With a huge forehand passing shot down the line, Takashi Sanada grabbed a place in history at the US Open on Saturday.

Playing in front of a big crowd on Armstrong Stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Sanada won his first Grand Slam crown, partnering with Stephane Houdet to win an exciting, evenly-matched final over Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda, 6-4 6-4.

Sanada’s final shot preceded a scream of celebration, followed by throwing his racket up in the air and hugging his partner Houdet, who has now won four US Open doubles titles with four different partners in his illustrious career.

“Winning the US Open for the first time is an achievement I will remember for a lifetime,” said the 38-year-old Sanada, 14 years younger than his partner.

Houdet, who had won three previous US Open doubles titles with three partners, celebrated by playfully spraying water all over US Open Wheelchair Tournament director Jennifer Edmondson, as she scampered away from him.

Asked the secret to success with so many different partners, Houdet smiled.

“Be happy,” he said. “That was the plan. I said we needed to enjoy the moment and be happy to be there. To play on such a nice court, with a crowd, everything was perfect.”

The men’s doubles final was a titanic clash between two evenly-matched teams; Sanada and Houdet had made the semifinals at Roland Garros this year but this was their first final together.

The 2-hour 2-minute match featured many minutes-long rallies, and in both sets it was the critical ninth game that made the difference.

In the first set, after six deuces, Houdet and Sanada got an advantage and on break point No. 5, Oda double-faulted, finally ending the game.

Houdet then saved two break points in the next game and held on to win the set.

In the second set, again at 4-all, Houdet and Sanada broke again, although this time it didn’t take a marathon game to do it, but they went up 5-4 and served for the championship.

And with Sanada’s winner, the celebration was on.

“Just a few points here and there, that was the difference,” Houdet said. “We tried to put a lot of pressure on their serve, and be aggressive with spin and power.”

“It’s great to have a match like this, it’s crazy because Stephane is the same age as my Dad,” Oda said after the match, getting laughs from the 52-year-old Houdet.

“My kids are older than you, but I have an eight-month old and another one on the way!” Houdet said back a few minutes later in his on-court interview.

The women’s doubles final on Saturday was unfortunately not played; Jiske Griffioen and Diede de Groot were slated to play Yui Kamiji and Kgothatso Montjane, but Griffioen fell ill during her singles loss to Kamiji on Friday and was unable to compete, so Kamiji and Montjane were given the championship in a walkover.

For the Japanese and South African players, it was their second Grand Slam title together as a squad, adding to the Roland Garros title they won in June.

It is the 20th doubles Grand Slam crown and 28th overall for Kamiji, while for Montjane this victory is her second Slam doubles title and third overall.

Kamiji and Montjane won both their previous matches at the Open in straight sets, and credited their team chemistry for a big part of their success.

“We’re very good about, if one of us isn’t playing so well, the other one picks up their play,” Montjane said. “We get along very well on court and off court, and our games go together well. We’re very open and honest with each other.”

Kamiji, currently the world No. 2 ranked singles player, now focuses all her attention on trying to defeat De Groot in the women’s singles final, scheduled for noon Eastern time on Sunday.

Kamiji has lost to De Groot in two Slam finals this year, though in Australia she stretched the World No.1 who has won 11 consecutive Slam singles titles, to three sets. The two also met in the 2022 US Open final, a three-set triumph for De Groot.

De Groot has won an astonishing 121 consecutive singles matches since the 2021 Australian Open, and is going for her sixth straight US Open singles crown. Kamiji’s last win over De Groot was in February 2021.

“We always keep trying and trying,” Kamiji said. “I think I have a good shot.”

In the quad doubles final, the Dutch team of Sam Schroder and Niels Vink faced South Africa’s Donald Ramphadi and Britain's Andy Lapthorne. Schroder and Vink, going for their third straight US Open victory, captured the title with a 6-1 6-2 win.

In the junior girls' wheelchair final, Ksenia Chasteau of France, the No. 2 seed, defeated American top seed Maylee Phelps, 6-3 6-1.

The junior boys' wheelchair singles final between top seed Francesco Felici of Italy and Great Britain’s Dahnon Ward was won by Ward, 6-4 6-3.

Ward came back a few hours later to partner countryman Joshua Johns to a 6-0, 6-3 win in the boys wheelchair doubles final.

In junior girls' doubles, Chasteau and Phelps defeated Sabina Czauz and Yuma Takamuro, 7-5 6-0.