The US Openthe only Grand Slam to be played in the Americas, has been a territory of success for tennis in spain across the Atlantic Ocean, from the 1960s to one of its latest editions. The Sporting News reviews all the Spaniards who consecrated themselves in New York.
Which Spanish tennis players won the US Open?
Manolo Santana
Like at Wimbledon and at Roland Garros, Manolo Santana He was the first Spanish tennis player to champion the US Open. The Madrilenian consecrated himself in 1965 in which it was only his third participation in the American tournament, then held on grass in Forest Hills. Until then, he had not been able to advance beyond the second round in previous editions. Manolo consecrated himself with a win by 6-2, 7-9, 7-5 y 6-1 against the South African Cliff Drysdale.
En route to the title, Santana beat Donald Fontana, Marcelo Lara, Jim Osborne, Marty Riessen and Tony Palafox dropping just one set in the first five matches and then triumphed over the local legend. Arthur Ashe in the semi-final.
Manuel Orantes
In 1975 the US Open was played for the first time on claya clay Green color a little faster and harder than the traditional one, but better for the game of Manuel Orantes who, after being a finalist at Roland Garros 1974, won his only Grand Slam on his favorite surface. Orantes won the definition in straight sets against one of the best tennis players in history: he won by 6-4, 6-3 y 6-3 a Jimmy Connors.
Before defeating Connors, Orantes had beaten another of the best in the world at that time: William Vilas, against whom he overcame a deficit of two sets in the semifinal. Ilie Nastase, Francois Jauffret, Hans-Jurgen Pohmann, Sashi Menon and Bernard Mitton were the other names that the Spanish beat in the previous instances.
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
Only one Spanish woman was champion of the US Open: Arantxa Sanchez Vicario lifted what was Spain’s only singles trophy at the US Open in almost 50 years when in 1994 defeated Steffi Graf 1-6, 7-6 (3) and 6-4 to reach the third of his four Grand Slam conquests.
Second seed of the tournament, Sánchez Vicario defeated Linda Ferrando, Nathalie Tauziat, Sandra Cecchini, Ann Grossman, Kimiko Date and Gabriela Sabatini without losing a set before playing the final against Graf.
At the age of 22, Arantxa was champion of the US Open, a tournament in which he had already reached the semifinals three times and of which she had been runner-up. After his conquest of New York, never again was among the last four tennis players at the foot of the contest.
Rafael Nadal
The US Open was the tournament who resisted the most a Rafael Nadal: by the time he won his first trophy, at the end of 2010, Rafa he had already won five Roland Garros, two Wimbledons and one Australian Open. It was in that 2010 wonderful, the only year in which he won three Grand Slams, when Nadal for the first time reached the final in New York and in it he beat Novak Djokovic by 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 y 6-2. In the previous rounds Nadal did not give up a setwith wins over his compatriots Feliciano López and Fernando Verdasco among other rivals.
After losing the 2011 final to Djokovic and not participating in 2012, Nadal regained the title in 2013: only lost two sets on a road to the title in which he faced two top ten opponents, Richard Gasquet in the semi-final and Novak Djokovic in a final that Rafa won by 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 y 6-1.
After a couple of seasons in which he was not a great protagonist of the US Open, Nadal won his third title in New York in 2017: the final was certified with a 6-3, 6-3 y 6-4 ante Kevin Anderson in a tournament in which three rivals were able to take a set from the Spaniard: the Japanese Taro Daniel and the Argentines Leonardo Mayer and Juan Martín del Potro.
In 2019 Nadal participated in the US Open for the last time and he was champion: he won in a dramatic final against Daniil Medvedev by 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6 y 6-4. Before the definition, the Spaniard beat the former champion Marin Cilicthe Argentine Diego Schwartzman and the Italian Matteo Berrettini as the most prominent rivals.
Other great performances
In addition to the final lost by Nadal against Djokovic in 2011, Spain had other runners-up del US Open: John Charles Ferrero reached the definition in September 2003: Lost in three sets against Andy Roddick but catapulted to the top of the ATP rankings with the points obtained in New York.
More than 10 years earlier, in 1992, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario She was runner-up after falling 6-3 and 6-3 against Monica Seles.
