Ten Takeaways From the 2015 U.S. Open

September 15, 2015 | By Brian Coleman
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Credit photo: Lee Seidner

The 2015 U.S. Open came and went, and yet again, another exciting and thrilling tournament graced New York City with its presence. Between historical upsets, the record heat and drones falling into stadiums, this year’s U.S. Open was one to remember. We break down the 10 most important takeaways from the past two weeks in Flushing Meadows as the 2015 Grand Slam season comes to a close.

 

 

 

 

1. History stands up Serena
Serena Williams had a date with history, and that was by far the main storyline heading into the U.S. Open. The world number one was seeking to become the first player to win the Calendar Slam since Steffi Graff in 1988, while also looking to tie Graff’s record of 22 Grand Slam titles in the Open Era. It looked like things had fallen in place for her. She got over the massive hurdle which was her older sister and two-time U.S. Open champion Venus Williams in the quarterfinals, and drew a matchup with unseeded 32-year-old Roberta Vinci in the semifinals. And that is where one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history went down, as Vinci came back from a set down to stun not only Serena, but the world.


 

2. Djokovic cements his spot at the top
If it wasn’t clear already, it is now. Novak Djokovic is by far the best player in the world, and he proved that once again over the last two weeks in New York. Djokovic won his third major of the year, mowing through the competition, never really facing a stiff test. Sure, he dropped a few sets, but that can happen on hard courts against big servers such as Roger Federer and Feliciano Lopez. He dominated 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic in the semifinals and knocked off the five-time champion Roger Federer, and leads the Swiss by nearly 7,000 points in the ATP Rankings. He now has 10 career Grand Slam titles, and is in his prime at 28 years of age.

 


 

3. Pennetta breaks through, announces retirement
Italian Flavia Pennetta captured the first Grand Slam title of her career, beating her compatriot Roberta Vinci in the finals. She knocked off former champion Samantha Stosur, fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova and second-seeded Simona Halep in the process. It was a wonderful performance from the 33-year-old, and after the match, she announced that she would be retiring at the end of the season.

“This is the way I would like to say goodbye to tennis,” she said on court following the championship. “This one was my last match at the U.S. Open.”

She said that she will play tournaments in Wuhan and Beijing, and she is now in the running for a spot at the end of the year finals in Singapore, but Pennetta will hang it up at the end of the year.


 

4. Hingis & Mirza continue to dominate women’s doubles
Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza captured their second straight Grand Slam title, beating Casey Dellacqua & Yaroslava Shvedova in the championship. The two also won the Wimbledon title, and the Swiss-Indian combo has become the class of the women’s doubles game. Mirza’s power at the baseline and Hingis’ excellent volleying ability at the net make them such a dynamic pair. Despite only beginning to play together in March, they have six titles together, including two Grand Slams.

“We are happy to win our second Slam together,” said Mirza. “We didn’t think when we started playing this was going to happen so soon. We are the number one team in the world, so we have to keep building on this.”


 

5. Paes grabs record for mixed-doubles titles by a male in the Open Era
Martina Hingis not only paired with Indian Sania Mirza in women’s doubles, but she also paired up with Indian Leander Paes in mixed-doubles, and the two defeated Americans Sam Querrey & Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the U.S. Open final.

The win marked the ninth mixed-doubles Grand Slam title with Paes, the most by a man all-time in the Open Era, surpassing fellow Indian Mahesh Bhupathi. Only Martina Navratilova has more with 10, two of which came when she played with Paes. The pair also became the first mixed-doubles duo to win three Grand Slam titles in a single year since 1969.

 

 


 

6. Thirty is the new 20
A number of players in their 30s played extremely well in the tournament, including Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Roger Federer, Flavia Pennetta, Roberta Vinci and Feliciano Lopez, with seven of the 16 quarterfinalists in both the men’s and women’s draws aged 30 or older.

This is a bit of a unique trend in tennis, a tough sport to continue playing at a high level as you get older. But if the U.S. Open is any indication, the way these players train and condition, many are finding success late in their careers. Experience trumped youth in 2015 in Flushing.


 

7. Bouchard and Azarenka back to playing at high level
While the U.S. Open runs for both Eugenie Bouchard and Victoria Azarenka came to an end sooner than both would have liked, both of their respective runs in Flushing Meadows showed that they have returned to top form.

After a disastrous middle part of 2015, Bouchard came to play at the U.S. Open. She reached the Round of 16, stringing together three wins following a stretch where she hadn’t won two consecutive matches since March. Her run came to an unfortunate end, withdrawing after suffering a concussion falling in the locker room, but her play was a positive sign for the Canadian.

