As a fan, what were the worst losses that you felt?

[Pheasant]

I'll start with mine, ranked in order.

1. 1984 FO final. I absolutely despised Lendl. On top of that, Mac was undefeated heading into that final. He had just destroyed Lendl in a couple of clay finals. Mac was wrecking everybody in the FO tourney as well.
2. 2008 Wimbledon final. I was convinced that Fed was basically done winning majors after this. And now, the 22 year old Nadal was just starting to hit his stride. He had just taken out Fed on his best surface. So many of Fed's streaks ended because of this match as well. This definitely had a massive impact on Fed's legacy. A 6th straight Wimbledon title would have been incredible. And he likely extends his record streak for weeks at #1 as well.
3. 2019 Wimbledon final. Sure, I figured Fed would lose anyway. And it really didn't cost him any of his legacy. But the way he lost hurt. It's pretty rate to lose a slam final when you have a match point. It's almost unheard of to lose a slam final when you have DOUBLE match point on your own serve. This would have been a nice sendoff for Fed.
4. 2009 USO final. Now, a new rival is here to challenge Fed. And this snapped Fed's streak at the USO. I really felt like he should have won this match. Had I known that he would never win another one, then this match moves up to #3.

 

[boredone3456]

2005 Wimbledon Ladies Final. I take nothing away from how Phenominal Venus played. One of the best Ladies Finals in many years there that one was, but I was pretty Heartbroken for Lindsay as she played the best possible match she could have played and still it wasn't enough.

 

[kevin qmto]

I became an instant Baghdatis fan after watching him fight his way back into and win against Nalby in the Aus 06 semis. Wanted him to win badly against Fed. I watched the rebroadcast without spoiling the outcome for myself and I was pumped after Baggy broke Federer to win the first set.

But it was all downhill from there. I swear Cyprus would have been like Serbia if Baggy had found a way to net that slam. You’d have all these tennis kids coming out of that little island.

Actually lots of my most painful losses from a fan perspective involve people losing to fed. Agassi uso 05 comes to mind as well as Roddick at Wim 09.

Insert any time an American male makes it to the semis of a slam and loses in the last 14 years.

 

[I get cramps]

1988 - Cash's loss to Wilander at the AO. I didn't recognize Cash, who played the semis against Lendl at any point in the first set. I think the five-setter with Ivan took its toll on Pat, who said on Friday that the semi with Ivan, although of average length, had been mentally exhausting for both players. Even though in the fifth set, Ivan was almost gone.

1989 - Chang topples Lendl at Roland Garros. I saw an aberrant version of Ivan, angry with himself even when he was dominating the match. Ivan yelled, even though he was winning with crystalline clarity. And to see the Chatrier crowd bursting out in guffaws (it wasn't laughter) after Chang's underhand serve.

1989 - Edberg cannot win Roland Garros. I think fatigue from serving and volleying (outstandingly, even by his standards) endless times against Boris for five sets showed up in the last set of the final. Edberg was late to too many volleys at the end of the match; he was exhausted. I'm not sure if the first set of the finals, where Stefan performed poorly, could be connected to the semi-final match. Regardless, Chang started playing optimally from the beginning of the match to each his own.

 

[Vincent-C]

as above

84 FO final
89 FO final
2008 WB final (a crusher for me)
2019 WB final

 

[Tshooter]

I enjoy watching a good match and usually pull for the underdog. By the time I’m at the parking lot I no longer care who won.

 

[BeatlesFan]

1. Lendl losing to Cash in the 1986 Wimbledon final. Cried after that one.

2. 2019 Wimbledon final for obvious reasons

3. 2008 Wimbledon final

4. 1989 USO final, Boris defeats Ivan.

5. USO 2009 final, no excuse Fed lost that to Del Po.

 

[Pheasant]

I almost forgot the 1985 USO final. McEnroe was #1 heading into that match. Whoever won that match would be #1. Unfortunately, Lendl destroyed Mac. I really had the feeling that Lendl was going to remain ahead of Mac for the rest of their careers. That was a very sad "passing of the touch" day. I had no idea that Mac was done winning slam titles. That part surprised me. I thought that win another Wimbledon. Nope!

 

[SamprasisGOAT]

as above

84 FO final
89 FO final
2008 WB final (a crusher for me)
2019 WB final

Mono or glandular fever
Finished in the dark and the court speed that year was one of the highest bouncing and slowest grass courts of all time. Hardly suited fed did it.

 

[Vincent-C]

Mono or glandular fever
Finished in the dark and the court speed that year was one of the highest bouncing and slowest grass courts of all time. Hardly suited fed did it.

Hear, hear! The Great Man did come back and get the USO though- despite all he was dealing with that year.

