Medvedev, Federer, Safin and other US Open champions: ranking of the best tennis players
Alexander Nasonov August 24, 2023, 11:00 Moscow time
It brought together all the athletes who since the year 2000 have won the American Grand Slam tournament. Which should be higher?
At the end of August and beginning of September the US Open will be held in New York. As usual, the US Open will be the last Major of the season. Since 2000, 14 tennis players have won the tournament, including two Russians, Marat Safin and Daniil Medvedev. Roger Federer dominated the United States hard for five years. And you decide which of them is really the strongest of all. You can explain your choice in the comments.
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This ranking, like all others, is created by users of the “Championship”. Champions are distributed based on online user votes.
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Ranking: Best US Open Champions
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Roger Federer (Switzerland) – 2004-2008
In the mid-2000s, Federer had no equal in men’s tennis. Except Rafael Nadal regularly won Roland Garros. Well, Novak Djokovic recovered a bit later. The Swiss maestro won five US Open in a row and no finals were repeated during this period. In decisive matches, Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray suffered defeats.
Photo: Tim Clayton/Getty Images
Novak Djokovic (Serbia) — 2011, 2015, 2018
Djokovic “only” won the US Open three times. He highlights his first title in New York. In the famous semifinal against Roger Federer, the Serb scored a resounding victory, recovering two match points in the fifth set: 6:7 (7:9), 4:6, 6:3, 6:2. 7:5. And in the final match of the tournament, Novak defeated Rafael Nadal in four games, avenging the defeat a year ago by 6:2, 6:4, 6:7 (3:7), 6:1. In the 2015 final, Djokovic defeated Federer in four sets, and three years later, Juan Martín del Potro, without giving him a game in the decisive match.
Photo: Jon Buckle/Getty Images
Marat Safin (Russia) – 2000
The first Russian US Open title! And Safin’s first title on TBSH (of two). During the tournament, the 20-year-old Russian, ranked sixth, played five-setters twice. Marat had a particularly hard time in the third round, when he only squeezed Sebastien Grosjean in a tie-break. But Safin made it through the semifinals and the final without dropping a single set. First he beat the American Todd Martin 6:3, 7:6 (7:4), 7:6 (7:1), and in the decisive match he surprised the local public again by defeating the legendary Pete Sampras (4) – 6:4, 6:3, 6:3.
Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Daniil Medvedev (Russia) — 2021
The second and so far last Russian title at the US Open. Seeded second, Medvedev navigated the grid perfectly, dropping just one set in the entire tournament. In the quarterfinals, the Dutch qualifier Botik van de Zandshulp tried to prevail over the Russian (6:3, 6:0, 4:6, 7:5 in favor of Daniil). In the semifinals, Medvedev defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime (12), who eventually became his “client” (now in the personal matchup the score is 6-0 in favor of the Canadian), and in the decisive match he defeated the great and terrible Novak Djokovic (1) – 6:4, 6:4, 6:4. Immediately after the win, Daniil collapsed on court and performed the now-meme “dead fish”-style celebration.
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Photo: Cynthia Lum/Getty Images
Pete Sampras (United States) – 2002
In the ’90s, Sampras reigned supreme at the US Open, winning four trophies. And the 2002 tournament was a farewell for him. The American tennis player, who was ranked 17th, beat his eternal rival Andre Agassi (6) in the final 6:3, 6:4, 5:7, 6:4. This TBSH title was number 14 for Pete; he then he updated the record that belonged to him. And only later was he surpassed by Novak Djokovic (23), Rafael Nadal (22) and Roger Federer (20). Furthermore, that final with Agassi was the last match of Sampras’s career, although he officially announced his retirement from the sport in 2003. Sampras remains the only player in the Open Era to this day to have won the last Major in which he he competed.
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Rafael Nadal (Spain) – 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019
In the 10, Nadal showed that he was capable of demonstrating the cosmic level not only on the ground. Four US Open titles speak for themselves. Also, in the first two finals, the Spaniard beat Novak Djokovic, who many now tend to call the best tough player ever. In 2017, Rafael defeated South African sensation Kevin Anderson in the decider in three games, and two years later, in a dramatic five-setter, he held Daniil Medvedev to the title (7:5, 6:3, 5). :7, 4:6, 6:4.
Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) – 2009
In 2009, del Potro interrupted Federer’s incredible winning streak at the US Open: the Swiss had won five tournaments before and was on his way to a sixth title. However, in the final, the Argentine (6) obtained a resounding victory over the first seed: 3:6, 7:6 (7:5), 4:6, 7:6 (7:4), 6 : 2. That Juan Martín title continued to be the only one for him on TBSh. Although in 2018 he reached the final of the US Open, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
Photo: Chris Trotman/Getty Images
Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) – 2016
Third and last (at least for now) Wawrinka’s Major title. The peculiarity of this victory is that the Swiss, who had third place, left the match point in the third round. The match against the British Daniel Evans turned out to be unexpectedly difficult: 4:6, 6:3, 6:7 (6:8), 7:6 (10:8), 6:2 in favor of Stan. And in the final, Wawrinka delivered a real surprise by determinedly beating Novak Djokovic (1) 6:7 (1:7), 6:4, 7:5, 6:3.
Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Andy Murray (UK) – 2012
Murray went a long way to his first title on TBSh, having lost four finals before that. But at the 2012 US Open his efforts finally paid off. In the tournament final, Murray, the third seed, pulled off the toughest match with reigning champion Novak Djokovic. The match that lasted almost five hours ended with a score of 7:6 (12:10), 7:5, 2:6, 3:6, 6:2 in favor of Andy. The long-standing curse of British men in the Major Leagues has been lifted. The hiatus after Fred Perry’s victory at the US Open – 1936 was 76 years!
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Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) – 2022
Alcaraz, the reigning US Open champion, might not have been. In the quarterfinals, the third-seeded Spaniard was on the verge of defeat, but left the match point in the match with Yannick Sinner (11) 6:3, 6:7 (7:9), 6 :7 (0:7), 7:5:6:3. The semi-final with Francis Tiafoe (22) also turned out to be a five-setter, albeit with no match points saved. And in the decisive match, Carlos was stronger than Kasper Ruud (5) by 6:4, 2:6, 7:6 (7:1), 6:3. And set several achievements at once. Alcaraz, then 19, became the youngest TBS champion since Rafael Nadal, who won Roland Garros in 2005, the youngest US Open winner since Pete Sampras in 1990, and the youngest World No. the story since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001 year.
Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) – 2001
This Hewitt title has many parallels to Safin’s triumph in 2000. Like the Russian, the fourth-placed Australian was 20 years old. Like Marat, Lleyton did not escape the intense five sets during the tournament. In the quarterfinals he broke Andy Roddick’s resistance. In the last two matches, Hewitt, like Safin, did not give up a single game, defeating Evgeny Kafelnikov (7) and Pete Sampras (10); this is another intersection. This time the American lost 6:7 (4:7), 1:6, 1:6. Ultimately, as with Safin, this was the first of two TBS titles for Hewitt.
Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
Marin Cilic (Croatia) — 2014
One of the most unexpected winners of recent years. But here there is nothing to complain about. In the semifinals, Cilic, who was ranked 14th, stopped Roger Federer himself (2) and without losing the match 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. And in the decisive match he defeated the Japanese Kei Nishikori (10), another unexpected participant in the final. In the previous phase, Nishikori eliminated Novak Djokovic (1) from the fight, but only lost to Cilic 6:3, 6:3, 6:3 in favor of the Croatian.
Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Dominik Thiem (Austria) – 2020
Tim’s title, like Marin Cilic’s win in 2014, came as a surprise. Although not so big, because the Austrian was classified with second place. However, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were absent from the tournament, and Novak Djokovic received a disqualification after throwing the ball to the referee in the fourth round match. Tim in the semifinals in three sets overcame Daniil Medvedev (3) and in the last match of the tournament he won a resounding victory over Alexander Zverev (5) 2:6, 4:6, 6:4. 6:3, 7:6 (8:6). Dominic became the first player in the Open Era to go 0-2 in sets in a US Open final. He and the first tennis player since 2004 to do so in the final of a major (after Gastón Gaudio at Roland Garros).
Photo: A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images
Andy Roddick (United States) – 2003
That Roddick title remained the only one for him on TBS – who was not lucky enough to be born in the Roger Federer era! The then 21-year-old American, seeded fourth, had the toughest in the semi-finals with David Nalbandian (13). Andy won a super-volitional victory, winning match points in the third set: 6:7 (4:7), 3:6, 7:6 (9:7), 6:1, 6:3. And in the decisive match he beat Juan Carlos Ferrero (4) in three matches: 6: 3, 7: 6 (7: 2), 6: 3.
