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Love
it or loathe it, the US Open is the toughest slam of all
By Alix Ramsay
 If
the Australian Open is the most hospitable of the four Grand
Slam tournaments; the French, the most sophisticated; and
Wimbledon, the most traditional, then the US Open is…well,
it’s hard to find words fit for publication in a family
magazine to describe the last Slam of the year. Hell on wheels
doesn’t even come close.
Two weeks in Flushing Meadows is an endurance test for players,
officials and media alike. The spectators may have a great
time but they only come for a day or two—those who go
the distance deserve a medal. The days are interminably long,
the trek from city to tennis center and back is infuriating
(if I never see the Van Wyck expressway again, it will be
a day too soon) and no one seems to know quite what’s
going on. Nothing is ever easy in the Big Apple, and when
the gods join in as they did last year by drenching the place
with four days of rain, it becomes impossible. But that is
what makes the US Open unique.
Some players thrive on the noise and the mayhem that is the
US Open, while others loathe it. But when they win it, it
becomes very special indeed.
Andy Roddick did just that last year. He returns as the all-American
hero, the defending champion and the former World No. 1—not
bad for a lad who will turn only 22 on the opening day of
the tournament. His run through last summer was extraordinary
and well chronicled—only two losses in 3 1/2 months
and two Masters Series, two international series and one Grand
Slam title won—but doing it again is the really hard
part.
Coming into this year he could not find that magic winning
formula, and while he was challenging for the big titles,
he was not winning them. That changed in Miami as he claimed
the trophy and heaved a huge sigh of relief. He may not have
been playing as well as he had six months before, but he was
winning and anything could happen from there.
“I felt like early on in the year I was kind of knocking
on the door of playing really well,” he said. “Then
with winning Miami and playing Davis Cup, I feel like I kind
of got over that hurdle. So I feel like I maybe took it up
another level there.”
And these days, he is not stunned when he hits top gear. It
is a lesson he learned slowly as his great summer unfolded.
As the matches racked up he just bit his lip and hoped for
more. Now he knows what he is capable of.
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