Cat Pash gloating (wrongly, as it turned out) "there will be no more
multi-slam years for Federer" on the broadcast made me want to retch. He's a duck.

 

[King_olaf_the_hairy]

Ivan

1987 Wimbledon final.
1989 Wimbledon semi-final.
1989 US Open final.
1991 Australian Open final.

Some of the memories are clouded slightly; I have a feeling I was more disappointed at the time by Ivan's early losses at Wimbledon in 1991 & '92, when it became clear that his best days were gone. "He didn't win it" (1986, 1987) wasn't as definitive or heartbreaking as "he'll never win it". But as the years passed those later defeats became less painful compared to what were in hindsight his greatest missed opportunities.

Spoiler: A gif to summarize my feelings on those matches, and Boris Becker in particular.

Andy

2012 Wimbledon final. This one's been greatly mitigated by the result the following year, but it really stung at the time.
2010 Australian Open final... 2015 Australian Open final... basically [insert date] Australian Open final with another Muzz-ical crash'n'burn.



From way before my time

There's a lot of matches I was too young to see which have taken on greater meaning as I've become a tennis history buff...

1974 Wimbledon final; I definitely wish Rosewall could have snatched one title at SW19; against Connors would have been extra sweet (if highly unlikely).
1963 Wimbledon final; Stolle had three consecutive losses in Wimbledon finals; I'd be happiest to give him Chuck McKinlay's title rather than one of Emerson's.
1952 US Men's Doubles Final; Sedgman/McGregor would have completed a second consecutive CYGS if they'd won this, and I'm a massive Sedgie fan.
1952 French Championships; this is a weird one since Drobny is my all-time favourite old player, but if Sedgman had won this match he'd have become the only man in history with a Boxed Set.
1937 Wimbledon final; I'm a fan of Don Budge as well, but it would have been nice for Von Cramm to get at least one title. Instead he suffered the same fate as Stolle; three consecutive losses.



On the women's side

Probably the 1993 Wimbledon final? Ok, Jana eventually won it in '98, but watching her crumble from a double-break up in the final set was... ugh. I was a Graf fan at the time but I just felt awful for Novotna.

 

[SamprasisGOAT]

Hear, hear! The Great Man did come back and get the USO though- despite all he was dealing with that year.

Cat Pash gloating (wrongly, as it turned out) "there will be no more
multi-slam years for Federer" on the broadcast made me want to retch. He's a duck.

Hear, hear! The Great Man did come back and get the USO though- despite all he was dealing with that year.

Cat Pash gloating (wrongly, as it turned out) "there will be no more
multi-slam years for Federer" on the broadcast made me want to retch. He's a duck.

I just like to remind people of the truth about the supposed “greatest match of all time”

 

[SamprasisGOAT]

Hear, hear! The Great Man did come back and get the USO though- despite all he was dealing with that year.

Cat Pash gloating (wrongly, as it turned out) "there will be no more
multi-slam years for Federer" on the broadcast made me want to retch. He's a duck.

Pat Cash is terrible. I have zero idea what his problem with Federer and Sampras is.

His commentary on the Wimbledon 1999 final is a joke. Literally spent the match hating on Sampras and his play lol.

 

[SamprasisGOAT]

Mono or glandular fever
Finished in the dark and the court speed that year was one of the highest bouncing and slowest grass courts of all time. Hardly suited fed did it.

Does nadal win a Wimbledon title if the court plays the 2003 speed? Never mind the 70s 80s 90s speeds

 

[jrepac]

Interesting question, but felt what exactly? Disappointment? Shock? Joy? Assuming the focus is on disappointment:

• 1984 USO Women's Final....I truly felt Evert was the better player that day, and somehow let it slip away
• 1984 FO Mens final has to be on there....Mac's loss was palpable and painful ('85 USO right behind this one)
• Wimby 2009....Andy's match to lose and he did
• Wimby 2005...Lindsay had the match in her hands and let it get away
• Wimby 2019....OMG Roger!

 

[bigbadboaz]

2001 Sampras/Agassi.. the legendary all-tiebreaks QF. I was at work but managed to sneak most of the match away from my supposed post. The USO atmosphere and tension of the match came through the television tremendously. As the match progressed in "perfect" form it was crushing both as an Agassi fan and for the ultimate scoreline to see Andre fold in the 4th set tiebreak. It really should have gone to a 5th if not even another TB.

Even with how it stands, what could have been..

 

[Vincent-C]

2001 Sampras/Agassi.. the legendary all-tiebreaks QF. I was at work but managed to sneak most of the match away from my supposed post. The USO atmosphere and tension of the match came through the television tremendously. As the match progressed in "perfect" form it was crushing both as an Agassi fan and for the ultimate scoreline to see Andre fold in the 4th set tiebreak. It really should have gone to a 5th if not even another TB.

