00:00Excitement in the air and I'm looking forward to this match as much as anyone I think.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:07for the U.S. Open moments that had the world in a spin.
00:10But as Mark Twain once said,
00:12reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.
00:17Number 10.
00:18This is cinema.
00:19On August 28th, 2024, the official U.S. Open Tennis Championship account tweeted out
00:25what was possibly an awkward view into the personal life of a poor random U.S. Open attendee.
00:34The video, which now has over 27 million views,
00:37shows a man returning to his seat with two drinks.
00:40He sits down and appears to reach out to hand one of the beverages to the woman beside him,
00:45before another man beats him to it.
00:48This is cinema, reads the caption posted alongside the video.
00:51Personally, we'd rather watch challengers.
00:55Number 9.
01:00Sampras and Agassi's most iconic match.
01:03Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi have one of the most iconic rivalries in tennis,
01:07one that led to more than a few memorable matches.
01:14But there's a reason their 2001 quarterfinal match
01:18is still considered one of the greatest ever played at the U.S. Open.
01:22While neither player was in their prime,
01:24they defied odds and delivered an exceptional display of tennis.
01:29Every single set of the match was decided by a tiebreak,
01:32resulting in an incredibly tense game that eventually went to Sampras.
01:36As he said after defeating his rival,
01:38quote,
01:39it was probably as good as it gets.
01:50Number 8.
01:50Goff vs. Osaka.
01:52In 2019 at 15,
01:55Coco Goff made her Arthur Ashe Stadium debut
01:58and was defeated in straight sets by then-defending champion Naomi Osaka.
02:12Left in tears following the match,
02:14she was comforted by her opponent.
02:16In a post-match press conference,
02:17Osaka stated that she wanted to give Goff the opportunity
02:20to address the fans who came to see her play.
02:38Years later,
02:39Goff had not forgotten,
02:41shouting her out in 2023 following a win over Karolina Mukhova
02:45that landed her a spot in her first U.S. Open final.
02:48Goff shouted out Osaka's gesture after the match.
03:05During the 2024 U.S. Open,
03:07video was posted to social media
03:09that seems to show Yulia Puchintseva ignoring a ball girl
03:12throwing balls in her direction during a match against Jasmine Paolini.
03:15The footage was retweeted by six-time major winner Boris Becker,
03:19who expressed that Puchintseva's behavior toward the ball girl was quote,
03:23terrible.
03:24On her own Instagram account,
03:26Puchintseva responded to the controversy.
03:28She said she was deep in her own thoughts
03:30and wasn't trying to humiliate or disrespect the ball girl
03:33and ultimately apologized.
03:42She also added that quote,
03:43It's kind of scary the way the world can judge someone
03:46from just a three-second video.
03:51In the 2011 U.S. Open semifinals,
03:53Novak Djokovic was down two sets against tennis great Roger Federer.
04:01It seemed unlikely he would be able to turn things around,
04:04but he did,
04:05delivering an improved performance and winning the entire match.
04:09From there,
04:10he went on to beat defending champ Rafael Nadal
04:12and emerge victorious in the final.
04:14What's extra remarkable
04:16is that Djokovic had pulled off a similar feat a year prior,
04:19reaching the final at Flushing Meadows
04:21after saving two match points in the final set.
04:23It was also the second time in 2011
04:26Federer lost after winning the first two sets,
04:29following a loss to Joe Wilfried Tsonga at Wimbledon.
04:32What a sensational performance and what an amazing win.
04:35Yeah, it was just amazing today. I played unbelievable.
04:40Former tennis star Maria Sharapova
04:43is remembered as one of the greatest players of all time.
04:46It's always very interesting to note
04:47what players are doing early in the match.
04:49But that doesn't mean her illustrious career
04:51was without controversy.
04:53Take this particularly bizarre instance
04:55from the 2006 U.S. Open.
04:57During a match that saw Sharapova win her second Grand Slam title,
05:00her father was spotted on more than one occasion
05:03holding a banana.
