Your biggest comeback/choke

[Tammo]

Just for fun. My biggest choke. I was playing in a tourny, and lost the first set 6-3. In the second set I got up 5-1, I was up a double break, and then lost the next 5 games, then got one to force it to a TB. In the TB I went down 7-2. My best comeback. I was in a doubles tourney with a friend, and we quickly got down 2-5 in the first set. After that my partner and I rolled of 5 straight games to win 7-5. We also won the 2 set 7-5.

[heycal]

Originally Posted by Tammo

Just for fun. My biggest choke. I was playing in a tourny, and lost the first set 6-3. In the second set I got up 5-1, I was up a double break, and then lost the next 5 games, then got one to force it to a TB. In the TB I went down 7-2. My best comeback. I was in a doubles tourney with a friend, and we quickly got down 2-5 in the first set. After that my partner and I rolled of 5 straight games to win 7-5. We also won the 2 set 7-5.

I don't do league play, but in matches against friends/acquaintances, I blew either a 5-0 or 5-1 lead to lose a set at least once, and came from from 0-6 down to win a 10 point tie-breaker.

[vcat]

Third set tie breaker in a tournament semifinal. Down 1-6, came all the way back to tie it up 6-6, only to lose 6-8.

[bcart1991]

Mixed Doubles City Finals, 2003. Playing line 5, final and championship-deciding match. My partner and I are down 5-3 and 30-0 with their guy serving in the third set. Came back to win that one 7-5 and take the City Championship.

A couple years later, semifinals of Men's Doubles, we're down 1-4 in the third set of our line 5 match. Came back to win that one 9-7 in a TB. Team won in the Finals the next week in 4 matches out of 5.

I've lost a couple where I was up a set and 5-2 or some such. I blame my partner for proclaiming "We got this one, baby!" at that point, thus creating our opponent's remarkable comebacks.

[beernutz]

Playing up at 4.0 the first time my partner and I go up 3-0 with 2 breaks with two games won at love. We then proceeded to lose 12 games in a row to lose 3-6 0-6. Two weeks later we win the first set easily at 6-2 and basically gave away the two games we lost we were so dominant. We then again lost 12 games in a row to finish 6-2, 0-6, 0-6. Ouch. I consider both matches chokes because the other teams didn't pick up their games nearly as much as ours dropped off the map.

Biggest positive turnaround was in a the last league match of the year in the Spring where the 2nd and 3rd place teams were playing to decide which one went to playoffs with the first place team. We got drilled the first set 0-6 and lost the first 13 points of the match in a row. We then crushed them and won the second set 6-1 and 10-2 in the TB. Tennis can be weird.

[GlennK]

Singles match. I won the first set 6-2 and was up 5-1 and serving. I proceeded to lose that game and the next 5 to lose the second set 7-5. Totally lost my confidence and ended up losing the third set and the match. Can't remember the exact score of the third set but I am pretty sure I lost 6-2.

Glenn

[dizzlmcwizzl]

Biggest choke ... I was in a weight loss contest at work and had a big match on the same day as our weigh in. Foolishly I had dehydrated myself to maximize my chances of winning the small cash prize for the weight loss contest. Later during the match I won the first set easily. When the lack of fluids kicked in I proceeded to lose the next two sets 6-0, 6-1 .... It was worse than the scores suggests.

Biggest Comeback ... this year in sectionals we were down a set and 5-1 to a strong opponent and came back to win the match with two come from behind tie breaks.

[polski]

Tonight....I was serving to stay alive at 6-7, 4-5 (30-15). Double fault, double fault, double fault...game/set/match.

I just ordered my replacement racquet.

[LeeD]

I've choked tons of times, but one memorable choke was the quarters at the '78 ChineseNationals in SanFrancisco. Most guys thought I had a chance to make the finals. I'd been playing successfully in A/Open events all around the BayArea. Met JohnLee, a really old and decrepit 40 year old who pitty patted the ball and acted like he was gonna die the next point, limping, hobbling, rubbing his muscles, and complaining almost every point.
Up 5-0 in the first set, I managed to lose that one AND the second set bagel.
Good show, lost a couple of very potential g/f candidates right there! Lucky for me.
At least my doubles tourney ended in the finals for another resounding defeat.

[heycal]

Originally Posted by dizzlmcwizzl

I proceeded to lose the next two sets 6-0, 6-1 .... It was worse than the scores suggests.

Good line.

[GS]

Back in the '80s, I always choked and lost when playing this one guy, even when I was up 5-3 or so in a set. Then I wised up and read Jim Loehr's "Mental Toughness---Training for Sports", the only book that ever really worked for me. I beat this guy a few days later, and usually every match thereafter.

[Rui]

In one tournament I lost the first 9 games, then won the next 12. Weird.

[fms]

Good show, lost a couple of very potential g/f candidates right there!

Wait - what?

[Jon Hampton]

Strange but true...I had the biggest comeback wins at Sectionals two years ago. It works like this:

#1: First match my partner and I play at sectionals. We lose the first set 3-6 and are down 4-5 with our opponents serving for the match. My wife comes over to see how we're doing and I flash her the "thumbs down" to mean it's over. At this point, we are 2-2, so this match will decide who wins the match up. At 30-40, my partner hits a great winner down the line and we're at 5-5. We hold, they hold. We win the tiebreak 7-5 and win the second, 3rd set tiebreak 10-8.

#2: My team is exhausted after our first day encounter and this match is in the middle of the day. My partner and I win the first set 6-4 or something similar and then my partner gets a massive cramp in his leg and has trouble moving. We are thinking about calling the match, but decide to play on. We quickly are losing games and end up losing 1-6. In the 3rd set tiebreak at 3-4 us serving, the heavens open up and it begins to pour. Match is rescheduled for the next day--and it turns out that my team is down 0-2, but all three of our doubles matches went to third set tiebreaks when the rains came. We come back the next day, I am serving at 3-4, we end up winning the last few points to make it 10-5. To boot, our other two doubles matches end up winning their tiebreaks, so we win the match up 3-2.

#3: Last sectional match against the other undefeated team. My partner and I start off well and win the first set 6-3. We are so tired from previous days that we end up losing the second 3-6. In the third set tiebreak, it's a continuous battle of having match points and being down match points. Eventually, on our 7th match points, our opponents make an error and we win. Unfortunately, we end up losing this match up 1-4 against the other team, but two of our singles matches went to third set tiebreaks and we just couldn't pull them out.

Overall, it was in incredible match. Definitely one for my memory banks to re-live again.

[DeShaun]

I've stormed back from 0- or 1-5 down a few times, but never actually clinched the set afterward, only managed to force a tiebreak or finally lose 5-7.

Also, playing in my first ever tournament, I fought off four match points against an eventual finalist.

I guess my biggest choke would have to be in mixed doubles. My partner and I were up 5-1, played a couple of loose points and wham! Next thing you know, we got beat 5-7. Yeah, that was definitely my worst choke.

[Pipe85]

Biggest choke was definently in the semifinals of the conference tournamnet freshman year of college.

I got u p 5-1 in the 1st set, game up a brief comeback to close it out 7-5.

Next set, I get up 5-1 again, start choking. At 5-5 my coach comes over to me and jokes around about how this happened last set. Manage to hold my serve, get into a tie break, get up 6-1 in the tiebreak and then lose 9-7.

For the third set we play a 10 point match tiebreak. I get up 9 to freaking 0. Managed to lose it 18-16.

Won 3rd place in the tournament over a teammate of mine that became a victim of wrath as i was just pissed off and won 6-0 6-0

[radicaluser22]

Biggest choke, took first set 6-0 lose 2nd set 4-6 and then third set 0-6.
Could make excuses for this but not worth it, in the end it was down to me having a weak mental game and allowing things to get to me -.-''

[jonnyjack]

Originally Posted by Pipe85

For the third set we play a 10 point match tiebreak. I get up 9 to freaking 0. Managed to lose it 18-16.

Ouch...that's a lot of match points, haha.

[10smonkey]

worst loss.... Member guest tourney I met my partner that day ....make it to the finals..... playing the team that had won it 5-6 years in a row... up 6-1, 5-1.....lose 7-5 , 6-4 .....felt like a cat hanging on a wall with its claws out.....sliding down
best comeback.... playing in the final of a local 5.0 tourney down 6-0 in a third set tiebreak....win the next eight points

[slickerthansleek]

Haven't had any real major chokes yet, however last week we lost the first set against the team in my league coming last (in a tiebreaker) which was kind of a letdown, and have had a few sets where we were up 5-1 and let them come back to 5-4 or 5-5. (I play social doubles)
Best comeback was a few months ago, we won the first set 6-3 but were down 5-1 in the second, we brought it back to a tiebreaker, got down 6-1 in the tiebreaker and then ended up winning it 9-7, then won the final set 6-0.

Oh, and a game we played about a month ago, in the final set after having lost the first two (in our comp we play all three sets even if the game is lost after the first two, because you can still get a point for winning the last set), we were down 5-1, got it back to 5-4, and saved 17 match points in that game before we were eventually beaten. It was one of those games where even though we lost, we left with our heads held high.