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The only Grand Slam to be played in 3 different surfaces (grass, clay and hard courts) over the years has been the US Open. The US Open was also way ahead of its time as it became the first Grand Slam to award equal prize money to both men and women.
It introduced equal pay in 1973. It was only about 30 years later that the other Grand Slams followed suit. As of 2018, US Open awards more prize money than any of the other 3 Grand Slam tournaments. It was also the first Grand Slam to enforce a tie-break in the deciding set for both men and women.
In the Amateur Era, 3 players - Bill Tilden, Richard Sears and William Larned top the list of players with most titles at seven apiece. In the Open Era, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer head the charts with five titles each. In all, players belonging to 15 nations have won the US Open with USA leading the pack with its players winning the title on 66 occasions.
We restrict our discussion to the five youngest players to have won the US Open in the Open Era.
#5 Juan Martin Del Potro
One of the most popular players among fans and among the players themselves, Juan Martin Del Potro has built a reputation of being a relentless fighter.
Del Potro first rose to prominence in 2008, going on a 23 match winning streak - making him the only player in ATP history to go on such a long winning streak despite being ranked outside the Top 10. Del Potro finished the year inside the Top-10 of the ATP rankings - making him the youngest player in 2008 to do so.
The following year Del Potro established himself as a force to reckon with attaining a ranking of World Number 5 after beating the like of Rafael Nadal at the Sony Ericcson Open. He lodged another victory against a top-5 player as he beat Murray at the Madrid Masters. By now his stock was rapidly rising and he seeded 6th at the US Open.
Del Potro became the first player to beat both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer back-to-back in a Major tournament. He beat Nadal in the semi-finals and then took out top-seed Federer in an epic 5-set battle to win the US Open. Del Potro was 20 years, 356 days at the time.
#4 Marat Safin
Even before turning 20, Marat Safin had lodged victories over top-players like Andre Agassi and Gustavo Kuerten. He was poised to be the net big tennis superstar from Russia after Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
Notorious for his emotional outbursts on court, Safin regularly used to smash rackets on court. The year 2000 was the turning point in Safin's career as he won his first ATP Masters Series tournament in Toronto and headed to the US Open seeded 6th.
Safin was seeded one place behind fellow Russian legend Yevgeny Kafelnikov. He had to win two back-to-back 5-set matches en-route to his march to the final. In the final, he was up against 4-time champion and crowd favorite Pete Sampras. He beat Sampras in straight sets to win the first of his two Grand Slam titles at the age of 20 years, 228 days.
#3 John McEnroe
German-born American John McEnroe is widely regarded to have possessed the best volleying skills that the game has ever seen. This particular skill of his helped him excel in Doubles too - a fact which often gets overlooked when his achievements are discussed.
McEnroe's combined tally of 77 Singles titles and 78 Doubles titles is the highest in the Open Era. The maverick John McEnroe turned professional in 1978 and quickly established himself as one of the top players on tour with his on-court skills as well as his temperamental behavior often indulging in on-court outbursts with the officials.
McEnroe came into the 1978 US Open as the 3rd seed. In fact, 6 of the top 10 seeds were Americans. he beat former World #1 Ilie Nastase in the 2nd round and in the semi-finals, he beat Jimmy Connors - the 2nd seed. In the final, McEnroe made quick work of Vitas Gerulaitis to win his first Grand Slam title at the age of 20 years, 205 days.
#2 Lleyton Hewitt
Even before he turned 20, Australian Lleyton Hewitt had beaten the likes of Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Yevgeny Kafelnikov. He, in fact, was the first teenager to qualify for the ATP Masters Series Finals in the Open Era.
Hewitt came into the US Open of 2001 as the 4th seed. He was by then already the #1 ranked player from Australia moving ahead of Pat Rafter on the ATP charts. Hewitt had a difficult path to the final as he had 2 grueling 5-set encounters against Americans James Blake and Andy Roddick in the second round and quarter-finals respectively.
In the final, Hewitt was up against 4-time US Open champion and sentimental favorite Pete Sampras. The match was a one-sided affair much to the contrary of what most people felt. Hewitt won the match in straight sets as he breezed past former World #1 Pete Sampras to win his first Grand Slam title at the age of 20 years, 197 days. Later that year, Hewitt become the youngest ever ATP World Number 1.
#1 Pete Sampras
There have been few players who enjoyed more backing from the New York crowd than America's very own Pete Sampras.
'Pistol Pete' as he was called on account of his quick serves, rose to prominence in the early 1990's. Sampras' big break came in 1990.
Sampras was the 12th seed going into the 1990 US Open and there were 4 Americans ahead of him in the seedings chart. Sampras won the title beating the likes of Thomas Muster, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe and Andre Agassi.
He became the only teenager to win the US Open in the Open Era - a record which still stands. Sampras was 19 years, 28 days old at the time. Having started the year as World Number 61, he made giant strides with consistent performances to finish the year as the World #5.
