US Open 1997

Pete Sampras was a huge favorite to become the first man since 1988 to win three Grand Slam tournaments within a year. However, he was ousted in the last 16 by an inspired Petr Korda, in the same round other American champion Andre Agassi (out of form in 1997 but very solid in the first week of the UO ’97 edition) was eliminated as well. It opened the draw for young attacking players, Jonas Bjorkman [17], Greg Rusedski [20] and Patrick Rafter [14], the latter dealt the best with the underdog status becoming a sensational new champion. The US Open ’97 featured the beginning of decline for Michael Chang, who in that event wasted his last opportunity to prove that his Roland Garros ’89 triumph wasn’t a fluke. Read more…