted more controversy when he was disqualified for accidentally hitting a ball at a line judge. There were no line judges at the US Open this year, as the tournament gave itself over to Hawk-Eye technology. But as he stood on the cusp of his 21st Grand Slam, grudging respect for Djokovic had given way to camaraderie and fondness.
This however was Daniil Medvedev’s moment. Two years ago at the US Open he played the pantomime villain to brilliant effect, winning over even the sternest of critics before succumbing to Rafa Nadal in his first major final. The Australian Open in February proved a cautionary tale, as Medvedev faced Djokovic in his second final at a Grand Slam, and lost uncharacteristically with barely a whimper. Now he stood up from his chair at 5-4 in the third set, and could glance over the court at the reddened eyes of his opponent. Showing his steel, Medvedev served out the match to claim his first Grand Slam title.
Medvedev had carved through his opponent in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. He celebrated by flopping to the ground like a dead fish, stiff-tongued with the eyeballs rolling in the back of his head, mimicking a popular celebration from the football game FIFA. In his victory speech, he said ‘Only legends will understand, but my celebration was L2 + Left’. Medvedev had caught the big one.
Djokovic meanwhile found some solace in defeat, telling the crowd that ‘even though I have not won the match, my heart is filled with joy and I’m the happiest man alive because you guys made me feel very special’. Djokovic appeared to have forged a lasting bond with the city of New York. In victory Medvedev called his vanquished opponent the greatest tennis player of all-time, a point Djokovic will no doubt be ready to prove when the Australian Open rolls back around in January.