Still trying to find the form that helped propel her to the top spot in the WTA Women’s Singles Rankings, Azarenka reached the quarterfinals before falling to Simona Halep. The two-time Australian Open champion is still working her way back from injuries that hampered her, but her showing at the U.S. Open indicates a steady climb back to the level she played at had just a couple of years ago.


 

8. Hewitt and Fish play in final U.S. Open
Australian Lleyton Hewitt and American Mardy Fish played in their final U.S. Opens last week, and both received a tremendous response from the crowds when they exited. While Hewitt will officially retire after playing in the Australian Open in January, Fish played his final tournament in Flushing Meadows.

Both players went out playing extremely well. Hewitt lost a hard-fought five set battle against his compatriot Bernard Tomic in the second round, and Fish lost to eventual quarterfinalist Feliciano Lopez in five sets. In both of those losses, both players had a chance to serve for the match, but came up short. Either way, each played their final Flushing Meadows tournament with the same competitive fire that embodied their careers.

 


 

9. Americans shine in junior tournament
The U.S. Open opened a window into what the future of American tennis may hold. Seven of the 16 quarterfinalists in the boys’ and girls’ draw, and an all-American boy’s final with Taylor Friz defeating Tommy Paul in a solid three-set match shone a bright spotlight on the American junior scene. On the girls’ side, 16-year-old American Sofia Kenin reached the final and finished runner-up to the 2015 Girl’s Junior U.S. Open championship. The tournament was a good sign of things to come for American tennis, and played host to what people hope to be the next generation of American star tennis players.

 


 

10. Adios Grandstand
Arthur Ashe Stadium Court is the largest tennis stadium in the world, and the top stars and biggest matches are booked to play for the world to see. A few hundred yards away is the court that many fans have grown to love over the years though. The Grandstand had a 6,000 seat capacity at the 2015 U.S. Open, which gave it the right mix of "big stadium," while still having the ability to sit "close to the stage.” The Grandstand is accessible with a Daily Grounds Pass, and each year, seemed to bring with it a raucous atmosphere especially as day turned to night and the matches from the Day Session extended late into the evening. This year maybe the best match on the Grandstand was a five-set match between Aussie's Bernard Tomic and Lleyton Hewitt. Day Session ticket holders had been melting in the sun for hours before Tomic and Hewitt took the court, but that didn't stop them from packing the Grandstand until 9:30 p.m. for this match which ended up being Hewitt's last at the Open.

The Grandstand hosted play for the final time in 2015. A new Grandstand court will make its debut next year, relocated to the southwest corner of the grounds. Maybe the new expansion will be good, maybe it will make things even better, but for now it's hard not to feel nostalgic for the Grandstand Court that was a fan favorite for generations.


 

2015 US Open Honor Roll
►Men’s Singles Champion: Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
►Women’s Singles Champion: Flavia Pennetta (Italy)
►Men’s Doubles Champions: Pierre-Hugues Herbert & Nicolas Mahut (France)
►Women’s Doubles Champions: Martina Hingis (Switzerland) & Sania Mirza (India)
►Mixed-Doubles Champions: Martina Hingis (Switzerland) & Leander Paes (India)
►Boys Singles Champion: Taylor Fritz (United States)
►Girls Singles Champion: Dalmi Galfi (Hungary)
►Boys Doubles Champion: Felix Auger Aliassime & Denis Shapovalov (Canada)
►Girls Doubles Champion: Viktoria Kuzmova (Slovakia) & Aleksandra Pospelova (Russia)
►American Collegiate Invitational Men’s Champion: Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA)
►American Collegiate Invitational Women’s Champion: Robin Anderson (UCLA)
►Men’s Wheelchair Singles Champion: Shingo Kunieda (Japan)
►Women’s Wheelchair Singles Champion: Jordanne Whiley (Great Britain)
►Men’s Wheelchair Doubles Champion: Stephane Houdet (France) & Gordon Reid (Great Britain)
►Women’s Wheelchair Doubles Champion: Jiske Griffioen & Aniek Van Koot (Netherlands)
►Quad Wheelchair Singles Champion: Dylan Alcott (Australia)
►Quad Wheelchair Doubles Champion: Nick Taylor & David Wagner (United States)



 

Credit all photos to Sidney Beal, Lee Seidner, Adidas, Brian Coleman & Matthew Cohen


Brian Coleman

 Brian Coleman is the Senior Editor for New York Tennis Magazine. He may be reached at brianc@usptennis.com

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