The US Open - Entering A New Frontier & Era

The Stadium at Forest Hills

My first memory of the US Open is when it was held at Forest Hills and the prize money was something in the region of $25,000 for the champion. It was a quaint tournament, having moved to New York from its original home in Newport, Rhode Island, where it had started as The National Championship on grass courts.

I remember the move to Flushing Meadows and the USTA National Tennis Center. As a traditionalist, I was sad to see the move to hard courts, but the crowds and attention the tournament was receiving was forcing the move as it was outgrowing the club setting at Forest Hills.

Jimmy Connors had ushered in a new age with his two-handed backhand, his T-2000 metal racquet, and his brash, loud attitude on the court. Too often we remember McEnroe and his temper and tantrums, but Connors was there first. In fact, Connors is the only player to win the US Open on grass, clay and hard courts. I was lucky enough to be at the Open for Connor's win over Aaron Krickstein in 1991. Connor's 39th birthday couldn't have been more special. It put an exclamation point on his era and then allowed the new boys like Agassi and Sampras to move forward into the limelight for good.

But I think we are at a defining moment in tennis for both men and women. With Serena's dominance on the women's side over the past decade moving into its final years and Roger Federer not as dominant as he has been, we are seeing a host of new players and new attitudes and strategies enhancing the US Open. Interest in the sport is gaining and with matches lasting well into the early hours of the morning, the Open has become a prime-time TV event.

But what is different about the US Open having attended last year and going again this year, is the size of the event. Having been the first tournament with lit courts and being the only Grand Slam to have been played every year since its inception, it is again at the forefront of creating a special event. From the sheer size of its stadia and grounds to the live entertainment off the courts and the massive merchandising machine both on the grounds and through television and internet commercials, the US Open is perhaps now the biggest stage in tennis - bigger than Wimbledon Center Court. Even as a traditionalist, I have to say Wimbledon is far behind the Open in terms of grandness.

I am not sure it's good for the game or not. Time will tell. Perhaps we will look back in years to come and think of the US Open in 2012 in Flushing Meadows as quaint. Perhaps the tournament will move to Los Angeles and truly become a celebrity bash and a paparazzi field day. Perhaps it will grow to even bigger extremes. I am sure the players will be fabulous and the tennis superlative. They are the timeless chess pieces within a commercial marketplace.

That said, I wonder what the courts look like at Forest Hills this week. I still miss the sobriety and solitude of a bygone era.