ILIE CONTENTIOSUS

John McEnroe def. Ilie Nastase, 1979

None of the raucous nights at the U.S. Open can top the chaos of McEnroe’s 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 second-round win over Nastase in 1979. As Neil Amdur wrote in The New York Times, “There were cheers, boos, point penalties, game penalties, police on the court, a switch in umpires and even some brilliant shot making.” It ended at 12:36 a.m., but it could have ended earlier because the chair umpire, Frank Hammond, tried to default Nastase in the middle of the fourth set for unsportsmanlike conduct. That led to a delay of nearly 20 minutes as fans booed loudly, ran on the court and threw garbage at Hammond, who was eventually replaced by the tournament referee so the match could finish.