1971 US Open – Men's singles

Stan Smith defeated Jan Kodeš in the final, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–6(5–3) to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1971 US Open. It was his first major singles title.

Ken Rosewall was the reigning champion, but did not compete this year. Tony Roche, the previous year's runner-up, also did not compete in the tournament this year. The absence of both the previous year's finalists would not happen again at the US Open until 2017, 46 years later.

Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Stan Smith is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


 * 1) 🇦🇺 John Newcombe (first round)
 * 2) 🇺🇸 Stan Smith (champion)
 * 3) 🇺🇸 Arthur Ashe (semifinalist)
 * 4) 🇳🇱 Tom Okker (semifinalist)
 * 5) 🇺🇸 Marty Riessen (quarterfinalist)
 * 6) 🇺🇸 Cliff Richey (third round)
 * 7) 🇺🇸 Clark Graebner (quarterfinalist)
 * 8) 🇷🇴 Ilie Năstase (third round)

Key

 * Q = Qualifier
 * WC = Wild card
 * LL = Lucky loser
 * r = Retired