US Open Men Legends

US Open has seen men legends like Richard D. Sears, William Larned, Bill Tilden, Pete Sampras, Patrick Rafter, Stephen Edbarg, and Roger Federer. Here is brief account of US Open great men players.

Richard D. Sears
Richard D. Sears is the only player to remain unbeaten in the U.S. Championships. He won first of seven titles in 1881 while he was still a student. Tale of US Championships would be incomplete without Sears.

Bill Tilden
Bill Tilden was easily the greatest player of his time, exercising dominance over his contemporaries. From 1920 to 1926, he dominated the game as has no man before or since. During his time, he won seven US Open titles. His last major title, the Wimbledon singles of 1930, brough him a total of then grand slams.

William Larned
William Larned is one of the Big Three of the US Open, having won the title seven times. He was the singles champion of 1901, 1902, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910 and 1911. He was the singles finalist of 1900 and 1903. Larned was inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1956.

Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras won fourteen Grand Slams during his illustrious career, including five US Open singles. He was born on August 12, 1971 in Washington DC. Sampras was the world No. 1 for a record 286 weeks, including a streak of 102 weeks between April 15, 1996 and March 30, 1998. He held the year-end No. 1 ranking a record six consecutive years (1993-98). Sampras is the all-time leader in total career prize money, earning more than 43 million US dollars.

Patrick Rafter
Patrick Rafter captured US Open Singles title for the first time in 1997. He was born on December 28, 1972 in Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. He successfully defended his US Open title in 1998, becoming the first and only Australian man in the Open era to win back-to-back US Open Championships.

Stephen Edbarg
During his career, Stephen Edbarg won six grand slam titles, including two US Open singles. He was born on January 19, 1966 at Vastervik, Sweden. Edbarg was No. 1 for a total of 72 (non-consecutive) weeks, and finished the 1990 and 1991 seasons as the No. 1 player in the world. Edberg was ranked in the year-end Top 10 for ten consecutive years (1985-1994).

Jimmy Connors
Jimmy Connors was a champion in his own league. Beginning in 1974, Connors played in five successive U.S. finals, the first player to do so since Bill Tilden. He also won the US Open five times. Connors is the epitome of longevity and self-motivation. This lefty player with a two-fisted backhand pounded the opponents with his baseline game.

Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl was World No. 1 for 270 weeks, including 157 straight from September 9, 1985 through September 12, 1988. Born in Czechoslovakia in 1960, he adopted American citizenship in 1992. Lendl was the US Open champion for three times.

Roger Federer
Roger Federer has won US Open singles title for four consecutive times. Born in Switzerland in August 8, 1981, Federer has achieved great heights in the world of tennis. His success has prompted a number of tennis critics and players to consider him among the all-time greats.