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John McEnroe had a glittering tennis career that saw him win seven Grand Slam singles titles, among other accolades. The American's maiden Major singles title came at the 1979 US Open. Seeded third, the then-20-year-old reached the final with wins over Pavel Slozil, Ilie Nastase, Tom Gorman, Eddie Dibbs, and Jimmy Connors.
Here, McEnroe was set to take on fourth seed Vitas Gerulaitis, who previously beat Bjorn Borg in the quarterfinals. He put in a fine performance to win 7-5, 6-3. 6-3 and claim his maiden Grand Slam singles title.
McEnroe wrote about how the 1979 US Open final affected his relationship with Gerulaitis in his book, "You Cannot Be Serious." He claimed that the win felt hollow since he took something from the 1977 Australian Open champion, adding that things between the two were never the same.
"For a couple of years, I’d been working to hang out with Vitas, wondering if I could keep up with him off the court. I’d been trying to be his friend. I looked up to him," John McEnroe wrote.
"And now that I’d blown by him, the victory felt hollow. I had taken something from him. He was still a legitimate number four in the world, but now he was off the mountaintop. Now it was Borg, Connors, and me. Things were never quite the same between Vitas and me after that," he added.
John McEnroe and Vitas Gerulaitis locked horns on 14 occasions, with the former leading 11-3 in the head-to-head between the two. The former came out on top in each of their first three meetings, while the latter triumphed in the next three. McEnroe went on to win each of his next eight encounters against Gerulaitis.
John McEnroe won four singles titles at the US Open
John McEnroe tasted more success at the US Open than he did at any other Grand Slam, winning it four times.
After triumphing in 1979, the American successfully defended his title at the New York Major twice, in 1980 and 1981, beating Bjorn Borg in the final on both occasions. His fourth title in Flushing Meadows came in 1984 when he defeated Ivan Lendl in the final. His last appearance at the US Open came in 1992 when he reached the fourth round before being beaten by top seed Jim Courier.
Apart from his singles triumphs, McEnroe also won four men's doubles titles at the US Open in 1979, 1981, 1983, and 1989.
