Women: Top Upsets in US Open History

I played tennis as a kid, in junior high school, high school and college. I loved tennis and still do. It has changed a lot since I started, after all my first raquet was made out of wood, but it is still a thrill to watch players hit the ball.

Below are what I think the top three upsets worth mentioning and learning about are at the US Open as of 2010.

1) Coin versus Ivanovic
Julie Coin from France was ranked 188 in the world in August of 2008. Having never played in a WTA (Womens Tennis Association) tour before, making it into the US Open was a winning moment itself. She won her first round match and was up against number 1 ranked Ana Ivanovic in the second round. Coin won the first set 6-3, lost the second set 4-6 and came back to take the win in the third set 6-3. With aces, well played shots and confidence, Coin created one of the biggest upsets in female history at the US open. It'd been 41 years since a top seed had lost that early in a tournament.

2) S. Williams versus Clijsters

In the 2009 US Open, Kim Clijsters, who'd taken time off from tennis to be with family and have a baby, was unranked and unseeded coming into the US Open. Clijsters, however, a fabulous player made it to the semi-finals. Her opponent: the almost unbeatable, second seeded Serena Williams. Clijsters played as she always had, with dignity, strength and technique. All of that and her composure won her that match over the highly favored Serena Williams whose attitude and unsportsmanlike conduct lost it for her. The most famous line from that match was at match point to a line judge where she said she wished she could shove the ball down her throat. Most people were pretty pleased at the upset and that Serena Williams lost.

3) Goolagong versus Evert

The year was 1975, and women had only been playing the US Open for 7 years when this upset occurred. Goolagong had been a household name for female tennis players in the early 70's, however she had had a few misses at titles, and this 1975 US Open Final was hers for the taking. Chris Evert was very young at the time, but was also ranked number one. Even though Evert had the highest ranking, Goolagong won the first set 7-5, playing strongly and fans assumed she would take the second set no problem - it would have been a great way to end her previous losing streak. Nerves and Evert's great tennis style overtook the veteran, and she lost the next two sets 6-4, 6-2 consecutively.
This was not the old fashioned sort of upset, but mostly an upset for fans who were hoping to pull Goolgong through.

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/index.html