TWENTY-four former champions – from Rod Laver to Roger Federer and Virginia Wade to Maria Sharapova – launched opening night at the US Open on Monday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the professional era.
In 1968, Arthur Ashe became the first African-American man to win a Grand Slam title when he triumphed at the first US Open at Forest Hills while Wade raised the women’s trophy and pocketed the tournament’s first prize money as champion.