05:04On the screen there is Yuri Sharapova, Maria's father.
05:07Always intense.
05:08The tennis player insisted that her father
05:10was only doing what a good father does
05:12by trying to remind her to eat during the final.
05:14That didn't stop the rumors from spreading,
05:16with Sharapova and her father being accused
05:19of using the banana for secret coaching tactics.
05:22She's gonna go up and get a hug from dad
05:23as she did at Wimbledon.
05:27At the 2006 U.S. Open,
05:29Billie Jean King was honored opening night
05:31at Arthur Ashe Stadium with the renaming
05:33of the United States Tennis Association Stadium Complex
05:36to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
05:50Alongside a jubilant New York crowd
05:52and several of her fellow tennis stars,
05:54King appeared incredibly proud
05:56as the facility was rechristened.
05:58Even then-Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg
06:00was there to deliver some remarks,
06:02and singer Diana Ross treated the audience to a performance.
06:13All in all, it was an extravagant
06:15and very well-deserved celebration
06:17of a groundbreaking and exceptional athlete.
06:23Between 2004 and 2008,
06:26Roger Federer was an untouchable titan,
06:28winning five consecutive U.S. Open titles.
06:41Federer is the only male player
06:42in the Open era to pull off this feat,
06:45winning 40 consecutive matches
06:46at the U.S. Open in the process.
06:48Some have gone so far
06:50as to call the record unbreakable.
06:56Did we mention that this guy
06:58pulled off five straight Wimbledon titles as well?
07:01And these are just two of his accomplishments.
07:03Federer holds a bounty of other records as well,
07:05including 30 from Guinness World Records.
07:15At the 2014 U.S. Open,
07:18Serena Williams once again made history
07:20by securing her sixth title win,
07:22her third consecutive at the time.
07:26With this remarkable feat,
07:35she became tied with Chris Evert
07:36for most wins by a woman at the Open.
07:39This was also her 18th major win,
07:42again putting her on par with Evert,
07:44along with fellow tennis legend Martina Navratilova
07:46for most U.S. Open singles titles
07:48won by a woman in the Open era.
07:56Winning both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Open Series,
07:59Williams netted $4 million.
08:02That is the biggest payday
08:03in the history of the sport.
08:05Four years later,
08:06Serena was the subject of another viral U.S. Open moment
08:10when her outburst against an umpire
08:11was caught on camera.
08:13Are you kidding me?
08:15Are you kidding me?
08:16Because I said you're a thief.
08:18Because you stole a point from me.
08:20But I'm not a cheater.
08:21Before winning the U.S. Open,
08:23Serena was the first woman
08:25Before we unveil our top pick,
08:27here are some honorable mentions.
08:29Pete Sampras' career closer.
08:32Sampras recovered from tournament drought right in time,
08:34making it to the final.
08:36The 2002 U.S. Open Men's Singles Champion,
08:39Pete Sampras.
08:45Despite exhaustion,
08:47Henault took home the title in a memorable match.
08:49And she's done it.
08:52Justine and Arden.
08:53A victory for moms everywhere.
08:56Leaving tennis in 2007 to start a family,
08:58Kim Clijsters returned in 2009 to capture the title.
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09:27In 2001,
09:28the women's final was showcased in primetime
09:31for the first time ever at the U.S. Open,
09:33a signifier of how far the women's game had come at the time.
09:40It was a grand slam clash between sisters,
09:43the first of many to come,
09:44as Venus and Serena Williams duped it out
09:47in a display that needed as many eyes on it as possible.
09:52Since then,
09:53women's tennis has come to even more prominence,
09:56in no small part thanks to the continued success
09:58of the Williams sisters on the court,
10:00alongside several other incredible female players.
10:12Did we miss your favorite moment?
10:14Lob it to us in the comments.
10:17Did you enjoy this video?
10:30Check out these other clips from WatchMojo
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