• Rewind to 1968

Wade Opens up a new era

"To me, my game seemed over-simplified, almost dull, percentage first serves, decisive but unflashy volleys"

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The US Open reaches its climax this weekend and there will be no British interest in the main draws following Andy Murray's eclipse but, back in 1968 the Brits were smiling as Virginia Wade became the first winner of the US Open.

The US Open dates back to 1881, but back then it was known as the US Tennis Championships and it was not until 1968 that it became known as the Open and it proved a great day for tennis and a great one for Britain.

Wade claimed three grand-slam titles in her career, the highlight being her Wimbledon triumph in 1977. But it all started back in 1968 when the then 23-year-old made off with the prize at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York.

Wade's career spanned the end of the amateur era and start of the professional, Open, era and she tasted victory in the inaugural Open event - the British Hard Court Open - but turned down the prizemoney due to concerns over her status.

Five months later she was a professional and picked up the sum of $6,000 for beating Billie Jean King 6-4 6-2 in the US Open final. And it was some performance as King won the event the previous year, and four times in all, and is held in such esteem that the event's current home is named in her honour.

It was a stunning triumph for Wade, but it almost never was as she considered turning her back on the sport after her first-round defeat at Wimbledon earlier in the year.

"I thought of quitting, reassessing the whole thing and starting over again if I felt like it," Wade later wrote in her book, Courting Triumph. "There was even doubt in my mind whether I should play the next big tournament, Forest Hills. It was the first US Open Championships, with a large purse, but you had to win a few rounds to cover the airfare."

Billie Jean King was a multiple US Open champion

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But Wade did decide to travel and despite concerns over courts she classed as "cow pastures", beat Rosie Casals, Judy Tegart and fellow Brit Ann Jones to reach the final.

The airfare was well and truly covered by now and the focus shifted to the final. As is still the case today, the women's final takes place after the men's semi-finals, Super Saturday as it is known, and as such Wade did not know when she would be required to go on court. It was heading towards early evening before Arthur Ashe beat Clark Graebner to allow Wade and King to do battle.

Nerves were initially a problem for Wade, but she played forcefully throughout and above all kept calm against one of the all-time great match players. Wade had a break point in the first game of the match, saved two on her own serve at 2-3 down, then broke service with a lob to lead 4-3, taking the set 6-4. In later years, this might have been the cue for Wade to let the demons in. She had the biggest serve in the women's game at the time, but it had a lot of moving parts and was prone to breaking down. But today she didn't just hold it together, she moved up a gear. In the second set, she did break serve in the opening game, then again at 4-2, then lost only one point in the last two games to win the set 6-2.

Billie Jean won the title twice more, but today she was well beaten by a very worthy champion.

"To me, my game seemed over-simplified, almost dull, percentage first serves, decisive but unflashy volleys," Wade said. "I kept expecting to have to produce more, but it wasn't necessary. I won 6-4, 6-2. I was the first US Open champion."

Bigger prizes awaited Wade who amassed $1,542,278 in career prize money, but being the first US Open champion is an achievement that ranks high in the pecking order.

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