Great Tennis players who could not win a single US Open title
With the final Grand Slam of the year, the United States Open just around the corner, let us have a look at some of the greatest tennis players who never managed to hold the title at one of the hardest competitions in the game of tennis.
1. Bjorn Borg
One of the greatest ever tennis players, Bjorn Borg made his way into the final of the United States Open championship on a total of four occasions. However, he was knocked down by the American tennis ace, Jimmy Connors back in 1976 as well as 1978, and later on by John McEnroe in 1980 as well as 1981.
Bjorn was thrashed out by Jimmy Connors on grass court back in 1976 where as all other defeats came on the hard ones.
According to some unofficial sources, Bjorn was not very much fond of playing on the hard surfaces at the Flushing Meadows in the city of New York.
2. Jim Courier
Jim Courier has won a total of four major trophies in his professional life and contested in all the four major finals from 1991 to 1993. Jim’s favourite court was perhaps the hard one however he grabbed two trophies at the clay court French Open tournament and two at the hard court Australian Open championship. He knocked down Edberg at the Australian Open final in a total of four sets on both occasions back in 1992 as well as 1993.
Courier was thrashed down by Edberg in the 1991 United States Open final as Edberg performed at his very best that day. In 1991 as well as in 1995, he was defeated by Pete Sampras in the semi final round of the US Open competition. Although, there was nothing wrong with Jim’s game as far as the hard surfaces were concerned, the only thing he lacked was enough foot movement that is required on the hard court.
3. Jennifer Capriati
Winning a title at the United States Open championship, always remained a dream for the greatest tennis ace, Jennifer Capriati as she never managed to surpass the semi final round of the tournament throughout her career. However, those semi final runs were highly unforgettable.
Jennifer was knocked down in a phenomenal semi final battle by Monica Seles back in 1991 in a total of three sets. Although Capriati served for the clash on two occasions but still lost. After a long break of ten years, Capriati made a return to the world of tennis in a strong fashion back in 2001 and reached the semi final round of the US Open once again. This time, Jennifer was knocked down by the American tennis ace, Venus Williams in a nail biting clash.
In 2003, she was beaten by Justine Henin in yet another thrilling semi final battle at the Flushing Meadows. The following season, Jennifer once again lost to Elena Dementieva in a three setter clash. This defeat was one of the most disappointing ones for Jennifer as she lost against Elena at a stage when she was not playing at her very best but still managed a victory in the end.
In spite of the fact that Jennifer Capriati did not manage to win a single hard court Grand Slam United States Open title all through her career, however her semi final clashes will still be remembered forever, not only because of the fact that they exhibited some quality tennis but also because they provided the world with some action packed excitement in the city of New York.
Tags: