US Open 2018: Welcome Back & New Logo

Well...it's been 2 years hasn't it. That's what heading to grad school will do to a person. Sometimes the axiom, 'the more things change, the more they stay the same,' rings true. But sometimes, as with the case of the US Open's new logo, one steps away, and comes to find that things have gone completely awry.

Is this Arial font? Are these letters lower case? Really, in this political climate, lower case US? Is lower case an affront to becoming great again?

Also, is this logo actually in Arial Italics?

According to the USTA, "the logo created by renowned graphic design firm Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, is a streamlined and modernized version of the tournament’s iconic flaming ball logo, which was first introduced in 1997."

The old logo had a solid 20-year run. This logo probably won't make it this long because it lacks pizzazz and lacks the distinction the previous logo offered. 

And here's a look at an earlier version of the US Open's logo behind Steffi Graff from the mid-90s.