Last 5 players to defend their US Open title ft. Roger Federer & Pete Sampras

Federer and Sampras are two of a handful of players to defend their US Open titles.

The US Open is the fourth Grand Slam tournament of the year, following the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

Like the other Majors, the US Open has been won by many fine players, but it's a notoriously difficult tournament to win back-to-back. That could be because it's played towards the end of the season at the peak of the North American summer.

This year, defending champion Daniil Medvedev will look to join a handful of players to successfully defend their US Open title.

On that note, here's a look at the last five players to go back-to-back at Flushing Meadows:

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#5 Roger Federer - 2008 (5th title)

Roger Federer won his fifth consecutive US Open title in 2008.

Roger Federer is one of three players in the Open Era to have won five US Open titles, Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras being the other two.

However, Federer is the only one among the quartet to accomplish a five-peat. To put that into context, only two other players in the Open Era - John McEnroe (1979-81) and Ivan Lendl (1985-87) - have won at least three consecutive titles at the New York Major. Federer was having a tough year in Majors that year, going by his staggering standards. He lost in the Australian Open semifinals to Novak Djokovic and was beaten by Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros and at Wimbledon for the first time.

At the US Open that year, Federer was a man on a mission, not dropping a set in the first week. He was taken to the distance by Igor Andreev, but the defending champion survived. Federer would drop only one more set in the remainder of her tournament - against Novak Djokovic in the semis - before beating Andy Murray to lift his fifth straight Flushing Meadows title.

Federer hasn't triumphed at the US Open since then, despite making two finals - 2009 and 2015.

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#4 Pat Rafter - 1998 (2nd title)

Pat Rafter at the 1998 US Open

Pat Rafter enjoyed one of his finest fortnights at the 1998 US Open, but he didn't have an easy run through the draw.

The defending champion trailed Hicham Arazi by two sets in his opening round before cruising through his next two rounds. Rafter dropped a set in the fourth round against Goran Ivanisevic.

The Australian saw off Karol Kucera in straight sets but needed five to get past then four-time champion Pete Sampras. Rafter then saw off compatriot Mark Philippoussis to win his second Major title, both at Flushing Meadows.

He reached two more Slam finals at Wimbledon (2000-01), but never managed to win the title.

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#3 Pete Sampras - 1996 (4th US Open title)

Pete Sampras won his fourth US Open title in 1996.

Pete Sampras is one of only three players in the Open Era to win five titles at the New York Major. However, the American only went back-to-back once at Flushing Meadows - in 1996.

Coming off a quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon, Sampras was taken to five sets in the second round by Jiri Novak before Alex Corretja also took the American the distance in the quarterfinals. Trailing the Spaniard two sets to one, Sampras recovered to win in a fifth-set tiebreak.

The defending champion dropped a set against Goran Ivanisevic in the semifinals before beating compatriot Michael Chang to win his fourth title in the tournament in seven years.

After losing in the 2000-01 finals, Sampras scripted a fairy-tale triumph in 2002 to join Connors as the then only five-time US Open winner in the Open Era.

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#2 Stefan Edberg - 1992 (2nd title)

Stefan Edberg won his second title at the New York Major in 1992.

Stefan Edberg is one of a handful of players to successfully defend his title at the New York Major. Widely regarded as one of the game's finest grasscourt players, the Swede was no slouch on hardcourts, especially at Flushing Meadows, where he won two titles.

The defending US Open winner entered the 1992 edition of the competition as the second seed. Edberg had a serene first week until things got tough - really tough. After surviving a five-setter against Richard Krajicek in the fourth round, Edberg was also taken the distance by future three-time winner Ivan Lendl.

Incredibly, the Swede was taken to five sets for the third match on the trot, this time by Michael Chang, but Edberg proved unbreakable. Another long evening looked to be in the offing for Edberg when he dropped the first set against 1990 winner Sampras in the final.

However, the Swede won a pivotal third-set tiebreak before dropping just two games to lift his sixth and last Major title.

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#1 Ivan Lendl - 1987 (3rd title)

Ivan Lendl is a three-time winner at the New York Major

Ivan Lendl is one of only three players in the Open Era to win three consecutive titles at Flushing Meadows.

The Czech-American accomplished a three-peat at the tournament in 1987, scything through the draw that year. Lendl dropped his only set of the fortnight against Mats Wilander, winning his sixth Major title. Earlier in the tournament, he beat five-time winner Jimmy Connors in the semifinals.

After his win in 1987, Lendl reached two consecutive finals in 1988-89, becoming the first player to make eight straight title matches at Flushing Meadows.

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