AO13
Hall of Fame
Who are the greatest losers in Grand Slam tournaments in men's singles?
By saying greatest losers, that means an ATG or a very good tennis player who lost the most on a particular Grand Slam tournament - most finals/semi finals, who underachieved or who choked.
Here's my list:
Australian Open - Andy Murray. I think this should be everyone's pick here. An all time great who reached 5 finals (2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016) and lost every single one of them - against Federer once and four times against Djokovic. Also lost in semi finals in 2012 against Novak.
Roland Garros - Guillermo Coria. For one reason - the 2004 final against Gaston Gaudio, where Coria had 6:0, 6:3 and 4:4 with 40:15 on his serve in the third, when that long point happened which Coria should have won. He got broken, lost the third 4:6 and started the chokefest and the cramping. Lost the fourth 1:6, and after medical timeout in the deciding set he came back, got a break and had to serve out at 5:4 for the title. Got broken easily, but broke Gaudio back and had 2 match points after deuces on his serve at 6:5. Failed, lost three games in a row and lost the final. After that, it seems like he never fully fullfilled his potential, as many were saying he would win multiple Grand Slam titles (was 22 in that final). Prior to this final he lost in 2003 in semi finals against a nobody if one can say so, dutchman Martin Verkerk.
Wimbledon - Andy Roddick. This one if tough, but my pick is Andy as he is one of the greatest servers ever and he lost 3 Wimbledon finals against Roger Federer (2004, 2005 and 2009), with the last one being in the epic 5 sets in which Andy just didn't capitalize his chances. He lost 2nd and 3rd set in a close tie break (6:8 and 5:7), but in second set he had 6:2 lead in tie break and 4 set points for 2:0 lead in sets, which he failed to convert. In the final set, Roddick had 2 break points on the result 8:8 and 15:40, but also failed to convert them. No other break points happened untill 14:15 on Roddick serve, when Federer took the first given opportunity and broke Roddick for final result 14:16 and record breaking 15th Grand Slam title. In that game, Andy had 40:30 and adv, but lost the game and the match. Andy also lost in semi finals in 2003 against Federer.
US Open - Novak Djokovic. This one should also be on everyone's list, I guess. The Serb lost 6 finals there (2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2021) with the last one being the toughest - Medvedev denied him of the famous Calendar Year Grand Slam, as he won the other 3 slams in 2021. The finals he lost were against Federer, Nadal twice, Murray, Wawrinka and Medvedev. He has 3 titles there, with one being 2011 after saving match points against Federer in semi finals, but he had to do much better with 6 more finals and 3 more semi finals, lost in 2008 against Federer, 2009 against Federer and 2014 against Nishikori.
Who are your picks?
By saying greatest losers, that means an ATG or a very good tennis player who lost the most on a particular Grand Slam tournament - most finals/semi finals, who underachieved or who choked.
Here's my list:
Australian Open - Andy Murray. I think this should be everyone's pick here. An all time great who reached 5 finals (2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016) and lost every single one of them - against Federer once and four times against Djokovic. Also lost in semi finals in 2012 against Novak.
Roland Garros - Guillermo Coria. For one reason - the 2004 final against Gaston Gaudio, where Coria had 6:0, 6:3 and 4:4 with 40:15 on his serve in the third, when that long point happened which Coria should have won. He got broken, lost the third 4:6 and started the chokefest and the cramping. Lost the fourth 1:6, and after medical timeout in the deciding set he came back, got a break and had to serve out at 5:4 for the title. Got broken easily, but broke Gaudio back and had 2 match points after deuces on his serve at 6:5. Failed, lost three games in a row and lost the final. After that, it seems like he never fully fullfilled his potential, as many were saying he would win multiple Grand Slam titles (was 22 in that final). Prior to this final he lost in 2003 in semi finals against a nobody if one can say so, dutchman Martin Verkerk.
Wimbledon - Andy Roddick. This one if tough, but my pick is Andy as he is one of the greatest servers ever and he lost 3 Wimbledon finals against Roger Federer (2004, 2005 and 2009), with the last one being in the epic 5 sets in which Andy just didn't capitalize his chances. He lost 2nd and 3rd set in a close tie break (6:8 and 5:7), but in second set he had 6:2 lead in tie break and 4 set points for 2:0 lead in sets, which he failed to convert. In the final set, Roddick had 2 break points on the result 8:8 and 15:40, but also failed to convert them. No other break points happened untill 14:15 on Roddick serve, when Federer took the first given opportunity and broke Roddick for final result 14:16 and record breaking 15th Grand Slam title. In that game, Andy had 40:30 and adv, but lost the game and the match. Andy also lost in semi finals in 2003 against Federer.
US Open - Novak Djokovic. This one should also be on everyone's list, I guess. The Serb lost 6 finals there (2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2021) with the last one being the toughest - Medvedev denied him of the famous Calendar Year Grand Slam, as he won the other 3 slams in 2021. The finals he lost were against Federer, Nadal twice, Murray, Wawrinka and Medvedev. He has 3 titles there, with one being 2011 after saving match points against Federer in semi finals, but he had to do much better with 6 more finals and 3 more semi finals, lost in 2008 against Federer, 2009 against Federer and 2014 against Nishikori.
Who are your picks?
