Day 13 of Left Open, Club Leftist Tennis’ daily leftist coverage of the 2022 US Open.
By Kevin Craft
Variety may be the spice of life, but uniformity is the norm in men’s tennis. Or at least it has been for nearly two decades. If you follow the sport, you’ve probably heard some variation of this statistic: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer have won 63 of the last 76 Grand Slam titles. Turn that threesome into a fivesome with the addition of Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, and the first number swells to 69. Never before has such a small group of players held a near monopoly on tennis’s most coveted trophies—for such an extended period of time.
Because monopolies are a natural foe of the working class, this leftist tennis blog does not share the capitalist media’s sometimes breathless enthusiasm for the unrelenting dominance of the “Big Three and Company.” And while mounting evidence suggests that a regime change is imminent, we can already give thanks for the one slam that’s become a thorn in the side the reigning hegemony in men’s tennis: the US Open.
Long considered the most egalitarian of the slams because of the rowdy crowds who flock to Flushing Meadows from all of New York’s boroughs and the city’s many walks of life, the US Open has firmly established itself as the least predictable of the majors. Since 2008, four different players have won their first and only Grand Slam title there. (That’s four more one-time Grand Slam champs than the Australian Open, the French Open, and Wimbledon produced during the same period.)
We can trace the formation of this island of welcome turbulence back to Juan Martin del Potro. In 2009, the gentle Argentinian giant sent shockwaves of surprise through the tennis world by upsetting five-time defending champion Federer in a five set classic. The ferocity of Del Potro’s forehand was exceeded only by the lovable quality that trailed him wherever he went; seldom has there been a player as easy to root for as the man called Delpo. There’s an alternate reality where injuries never curtailed his immense talents, and Del Potro’s run in ’09 is remembered as a coming-out party rather than his one-shining moment. But regardless of how many potential big titles Del Potro lost to a bum wrist and other assorted maladies, we’ll always cherish the day when his unrelenting power stymied Federer’s grace. His win reminded the masses that no matter how hard the ruling class tries to keep them underfoot, it is possible to rise up and claim the spotlight.
Five years later, Marin Cilic followed in Delpo’s footsteps. When the draw for the 2014 US Open came out, the smart money foresaw a final between top seeds Djokovic and Federer. Cilic entered the tournament as the 14th seed, and very few people, if anyone, gave him a shot to win the whole shebang. But over the course of a fortnight, Cilic humbled opponents with a powerful display of serve-plus-one tennis. His demolition of Federer in the semis was downright awkward for diehard FedFans, and he consolidated that performance by dispatching Kei Nishikori—who had upset Djokovic in the other semifinal match—on Sunday at Arthur Ashe stadium. In the years since, the Croatian player has showed his mettle by making the finals at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. But the trophy he collected at the US Open is still the only Grand Slam championship on his mantle.
After Cilic’s victory, the trend of unpredictability at the Open went on hold for a few seasons until Dominic Thiem revived it in 2020. The Austrian had come tantalizingly close to winning the Australian Open earlier that season, but Arthur Ashe was the venue where he finally capitalized on his abundant talent. His victory precipitated a next-gen trend; the following year, Daniil Medvedev denied Djokovic the calendar year Grand Slam that seemed like a given. Medvedev commemorated the win with a shoutout to his fellow FIFA gamers. And they say tennis is a sport for the toffs.
So what is it about the US Open that has inspired so many players with such a variety of styles and personalities to reach new career heights? Is it simply a coincidence that America’s marquee tennis tournament is the only slam that has produced a string of unexpected men’s champions during an era of otherwise dull predictability? Or is there something about the material conditions at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center that promotes a more even distribution of wealth? Tennis journalists and pundits love to talk about the depth of the talent pool on the men’s tour. The US Open is the only Grand Slam that consistently offers up proof that it is, in fact, possible for players not named Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer to occupy the winner’s circle.
Whatever the reason, leftist tennis fans across the globe can rejoice and embrace the US Open as their own. It’s not a perfect event. Its signature cocktail is gross. Its tickets are grossly overpriced. But despite these flaws, the US Open is the one major where it’s not hyperbole to say that on the men’s side there are a handful of players, rather than a select troika, with a legit shot at victory: Case in point, the trend continues: tomorrow the 2022 US Open will mint another first-time Grand Slam champion.
Kevin Craft played youth tennis for two years during which he won a single match, in doubles.