Highlights from the 2014 US Open

The dust has now settled and after 15 days of ball swatting, line judging and rowdy crowds in New York, the biggest tournaments in tennis, the Grand Slams, are complete for another year.

For those who like a competitive playing field, the trophies couldn’t have been dished out much better. For the first time since 1998, all four major titles for both the men and women were won by four different players.

There have been some familiar names in there: Rafael Nadal inevitably conquering in Paris; Novak Djokovic reigning on the green grass of Wimbledon. On the ladies’ side, the four champions (Li Na, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova and Serena Williams) had all previously won a Slam.

However, at the hard-court majors, we have two new male winners. In Melbourne, Australia, the perennially overshadowed Swiss, Stan Wawrinka, stunningly defeated Djokovic, Tomas Berdych and Nadal on the way to his first Grand Slam triumph. But in even more astonishing fashion, Croat Marin Cilic has just blasted through the field in New York.

The two singles finals at Flushing Meadows won’t exactly be remembered in a hurry by any other than the players themselves but the significance and history behind those matches most certainly will be.

Let’s take a look at some of the most absorbing and memorable moments from 2014’s last Grand Slam…

Peng Reaches First Major Semi

The Chinese lady made a tremendous run to the last four, beating No. 4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, Roberta Vinci, Lucie Safarova and Belinda Bencic. She was involved in a highly competitive match with Caroline Wozniacki for a spot in the final but sadly physical problems hit.

She fell ill on court due to the heat and had to be wheeled off, as Wozniacki tried to comfort her.

“I feel sick to my stomach watching this,” John McEnroe said on CBS, via The Guardian.

Dreams Do Come True for Lucic-Baroni

Thirty-two-year-old Mirjana Lucic-Baroni hasn’t had an easy life, with rumours of being abused by her father when younger. She was expected to be the next big thing when she came on the scene right back in the late '90s and made the Wimbledon semis in 1999, losing to Steffi Graf.

Since then, she’s had years away from the game. But in New York, she made a magical run through to the last 16, beating No. 2 seed Simona Halep on the way.

As was to be expected she was very emotional after that win and told BBC Sport: “It's been really hard. After so many years to be here again, it's incredible. I wanted this so bad”.

Japanese-Brit Wheelchair Duo Complete 2014 Whitewash

While the spoils of the Grand Slams have been shared around in the singles events, one women’s wheelchair team has dominated all the way in 2014. Japanese Yui Kamiji and Brit Jordanne Whiley completed an incredible calendar Slam in New York, after winning the three previous majors this year. Three Dutch players have combined to be on the end of defeats by the duo in all four finals.

New York Given Part of Big Four Classic

The opening two sets of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic’s quarterfinal clash were the closest we got to a breathtakingly good Big Four matchup at this year’s U.S. Open. Let’s face it, these are the matches we all want to see: Federer, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic going full blast at each other (as referenced by how uninspired the crowd and TV audience were by Cilic vs. Nishikori).

The two sets were split, one tiebreak apiece, and contained some amazing tennis from two of the game’s finest. Murray was striking his forehand better than ever before, just wiping the Serb off the court. Unfortunately, the Scot’s fitness let him down once again and he couldn’t maintain that level in the third and fourth sets. But that second set, in particular, showed us that he is by no means done hanging around with the world’s elite and will be a serious contender to add to his Slam count in 2015 with a higher level of fitness.

The 34-year-old two-time U.S. Open champion against the former French Open finalist on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Sheer aggression and power versus Italian ferocity and spin.

Despite being lower ranked than Errani (No. 19 to No. 13 seed), the American was surely the favourite after defying her autoimmune disease to play some terrific tennis over the summer hard court season. She reached the final at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, beating sister Serena on the way.

Plus, Errani is a dream opponent for the Williams’ sisters: someone they can just brutally knock off the court with their power, flashing winners off both first and second serve returns.

