The 7 men to defend the US Open trophy in the Open Era: Roger Federer peerless as feat eludes Novak Djokovic again
Only seven men have managed to successfully defend their US Open crowns in the Open Era and Roger Federer remains the last player to achieve the feat in 2008.
The wait for another man to win back-to-back titles will continue for at least another year following 2023 champion Novak Djokovic shock’s defeat.
Djokovic won his fourth US Open trophy last year as he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final, but he was stunned in the third round of the 2024 tournament by Alexei Popyrin with the Australian winning 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Besides his 2023 title, the Serbian also won the trophy in New York in 2011, 2015 and 2018, but he failed to go on to win back-to-back titles as in 2012 he lost in the final against Andy Murray, in 2016 he was beaten by Stan Wawrinka in the final while in 2019 he retired with a shoulder injury in the fourth round.
It means there are still only seven names on the list of men who have the US Open in consecutive years in the Open Era with Federer the last to achieve it in 2008.
Since then Juan Martin del Potro (2009), Rafael Nadal (2010, 2013, 2017, 2019), Djokovic (2011, 2015, 2018, 2023), Andy Murray (2012), Marin Cilic (2014), Stan Wawrinka (2016), Dominic Thiem (2020), Daniil Medvedev (2021) and Carlos Alcaraz (2022) have won titles, but all failed to defend their crowns.
The 7 men to defend the US Open in the Open Era:
Roger Federer – Four title defences
Roger Federer is the only man to successfully defend his US Open title four times as he jointly holds the record for most US Open trophies won in the Open Era with Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras as they have won five.
The Swiss legend his maiden crown at Flushing Meadows in 2004 when he defeated Lleyton Hewitt in the final and the following year he got the better of Andre Agassi in the final to win back-to-back titles for the first time.
He made it a hat-trick in 2006 with victory over Andy Roddick and then defeated Novak Djokovic in the 2007 final before winning the last of his five titles in 2008 with a three-set defeat of Murray.
Federer was denied six in a row by Del Potro as the Argentine beat him in five sets in the 2009 final as he enjoyed a 40-match unbeaten run at the US Open.
Facts & Stats Features
The 7 men to win their only Grand Slam titles at US Open – ft. Andy Roddick, Dominic Thiem
The 9 men to reach world No 1 but never win US Open title – ft. incumbent Jannik Sinner, Bjorn Borg
John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl – two title defences
John McEnroe was the first man to defend his title at the US Open as he won his first trophy in 1979 when he beat Vitas Gerulaitis in the final. The next year he was again the last man standing as he got the better of Bjorn Borg and Borg was again on the losing side in 1981 when McEnroe won the third of his four titles.
Ivan Lendl defeated American McEnroe in the 1985 final and he returned in 1986 to win his second title, this time beating Miloslav Mecir, before winning his third title in 1987 with victory over Mats Wilander.
Jimm Connors, Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras, Pat Rafter – one title defence
Jimmy Connors won five US Open titles, but he only defended the title on one occasion, when he won the 1983 final against Ivan Lendl.
Stefan Edberg was one of three players to achieve the feat in the 90s as he won his first title in 1991 by defeating Jim Courier in the final. The Swede then broke American hearts in 1992 when beat Pete Sampras in the final.
But Sampras also makes an appearance on the list thanks to his 1995-1996 achievement as he himself denied Andre Agassi back-to-back titles when he beat his compatriot in the ’95 final. The following year he beat another American Michael Chang to win the fourth of his five titles.
Pat Rafter kept the tradition going after Sampras as he won the title by beating Great Britain Greg Rusedski in the 1997 final and followed it up with victory over fellow Australian Mark Philippoussis the next year.
