The 7 men to win their only Grand Slam titles at US Open – ft. Andy Roddick, Dominic Thiem
The US Open title is one of the biggest you can win – and for some players, it was the absolute pinnacle of their career.
We look back at the seven men in the Open Era who won their only major title – or titles – at the US Open.
Manuel Orantes – 1975
Orantes’ victory over Jimmy Connors remains one of the most surprising final results in US Open history, almost five decades on.
Delivering perhaps the best performance of his career, the Spaniard shocked the reigning champion in straight sets to lift his first and only major.
The closest he had come to winning a major previously was the 1974 French Open, where he led Bjorn Borg by two sets – before the Swede battled back to win.
He was also a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 1972.
Pat Rafter – 1997, 1998
Rafter is the only man on this list to win two US Open titles, sealing back-to-back triumphs in 1997 and 1998.
In a surprise final, the Australian defeated Greg Rusedski to win his first title, before successfully defending it 12 months later with victory over compatriot Mark Philippoussis.
The closest he came to winning elsewhere was at Wimbledon, where he lost the 2000 final to Pete Sampras, before narrowly missing out in a classic final against Goran Ivanisevic in 2001.
The former world No 1 was also a semi-finalist at the Australian and French Opens.
Andy Roddick – 2003
Roddick remains the last American man to lift the US Open title thanks to his victory in 2003.
Competing in his first major final, the American downed fellow Slam winner Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets to claim his sole Grand Slam victory.
Roddick lost the 2006 US Open final to Roger Federer and also lost Wimbledon finals to the Swiss in 2004, 2005, and 2009.
He was also a four-time Australian Open semi-finalist, though only once made it to the second week at Roland Garros.
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Juan Martin del Potro – 2009
Few could forget del Potro’s triumph in New York 15 years ago, with the hugely popular Argentine shocking the tennis world with his victory.
The Argentine was a significant underdog against five-time defending champion Federer, though stunned the Swiss in five sets to win the title as a 20-year-old.
Repeated injury issues – and competing in the ‘Big Three’ era – meant that del Potro was unable to add to that victory.
However, he did reach a further US Open final in 2018 and reached semi-finals at both Wimbledon and the French Open.
Marin Cilic – 2014
Arguably the most surprising champion of the 21st century, Cilic stunned most of those watching on with an epic run in New York a decade ago.
The 14th seed had reached just one major semi-final before that event but stunned Federer in straight sets to reach the final, where he eased past Kei Nishikori to lift the title.
That would prove to be the Croatian’s only Slam title, though he did come close to further triumphs.
He reached the Wimbledon final in 2017 and then the 2018 Australian Open final, falling to Federer in both matches.
Dominic Thiem – 2020
No one begrudged Thiem for winning the US Open title in 2020 after some narrow near-misses at majors previously.
The Austrian was beaten by Rafael Nadal in back-to-back French Open finals in 2018 and 2019, before falling to Novak Djokovic in the 2020 Australian Open final.
Thiem looked destined to go 0-4 as he fell two sets down to Alexander Zverev in the final, though rallied to seal what proved to be the final title of his career.
Injury wreaked havoc on the latter stages of his career, and he played his final Slam match in New York this year.
Daniil Medvedev – 2021
Medvedev still has chances to win elsewhere, though will have to wait until next year to have another opportunity to chase glory at a different Slam.
The former world No 1 won his sole major in New York three years ago, ending Djokovic’s Grand Slam hopes with a stunning straight-sets victory in the final.
Medvedev has reached two further finals in New York but his best chances of a second major have come at the Australian Open, where he has lost three finals.
The Russian was beaten soundly by Djokovic in the 2021 final, and lost from two sets up against Nadal in 2022 and Jannik Sinner in 2024.
Read More: The 5 men who have reached the most US Open finals – Novak Djokovic with 10, Roger Federer joint 4th
