The US Open began in 1881 as the U.S. Championships, a relatively small event held at The Casino in Newport, R.I.
Today it has grown into the biggest tennis tournament in the world, with a long, rich tradition of attracting the best players from around the globe to perform on the world’s greatest stage: the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City.
As the last major of the calendar year, the US Open annually brings down the curtain on the Grand Slam season with some of the most unforgettable matches in tennis history.
In 2011, the men’s component of Super Saturday showcased the top four seeds all in the semifinals for the first time since 1992, when Stefan Edberg outdueled Jim Courier, Pete Sampras and Michael Chang for the crown.
Both matches featured familiar US Open rivalries:
The first match of the day was No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic against No. 3 Roger Federer. The two were facing off on Finals Weekend for the fifth straight year and in the semifinals for the fourth straight year, including a classic matchup from 2010 in which Djokovic erased two match points with forehand winners to upend the five-time champion.
The second match was a rerun of the 2008 semifinal between No. 2 Rafael Nadal and No. 4 Andy Murray. The Scotsman won that encounter but entered the 2011 semifinal as a decided underdog to the reigning US Open champion, who had lost just one set in his previous 12 matches in Flushing Meadows.
