US Open 2011 History for September 4th

Written by: Staff on 4th September 2011

US Open 2011 History for September 4th

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(COurtesy of USTA)

In 2007, newcomers John Isner and Donald Young were the talk of Week 1 at the US Open, each springing upsets to advance to the third round. Since that time their careers have taken different paths, with Isner becoming a fixture as one of the top U.S. players in the world and Young struggling through a series of ups and downs. Both are back in action—and back in the third round—today, with Isner taking on comeback kid Alex Bogomolov Jr. in a matchup of the No. 3 and No. 4 Americans in the world rankings, and Young looking to upset his second straight seed when he faces No. 24 Juan Ignacio Chela. Also in action today is longtime U.S. stalwart Andy Roddick, who will take on wild card Julien Benneteau with an eye on returning to the US Open’s round of 16 for the first time since 2008.

ON THIS DAY IN US OPEN HISTORY – September 4

1959 – Sixteen-year-old Arthur Ashe makes his debut at the U.S. Championships and loses to 21-year-old Rod Laver, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2, in the first round.

1983 – Sixteen-year-old amateur Aaron Krickstein comes back from two sets down to upset 29-year-old and 15th-seeded Vitas Gerulaitis, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, in the third round. Krickstein, the reigning USTA National Boys’ 18s champion, loses in the round of 16 to Yannick Noah.

1992 – In his record 115th and final US Open singles match, Jimmy Connors is defeated by Ivan Lendl, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-0, in a second round night match.

1993 – Mats Wilander finally defeats Mikael Pernfors, 7-6(3), 3-6, 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-4, in a four-hour, oneminute match that concludes at 2:26 a.m.—the latest-ever conclusion of a US Open match. In the post-match press conference, when asked if he had ever played this late in the evening, Wilander deadpanned, “Played what?”

1999 – In a battle of teenagers, 17-year-old Serena Williams, the eventual champion, defeats 16-year-old Kim Clijsters, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, in a dramatic third round match in Louis Armstrong Stadium.

2003 – The US Open’s first “four-day” match is completed as Francesca Schiavone of Italy completes a 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-2 victory over Ai Sugiyama of Japan in the round of 16. The match began on Monday, Sept. 1, in Louis Armstrong Stadium and finally concluded on Court 10 after the two players went on and off the courts seven times during four days of rain at the USTA National Tennis Center.

2005 – The 14th meeting between sisters Venus and Serena Williams occurs in the fourth round (the earliest the two have met since their first pro encounter in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open). It is their third meeting at the US Open and a rematch of the 2001 and 2002 finals, which they split. Venus wins the match, 7-6(5), 6-2, to level the head-to-head series at seven matches apiece.

2006 – The US Open establishes a single-day attendance record when 60,506 fans pass through the turnstiles on Labor Day. It is the first time attendance tops 60,000 in a single day in US Open history.

2007 – David Ferrer wraps up his four-set upset of No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal at 1:51 a.m. to advance to the quarterfinals. The match becomes the third-latest finish in recorded US Open history—just 35 minutes shy of the record, held by Mats Wilander and Mikael Pernfors (2:26 a.m.).

2008 – Rafael Nadal finally closes out Mardy Fish at 2:11 a.m. for the third-latest finish in US Open history. Nadal and Fish go on the court at 11:30 p.m. on September 3, following a classic quarterfinal battle between sisters Venus and Serena Williams. Serena turns away 10 set points in the match and rallies from down 6-3 in the second-set tie-break to win, 7-6(6), 7-6(7).