US Open: Top five finals

The 2023 US Open begins at the end of August, so we've recapped five of the most iconic finals from Flushing Meadows.

What	2023 US Open
Where	USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, New York
When	Monday August 25th - Sunday September 10th
How to watch	ESPN
Outright Odds - Men	Novak Djokovic +120, Carlos Alcaraz +175, Daniil Medvedev +900
Outright Odds - Women	Iga Swiatek +240, Aryna Sabalenka +400, Coco Gauff +650

5: Steffi Graf v Monica Seles (1995)

Steffi Graf's 18th career Grand Slam title, which the German still considers to be one of her finest achievements, came in dramatic circumstances at the 1995 US Open.

Her opponent, Monica Seles, was making just her second appearance following a two-and-a-half-year hiatus after she was stabbed in Hamburg by an obsessed Graf fan who later told police that he "couldn't bear the thought that anyone could beat Steffi."

Graf, meanwhile, had spent the evening before the final in a New York hospital with a troublesome foot, but it didn't show in a competitive opening set as she won a tiebreak to claim an early lead.

Seles would roar back, winning 6-0 in just 27 minutes, but Graf came back at the American, playing a marvellous final set to run out a 7-6 0-6 6-3 winner, securing what she described as "the biggest win" of her career.

4: Andy Murray v Novak Djokovic (2012)

Beaten in an emotional Wimbledon final by Roger Federer the previous month, Andy Murray won his first Grand Slam title and the only US Open of his career to date with a marvellous triumph over Novak Djokovic.

Defending champion Djokovic had already won five Grand Slam tournaments but he found himself in a tough position as Murray claimed the first set, an 87-minute epic which was settled by a lengthy tiebreak, before the Scot went on to win the second by a 7-5 scoreline.

Always the fighter, Djokovic demonstrated his appetite for a battle by winning the third and fourth sets with relative ease, teeing up an opportunity to become the first man to come from two sets down to win a Slam final since Gaston Gaudio in the 2004 French Open.

However, Murray would not be denied, breaking Djokovic twice in the opening three games of the final set, eventually winning 7-6 7-5 2-6 3-6 6-2 in four hours and 54 minutes.

3: Roger Federer v Juan Martin del Potro (2009)

Roger Federer became the dominant force in men's tennis from the moment he won Wimbledon in 2003 but he proved powerless to stop Juan Martin del Potro in the 2009 final as the Argentinian ended the Swiss legend's five-year US Open winning run in a thrilling contest.

Federer was bidding to become the first man since 1925 to win the US Open on six consecutive occasions and he sprang into an early lead, winning the opening set 6-3.

However, Del Porto was in no mood to fold, utilising his powerful serve and brutal forehand to draw level with Federer in a second-set tiebreak. The Swiss hit back to claim the third and Delpo again needed a tiebreak to extend the match.

From that point on, the match went the way of the tall Argentinian, who won 6-2 in the decider to claim his sole Grand Slam title.   

2: Martina Navratilova v Chris Evert (1984)

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert played out one of the greatest matches of their lengthy rivalry at the 1984 US Open as Navratilova won the second of her four US Open titles.

The two had met in the US Open final the previous season, which was also won by the Czech-born American, and in the finals of both the 1984 French Open and Wimbledon, which would also go the way of Martina.

Despite a less than encouraging head-to-head record, Evert came out firing on all cylinders, winning the first set 6-4 to light the fuse in a match which was notable for the incredibly high level which both players maintained throughout the contest.

Navratilova, as she would do in the majority of their Grand Slam meetings, found another gear from the start of the second set onwards, eventually claiming the title with a 4-6 6-4 6-4 triumph.   

1: Bjorn Borg v John McEnroe (1980)

Two icons of the sport clashed in arguably the greatest US Open final of them all in 1980 when Bjorn Borg took on John McEnroe after previously winning the French Open and Wimbledon, the Swede having beaten the American on the London grass.

The 1980 Wimbledon final was reported to be the greatest match of them all and a similar scenario began to unfold at Flushing Meadows, only this time with a different victor, and defending champion McEnroe looked to be cruising to a victory and Wimbledon revenge as he took the opening two sets.

Borg refused to go down with a whimper, winning the third set in a tiebreak and claiming the fourth 7-5 to take the final into a deciding set. But McEnroe would triumph, becoming the first man in the Open era to mount a successful defence of the US Open.

Following that pulsating final, McEnroe would go on to lift the US Open on two more occasions but Borg would never get his hands on the famous trophy.