Douglas Perry commented on Oregon Live that:

Her game [Errani’s], premised on endless grunting and sliding and topspin, is a shock every time you see it. Or, to be more precise, it's a shock every time you see it work. She just doesn't look like she's up to the task…and then there's her serve -- oh, dear, that serve. It's a powder puff. Maybe it would work for a casual game of badminton on the beach, but on a tennis court with money on the line, it's hopeless.

In a startling opening to their third-round match, though, the tiny Italian bageled her American opponent in the first set. But Venus hit back to return the favour in the second for a wonderfully (or woefully) palindromic score of 0-6, 6-0.

Typically, the third set was a tight affair and, not surprisingly with the hilarious serve of Errani, there were a lot of service breaks. Rallies were epic and punishing between the contrasting pair, dragging fans out of their seats to applaud and roar on their home superstar.

After a series of breaks, Venus finally gained control and stepped up to serve for the contest at 5-3. But the match-tough Errani was not done yet. She broke back and eventually earned herself a final-set tiebreak.

While also a fan of the rule to continue final sets from 6-6 at Grand Slams until a two-game lead is established, the deciding tiebreak does create incredible drama. Errani and Williams locked themselves in a battle to the death. In any other situation the grunting would have been unbearable.

But it was the gutsy Italian grinder that finally silenced the crowd, literally pressing her finger to her lips at the conclusion of the match. Errani took the tiebreak 7-5 and advanced to the fourth round. Her run was later stopped at the quarterfinal stage in a crushing defeat to eventual finalist Caroline Wozniacki; she won just a solitary game and failed to hold serve.

Venus would have been gutted not to advance, particularly with a strong chance of making the last eight, as Errani did.

On the whole though, Sara versus Venus was a truly bizarre but wholly captivating experience at this year’s Open.

He might not have clinched his maiden Grand Slam title in New York but the 24-year-old Japanese man is the real deal.

Even before the bright lights and skyscrapers of America’s most famous East Coast city, Nishikori’s 2014 results had hinted that he was ready to challenge for big titles.

He’s won titles in Memphis and Barcelona; he beat David Ferrer and the great Roger Federer in Miami, before unfortunately having to pull out of a semifinal with Novak Djokovic.

In Madrid, he led by a set and a break over Rafa Nadal in the final. Once again, though, physical problems plagued him and he had to retire in the third set. Before injury hit, he was in complete control too and would have probably beaten the “King of Clay” on his own beloved turf.

His run in New York was quite extraordinary, though. Everyone was mentioning before the tournament the impossible path that Andy Murray had to regain the title he won in 2012. Nishikori pretty much accomplished that same road.

The first three rounds were a walk in the park but then it was one big slog match-by-match. Milos Raonic was eventually dispatched at 2:26 a.m. ET in the fourth round, equalling the latest finish to a U.S. Open match. It was a wonderful five-set epic, lasting four hours and 19 minutes, in which the Japanese man rallied from two sets to one down, winning the fifth 6-4. Raonic had been tipped himself for a lengthy run in New York, after winning the U.S. Open Series.

Next up was No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka in the last eight. Another classic. This one was only a paltry four hours and 15 minutes.

Wawrinka told reporters about his vanquisher: “Even at the beginning he looks like he’s going to die on the court, but he’s there”.

It wasn’t getting easier after that for the semifinals. It’s tough enough to take down world No. 1 Djokovic at full fitness. But when you’ve been on the court for a combined eight hours and 34 minutes in your past two matches, it’s almost impossible.

Sometimes, though, what you can’t beat in a player is confidence. Nishikori stunned the Serb in four sets to reach his first ever Slam final. It was a performance of immense power, control and nerve by the Japanese man.

Djokovic heaped praise to reporters on Kei post-match: “He wasn’t using the forehand as well as he does now. His backhand is very solid, one of the best double-handed backhands from all over the court, really aggressive. He’s very quick, so he gets a lot of balls back, uses every short ball to attack. I think now he’s an all-around player”.

The final against Cilic was seemingly one step too far. In what could have been a really tight and exciting final, without a Big Four member for the first time since the 2005 Australian Open, turned into a comfortable and dull win for the Croat.

