As we reported yesterday, it was 16 years from the day that Greg Rusedski had reached the final of the US Open.
After that, it had been a feat that British men had struggled to match.
However, the emergence of Andy Murray through the ranks provided supporters with a reason for optimism. That was further enhanced in September 2004 when he won the junior title at Flushing Meadows.
The Scot continued to rise until the 2008 installment of the US Open came around, where Murray was considered to be among one of the best players in men's tennis.
He went on to prove that school of thought to be correct, defeating Juan Martin del Potro and Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively to set up a showpiece meeting with four-time champion Roger Federer five years ago today.
While Murray was regarded to have done incredibly well to reach the final, many believed that the 21-year-old lacked the necessary physicality to knock R-Fed off his perch.
Even so, with Federer on this sort of form, anybody would have struggled to tame the world number two. He claimed the first set 6-2 in just 26 minutes and although Murray rallied in the second, he was unable to prevent Federer from taking it 7-5.
Losing that set appeared to end Murray's challenge and he found himself 5-0 down in the third set. The British youngster did manage to get two games on the board, but it only delayed the inevitable as Federer won the title for a fifth consecutive occasion.
"I had a great tournament but I came up against, in my opinion, the best player ever to play the game today. I got the better of him the last two times we played. He definitely set the record straight today," said a defeated Murray shortly after the match.
"I've got a lot of improving to do if I want to win one of these tournaments. I love playing in front of this crowd - it's been the best time of my life."
Up until now, that was Federer's last triumph at the American Grand Slam, while Murray claimed the trophy at the expense of Novak Djokovic in 2012.
Liam Apicella
