New York City is often described as the city that never sleeps, and that cliché is perhaps never better fulfilled than during the fortnight over which the US Open takes place every year.

The electrifying tennis tournament marks the final Grand Slam of the calendar year, representing the last chance players have to get their hands on a major trophy, and that results in some of the highest-quality tennis of the season being put on show.

At no point is that pure determination and desire to win better exemplified than in the final, when the stakes are at their highest and the potential reward on offer at its greatest, given the fact the prize money given out is more than at any other tennis tournament worldwide.

There has been no shortage of dramatic deciders down the years, on both the men's and women's singles front, with all-time greats such as Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Andy Murray and Martina Navratilova all taking part in some iconic matches at the culmination of the competition.

Here, we rank the 12 most outstanding singles finals in the US Open's history, from the marathons to the masterpieces and everything in between.

12 Jimmy Connors vs Björn Borg (1976)

Two giants of the game met in the 1976 final, which saw a match that came to life in the third set after each player had taken one each after the first two.

Connors led 4-2 in the third and was one point from going 5-2 up, but a spirited comeback from Borg forced a tiebreak, and eventually, the Swede found himself 6-4 up in the breaker.

Heroically, Connors fought back to 6-6, before saving another two set points as the drama seemed to continue interminably, until eventually, Connors won the tiebreak 11-9, before then going on to win one of the most entertaining finals of all time.

11 Juan Martín del Potro vs Roger Federer (2009)

Flying forward into the 21st century, it's a final that encapsulates the very definition of the word underdog, as del Potro came out on top unexpectedly against Federer.

At the time, the Swiss player was going for an astonishing sixth straight US Open victory, and after winning the first set 6-3, it seemed that pressure had got the better of del Potro in his first-ever Grand Slam final.

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However, in what ended up being an upset for the ages, del Potro won two tiebreakers and forced a decisive fifth set which he won 6-2, briefly knocking the seemingly unbeatable Federer off his perch.

10 Tracy Austin vs Chris Evert (1979)

Much like Federer in the previous match, Chris Evert came into this Final with multiple consecutive US Open wins under her belt, and it seemed that the 16-year-old Tracy Austin, whilst evidently talented, would not cause her too many problems.

As it turned out, Austin ended up shocking the world, beating Evert in straight sets to become the youngest-ever US Open winner - a record she still holds to this day.

The achievement was made all the more impressive by the fact the US Open was played on clay back then, a surface Evert had not lost on for over six years - yet Austin found a way to overcome the odds and put her name in the history books.

9 Dominic Thiem vs Alexander Zverev (2020)

Back in the modern day again, and it's a match between two names that may not ordinarily have found themselves competing for a Grand Slam title against one another.

As it turned out though, Thiem and Zverev put on a spectacular show, with the only downside being the fact there was no crowd present to witness it due to Covid restrictions.

Both men faced Championship points, but having gone two sets down, Thiem became the first man in the open era to win a major title from such a position, taking the final set 8-6.

8 Tracy Austin vs Martina Navratilova (1981)

It's a second feature on this list for Tracy Austin, and once again it comes when she was still very young, at just 18 years old.

Austin looked to be in some trouble after the first set, which she lost 6-1 in emphatic circumstances, but after regaining her composure she found herself level at one set all.

One final set tiebreak later (the first time a Grand Slam final had been decided in such a way) and Austin had her second US Open title of her career.

7 Pete Sampras vs Andre Agassi (1995)

Now, while this match may not as a whole be quite as stellar as some of the others on this list, it still saw some world-class tennis being played.

In particular, a moment in the first set, with Sampras 5-4 up and on set point, when one of the most incredible rallies - 22 shots in total - took place, showcasing the very best of both players.

Sampras ended up winning the point with a pinpoint backhand winner, sending the crowd wild, and saw off his opponent in four sets to claim the title.

6 Martina Navratilova vs Chris Evert (1984)

As potentially the greatest rivalry in women's tennis history, it is no surprise to see a contest between Navratilova and Evert included on a list of greatest matches.

Navratilova had been dominating the sport for multiple years by this point and was expected to win relatively comfortably against her American opponent.

Although she did go on to win, the Czech-American faced a much tougher task than usual, dropping the first set and needing to be at the very top of her game, in a match which marked something of a turning point in Navratilova's domination of the sport.

5 Mats Wilander vs Ivan Lendl (1988)

Five-set Grand Slam finals are often all too quickly described as 'classics', simply owing to the time both players spend on the court, but this certainly fits the bill.

On court for nearly five hours, the two players battled over every single ball, with them being ranked as the top two in the world at the time.

Long, arduous baseline rallies were the main feature of the match, but eventually, Wilander took the initiative in the fifth and attacked the net, going on to claim the title.

4 Victoria Azarenka vs Serena Williams (2012)

For all Serena Williams dominated women's tennis for over two decades, Victoria Azarenka was the one player who did come close to breaking her stride.

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In fact, during the 2012 final, Azarenka found herself 5-3 up in the third and final set, looking odds-on to beat the home favourite.

But in typical Serena style, the American refused to back down, coming back to win 7-5 in the first three-set US Open women's final of the 21st century.

3 Andy Murray vs Novak Djokovic (2012)

Remarkably, not only was the women's singles final one to remember in 2012, but it was also the case in the men's draw too, as Andy Murray won his first-ever Grand Slam title in dramatic circumstances.

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The Brit had lost his previous four major finals, and it seemed as though history may repeat itself when he let slip a two-set lead to go to a fifth.

However, after a match of almost unbelievably long rallies (one lasted 54 shots!), Murray came out on top, and the relief was clear to see when he lifted the trophy.

2 Steffi Graf vs Monica Seles (1995)

In another case of thrilling finals in both draws, 1995 saw a dramatic encounter between two huge rivals in the form of Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.

The context surrounding the match was arguably more important than the game itself, with Seles having not played for over two years after having been stabbed by a Graf fan back in 1993.

On her return, Seles reached the final and played out a three-set treat with Graf, but it was the German who ended up taking victory 6-3 in the end - though not without a huge fight put up by her opponent.

1 John McEnroe vs Björn Borg (1981)

Tennis rivalries do not come much bigger than this: the opposing styles of the two players always made for a spicy encounter whenever the two met on court, and this match was no exception.

Borg, characterised by his commitment to lengthy rallies from the baseline, contrasted with McEnroe's more unorthodox approach, which incorporated the use of the net far more than most.

With the temperature sizzling in New York, a five-set classic pushed both to their limits, as Borg fought from two sets down to take it to a decisive final set.

McEnroe, likely with the memory of his Wimbledon final loss to the same opponent just a couple of months later, refused to back down and delighted the home crowd with an American winner of the US Open for the third year in a row.