It’s safe to say though that Nishikori will be back in a Grand Slam final sooner rather than later, after that head-turning, mind-jangling set of results in the Big Apple.

When the draw was set in New York, we were all hoping that a Roger Federer-Grigor Dimitrov quarterfinal matchup would materialise, weren’t we?

A match for the generations, if you will. They both ooze star quality and play beautiful, fluid tennis. But a certain flashy Frenchman had other ideas for the Arthur Ashe crowd.

The enigma of the ATP Tour that is Gael Monfils stopped the run of Maria’s man in straight sets, to punch a date with New York’s adopted son. It was a match that could produce fireworks: two entertainers who can conjure shots from out of this world.

Federer was off in the opening two sets and he was made to pay. You could almost hear a pin drop with the crowd reeling from their idol being down two sets to love.

Roger wasn’t going down easily, though, and he took the third 6-4. The two were right there with each other deep into the fourth set, with Federer serving to stay in the championship at 4-5.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, two match points were drawn up for Monfils. The first went with a backhand that sailed long from the No. 20 seed. The second was the epitome of holding your nerve. The Swiss maestro hit a super forehand winner down the line under immense pressure, sending the adoring crowd into bedlam.

Federer then turned it all around and took the set 7-5. Monfils wilted in the fifth, having had the sight of a finish line evaporated from before his eyes.

He may not have won the tournament, and now people are writing him off once again, but he provided us with the match of the Open, with a classic comeback at the age of 33.

That photo above is what it still means to him: how much he loves this sport that he's won more than enough in. Never count him out.

The “Wizard of Woz” and candy-loving Maria delivered a high-octane match, undoubtedly one of the WTA’s best in 2014, which was followed (coincidentally) by a wild thunderstorm in New York.

Wozniacki came out flying and grabbed a 3-0 lead and eventually took the set 6-4, despite being pegged back to four games all by the Russian.

Sharapova isn’t one to shy away from a fight and comeback, though, and she took the second 6-2 with some more consistent hitting.

Then, the players were excused for a 10-minute break because of the excessive heat, which came just at the right time for an off-key Wozniacki.

On her return, the crowd were urging the Dane on to claim the upset, and she stormed through the final set 6-2 to boot the French Open champion out of the tournament at the fourth round stage.

Wozniacki soaked up all the power that the largely one-dimensional Sharapova could throw at her, scampering around the court in good preparation for her New York Marathon endeavours later in the year. This particular point to break for 3-1 in the third set was quite magnificent running from the former world No. 1, making the crowd delirious with excitement.

She made it all the way to the final but fell short in a drab affair against best friend Serena. But Wozniacki has had an extremely promising North American hard-court season, losing to No. 1 Williams on three occasions and to Camila Giorgi in the not particularly important event in New Haven, Connecticut.

There are high hopes that the Dane can get back up the rankings and win that elusive first Slam in 2015.

Most countries’ tennis fans would chop their arm off to have a consistent women’s Grand Slam champion and the best men’s doubles team in the world. But in the USA, there’s still so much doom and gloom about their tennis.

You can see the reason why really. No men in the fourth round at their home major again. No one coming through in the women’s game (especially with Sloane Stephens suffering a woeful second-round defeat to Johanna Larsson).

Still, though, America, you’ve got the greatest female of her generation, if not of all time: Serena Williams. If that wasn’t enough, you’ve got the greatest doubles team of all time: Bob and Mike Bryan.

The question was posed before a competitive ball was struck at Flushing Meadows whether Serena could overcome her nerves and the pressure of being pencilled in as champion before playing a match at every major.

But Serena answered all her doubters by easing to a third straight U.S. Open crown and, in doing so, joining Martina Navratilova and Chrissie Evert on a colossal 18 Grand Slam titles.

Her countrymen, the chest-bumping Bryan brothers, also made history. Fittingly, they won their 100th title together on Arthur Ashe Stadium. So, that’s not a bad turn out for you, America.

It’s when those three champions leave the scene, though, that there may be a little problem. However, Serena isn’t going anywhere yet. She’s caught up to 18; now she wants Graf’s 22 and it’s well within reach.