Vinci Stops Serena's Grand Slam
In what is widely considered the biggest upset in tennis history, unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci defeated Serena Williams in the 2015 semifinals. Williams was on the verge of making history, just two wins away from completing the first calendar-year Grand
Slam since 1988. She was the three-time defending champion and had dominated the season. Vinci, a 32-year-old doubles specialist ranked No. 43, was playing in her first-ever major singles semifinal and had never won a set against Williams in their previous encounters. After Williams won the first set 6-2, the coronation seemed inevitable. But Vinci’s tactical variety, particularly her sliced backhand, began to unravel the dominant champion. Vinci won 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, leaving Arthur Ashe Stadium in stunned silence. In a gracious post-match interview, Vinci apologized to the crowd, cementing a moment of unbelievable shock and sportsmanship.
Del Potro Topples King Roger
Roger Federer entered the 2009 US Open final as the five-time defending champion, an icon of invincibility in Flushing Meadows. His opponent, 20-year-old Juan Martín del Potro of Argentina, was a towering powerhouse with a fearsome forehand but was still a significant underdog. Federer was expected to secure his sixth straight title, a feat not seen since the 1920s. What followed was a four-hour, five-set war. After Federer took the first set and served for the second, it looked like business as usual. But the young Argentine fought back, matching Federer's brilliance with brute force. Del Potro ultimately triumphed 3-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, ending one of the great winning streaks in the sport and capturing his first and only major title.
A No. 1 Seed's Historic First-Round Exit
Losing in the first round is disappointing for any top player, but for a No. 1 seed, it's historically rare. In 2018, Simona Halep had the unfortunate distinction of becoming the first-ever top-seeded woman to lose in the first round of the US Open in the Open Era. Fresh off winning her first major at the French Open, Halep was a favorite for the title. But she ran into Estonia's Kaia Kanepi, a powerful ball-striker ranked No. 44 in the world. In the first match played in the newly renovated Louis Armstrong Stadium, Kanepi blasted 26 winners to Halep's nine, winning decisively 6-2, 6-4 in just 76 minutes. While Kanepi had a history of Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances, the result sent shockwaves through the draw on day one.
The Teenage Dream of Melanie Oudin
The 2009 US Open wasn't about a single upset but a Cinderella run fueled by a 17-year-old from Georgia. Melanie Oudin, ranked 70th in the world, captured the hearts of the New York crowd with her gritty play and a pair of shoes emblazoned with the word "Believe". Her improbable journey to the quarterfinals included a string of stunning victories against heavily favored Russian players. She knocked out No. 4 seed Elena Dementieva, No. 29 seed and former champion Maria Sharapova, and No. 13 seed Nadia Petrova. In three of those matches, she lost the first set before storming back to win. Oudin became the youngest American quarterfinalist since Serena Williams a decade earlier, creating a sensation that briefly made her the biggest story in American tennis.
Defending Champion Edberg's Early Exit
While there was a notable upset in 1990 involving Alexander Volkov defeating Stefan Edberg, it was the 1993 tournament that saw the two-time defending champion fall. After winning the title in 1991 and 1992, Sweden's Stefan Edberg was the No. 2 seed and a master of the serve-and-volley game. However, in the second round, he was stunned by Karel Nováček of the Czech Republic. For a player so dominant at Flushing Meadows, who was admired for his athletic grace reminiscent of past champions, losing so early in the tournament was a major shock. It was a stark reminder that even the most established champions are never safe at the US Open.
