Building on his Olympic gold medal success, Andy Murray beat Novak Djokovic in a classic match to claim his first Grand Slam title in New York, ending a 76-year wait for a British champion.
With the tournament forced to extend to a third Monday for a fifth consecutive year as a result of bad weather during the second week, the final began in testing conditions with heavy winds affecting the play of both men. With both players clearly nervous in the early stages of the first set, prospects looked slim for a memorable match. But by the end of the set, which included a 54-shot rally and lasted 90 minutes, capped by a tense 22-point tie break ending in Murray’s favour, the atmosphere was electric, with both players playing incredible tennis, though not always at the same time.
A second set for Murray brought Djokovic charging back in characteristic style, asserting his authority in the rallies and exploiting a number of errors from the Scot. The defending champion looked to be completely in charge by the time he had comfortably levelled at two sets all, but Murray then came storming back in the decider, breaking in the very first game before going on to establish a 3-0 lead. Unlike in the second set, where he built a 4-0 lead before Djokovic won five of the next six games, the advantage was sufficient, and by the time Andy served for the match at 5-3, his friend and rival was battling cramp in his legs and looking distracted. As a forehand from Djokovic sailed over the baseline, tennis’ newest Grand Slam winner held his head in hands, while the stadium erupted in the caudron of celebrations.
Murray expressed his delight at finally having won a Grand Slam, achieved like his coach Ivan Lendl before him, in a fifth final. “I’m so relieved to finally have got through. Now I can put this behind me and hopefully go on to win more,” he said.
The consequences for tennis are exciting; Murray rises to #3 ahead of the absent Rafael Nadal. For the first time since 2003, the four Grand Slams are held by different men, all of whom are different European countries. With the Olympic title also his, Murray holds a legitimate claim to being the Player of the Year. And for Britain, his victory was the perfect prescription for a nation eager for more success following the joys of unprecedented sporting achievements during the Olympic summer.
A day earlier, Serena Williams had extended her unforgettable golden summer by winning the women’s title for a fourth time in her career. The home favourite overcame a spirited battle from world #1 Victoria Azarenka to win the first three-set women’s final since 1995. The Belarusian fought back in determined style to level the match after being brushed aside in a 20-minute first set, and looked set to add to her Australian Open title from earlier this year as she stretched to a 5-3 lead in the final set. Never more dangerous than when behind, Serena’s legendary fighting qualities once again kicked in and the American reeled off the last four games to capture her 15th Grand Slam singles title and improve her chances of ending the year as the world #1.
In the doubles event, Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci capped their own incredible year by winning their second Grand Slam title, and eighth tournament of the season to take the women’s crown. Earlier in the week Errani had beaten her partner in the singles quarterfinals, but there were no hard feelings as the Italian pair ousted Wimbledon runners up Andrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka (CZE) in straight sets in the final. By reaching the latter stages, the Roland Garros champions secured the top two spots in the doubles rankings, a position that they are likely to hold until the end of the season.
The men’s doubles final was a rematch of this year’s Australian Open final, with brothers Bob & Mike Bryan reversing the result from Melbourne to earn a record-equalling 11th Grand Slam singles title, and fourth in New York. The second seeds rode out as comfortable winners over Leander Paes (IND) & Radek Stepanek (CZE) and, like the women’s champions, will claim the top spots in the world rankings after the tournament.
There were some particularly impressive performances in the junior events from some of the year’s most notable players. Felip Peliwo of Canada became the first boy to reach the finals of all four junior Slams in the same season since 1984. He ended his junior career in style by adding to his Wimbledon title with a marathon 6-2 2-6 7-5 win over Britain’s Liam Broady in the final.
The girls’ singles saw a surprise winner as American wild card Samantha Crawford blasted her way through the draw, beating five seeds on route to the title, including Anett Kontaveit (EST) in the final. Crawford was a revelation throughout the two weeks, having also won through the qualifying competition to advance to the main draw, where she was beaten by Laura Robson (GBR).
American pair Gabrielle Andrews & Taylor Townsend made up for their loss in last year’s girls’ doubles finals by beating European Junior Champion Petra Uberalova (SVK) and her partner Belinda Bencic (SUI) in straight sets. The win marks the third junior Grand Slam doubles title for junior #1 Townsend, who also won the Australian Open and reached the Roland Garros final earlier this year.
The boys’ doubles final saw Kyle Edmund of Great Britain and Frederico Silva of Portugal take the title with a win over Australian pair Nick Kyrgios & Jordan Thompson. Edmund & Silva faced each other in the 2010 European 16&U doubles final, and teamed up for the first time to score a first junior Slam win for either player.
The 2012 US Open will also always be remembered for the emotional farewells given to two former world #1s and previous champions of the tournament, Kim Clijsters and Andy Roddick. Clijsters had long made it known that the final Grand Slam of 2012 would be her last ever event, and took the rare step of entering singles, doubles and mixed to maximise her chances of going out with a win. Ultimately the Belgian suffered early losses in all three events, but declared herself satisfied with her decision to leave the sport once again, after a successful second career following the birth of her daughter that had netted another three Grand Slam titles and brought her back to the very top of the game.
By contrast Roddick announced mid-tournament that this would be his last event and put in a creditable performance, reigning in his emotions until the end of his fourth round defeat to 2010 champion Juan Martín del Potro. Having led American men’s tennis for so long, it was a fitting place to say goodbye.
2012 US Open Roll of Honour
Men’s Singles
(3) Andy Murray (GBR) d. (2) Novak Djokovic (SRB) 76(10) 75 26 36 63
Men’s Doubles
(1) Bryan/Bryan (USA) d. (5) Paes (IND)/Stepanek (CZE) 63 64
Women’s Singles
(4) Serena Williams (USA) d. (1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 62 26 75
Women’s Doubles
(2) Errani/Vinci (ITA) d. (3) Hlavackova/Hradecka (CZE) 64 62
Mixed Doubles
Makarova (RUS)/Soares (BRA) d. (4) Peschke (CZE)/Matkowski (POL) 67(8) 61 (12-10)
Boys’ Singles
(2) Filip Peliwo (CAN) d. (13) Liam Broady (GBR) 62 26 75
Boys' Doubles
(8) Edmund (GBR)/Silva (POR) d. Krygios/Thompson (AUS) 57 64 (10-6)
Girls’ Singles
Samantha Crawford (USA) d. (12) Anett Kontaveit (EST) 75 63
Girls’ Doubles
(4) Andrews/Townsend (USA) d. (2) Bencic (SUI)/Uberalova (SVK) 64 63