Even with how it stands, what could have been..

That was a good 'un! I think that match does not get enough attention.

 

[Gizo]

On the men's side, definitely Gerulaitis losing to Lendl in the 1981 Masters final. He should have won that, and what would have been the biggest title of his career in his home city. While the defeat against Mac in his US Open semi-final earlier that year was also annoying (IMO he definitely should have won that), had he won it he would have been destroyed by Borg in the final, which lessened my disappointment.

On the women's side, definitely Mauresmo losing to Jana Kandarr in the 1st round at RG in 2001. To me this is easily the worst choke by an elite / top player that I’ve ever seen. Novotna vs. Graf in the 1993 Wimbledon final, Coria vs. Gaudio in the 2004 RG final etc. just don't come close IMO.

 

[bigbadboaz]

That was a good 'un! I think that match does not get enough attention.

I think the fact it was only a QF, plus as mentioned that it ended suddenly and anticlimactically, really work against it.

 

[WCT]

For me, as a Connors fan, the first was definitely the 75 Wimbledon final. I was shocked. Didn't watch it live, but still shocked and disappointed.

 

[California]

89 FO - Edberg losing to Chang, awful, how is this possible? To a novice 17 year old… ugh

92 and 93 - Edberg loses to Courier twice in a row at the Aussie Open. Can’t get 1 of the 2? Even after the legendary USO beating in the 91 final… gross.

08 - Wimbledon, cmon Fed, you can’t lose to a clay court player on grass? Guess again. I can’t believe it happened.

09 USO - Fed, just run him, and find the backhand! Wow. Disappointing.

01 Wimbledon - let’s go Rafter! Wait, what? Choker deluxe Goran wins? OMG.

That‘s enough painful memories for now.

 

[EvonneFedererBorgster]

1976 Wimbledon final. Evonne was playing the best tennis of her life and was on a two match winning streak vs Chris. She should have taken that third set.

1976 US Open final. Obviously this was a massacre and there’s no ‘shoulda/coulda’. But Evonne had played so well all year and nearly beaten Chris in the final on clay the year before, so I was expecting a barn burner. And then just nothing. Ugh.

1980 US Open. Bjorn should have won that final. I don’t think his sudden retirement the next year would have stung as much if he had left with a USO trophy. It’s just a shame he and Evonne never won there.

1988 Wimbledon. Martina is up a set and serving at 2-0 on her favorite Centre Court and only wins ONE MORE GAME! Unbelievable! I know Steffi suddenly began playing wonderfully but just hold a few more service games to save face?

1989 US Open final. Martina is flying and holds up two fingers to BJK to indicate two more games and I beat Steffi in straights! Then a repeat of the ‘88 Wimbledon except this time she wins a whopping two more games instead of just the one! And that forced death grin!

1993 Wimbledon. Poor Jana. We all know the story. Thank god for 1998!

1992 French Open semifinals. Gaby should have at least made ONE French final. Monica looked so tired throwing her body at every shot. Just win two games, please.

1998 French final. That 6-0 set was such a d*ck tease. It would have been such a treat to have Monica both finally beat Hingis AND win one last major!

2003 USO Semi. Jennifer should have won that match so many times.

2006 French Final. Federer is blazing and then he gives Nadal a point by reversing a call and then the match just changes in an instant.

2008 Wimbledon final. At least it was a heart thumping thriller. And the darkness and flashbulbs at the end were unforgettable.

2009 US Open final. How does Fed lose this? The same goes for 2010 + 2011 semis.

2014 Wimbledon. Fed had the momentum.

2019 Wimbledon. Nothing really compares to this sadness. Two more match points ON SERVE!

 

[Rosstour]

Fed W19 and 14
Fed US09

Shapo-Rafa AO22

Musetti-Djoko RG collapse

Pete-Krajicek Wimbledon 96 or whatever

Fokina underhand serve match at Wimbledon

Kyrgios-Djoko Wimbledon F

 

[mental midget]

was before my time, but just for history's sake mac it would have been cool for mac to take that 84 FO for sure.

recent memory...40/15, and it's not even close. what a freaking storyline that would have been, beating nadal and novak b2b to take #9 wimby at like 37yo or whatever...ugh.

 

[Shaolin]

Nothing compares to 2019 Wimbledon.

I felt the pain of that for months.

 

[jrepac]

2001 Sampras/Agassi.. the legendary all-tiebreaks QF. I was at work but managed to sneak most of the match away from my supposed post. The USO atmosphere and tension of the match came through the television tremendously. As the match progressed in "perfect" form it was crushing both as an Agassi fan and for the ultimate scoreline to see Andre fold in the 4th set tiebreak. It really should have gone to a 5th if not even another TB.

Even with how it stands, what could have been..

I was there for that one...it was pretty amazing...I was wanting Andre to win, yet I somehow knew Pete was gonna shut that door.

 

[jrepac]

was before my time, but just for history's sake mac it would have been cool for mac to take that 84 FO for sure.

recent memory...40/15, and it's not even close. what a freaking storyline that would have been, beating nadal and novak b2b to take #9 wimby at like 37yo or whatever...ugh.

Fed was the better player for most of that match, IMHO. But Novak just wasn't going to let it go.

 

[jrepac]

2003 USO Semi. Jennifer should have won that match so many times.

don't know how I forgot...another one I saw in person...tried to push the pain out of my mind

 

[jaxadam]

Andy Roddick 2004 Wimbledon. There was a glimmer of hope.

 

[PDJ]

Evert/Navratilova 1984 F USO
Henman/Goran SF Wimbledon- I forget the year

 

[mental midget]

Fed was the better player for most of that match, IMHO. But Novak just wasn't going to let it go.

flipping perspectives for a moment, for novak fans...wow what a victory that was. his game style doesn't thrill me but i fully admit that that dude built himself into an absolute winning machine. what he does, he does better than anyone ever has, that's for sure.

 

[JasonZ]

ivanisevic sampras wimby semi 1995

becker sampras wimby final 1995

becker sampras wtf final 1996

ivanisevic sampras wimby final 1998

roddick federer wimby final 2009

 

[BillKid]

I'll start with mine, ranked in order.

1. 1984 FO final. I absolutely despised Lendl. On top of that, Mac was undefeated heading into that final. He had just destroyed Lendl in a couple of clay finals. Mac was wrecking everybody in the FO tourney as well.
2. 2008 Wimbledon final. I was convinced that Fed was basically done winning majors after this. And now, the 22 year old Nadal was just starting to hit his stride. He had just taken out Fed on his best surface. So many of Fed's streaks ended because of this match as well. This definitely had a massive impact on Fed's legacy. A 6th straight Wimbledon title would have been incredible. And he likely extends his record streak for weeks at #1 as well.
3. 2019 Wimbledon final. Sure, I figured Fed would lose anyway. And it really didn't cost him any of his legacy. But the way he lost hurt. It's pretty rate to lose a slam final when you have a match point. It's almost unheard of to lose a slam final when you have DOUBLE match point on your own serve. This would have been a nice sendoff for Fed.
4. 2009 USO final. Now, a new rival is here to challenge Fed. And this snapped Fed's streak at the USO. I really felt like he should have won this match. Had I known that he would never win another one, then this match moves up to #3.

3. is my worst tennis fan experience in more than 35 years. Still painful.

 

[jrepac]

wimby 2019, aka Fed's fumble
yeah, it was pretty bad. I figure it was karma/payback for the Roddick match.
Can't say I was a huge Fed fan, but I was definitely rooting for him in this one.
Would've made a great story!

 

[jrepac]

flipping perspectives for a moment, for novak fans...wow what a victory that was. his game style doesn't thrill me but i fully admit that that dude built himself into an absolute winning machine. what he does, he does better than anyone ever has, that's for sure.

oh it was a gutsy performance, no doubt. Funny, when he was younger and the underdog, I always rooted for Novak. Later on, not so much. I started to dislike his public persona (he said many dumb things) and he became a rather humorless Grim Reaper kind of character. I was one of the few who enjoyed his funny "schtick" when he first started out. Plus, I often like to root for the underdog, and on this day it was Fed.

 

[Crocodile]

Marton Fuscovic managed to lose twice in devastating fashion against Sinner and Federer at the AO after comprehensively outplaying his opponents in the first 2 sets and then in Sinners case barely winning a game in the next 3 sets. Against Sinner, it was the year when Marton unveiled an incredible ripper body, so you thought he would go 5 easily.
Definitely Madevev managed to also lose twice at the AO against Nadal and Sinner. He should have won both matches,

 

[dryeagle]

As a Becker fan:

1. 1990 Wimby final vs Edberg. Awful start to get 2 sets down, then blows break lead in 5th.
2. 1991 Wimby final vs Stich. Wtf?

 

[bigbadboaz]

Hey, Stich was legit. That was a pick'em.

 

[Curtennis]

I think feds very last match at the Davis Cup hurt pretty bad. Seeing him with the match on his racquet again and not being able to get it done sucked. Gave 2019 flashbacks all over again.
Would have loved to see him go out with a win alongside his bud Rafa.

Edit: meant laver cup. Not sure where Davis came from. Thanks for pointing it out!!

 

[Vincent-C]

I think feds very last match at the Davis Cup hurt pretty bad. Seeing him with the match on his racquet again and not being able to get it done sucked. Gave 2019 flashbacks all over again.
Would have loved to see him go out with a win alongside his bud Rafa.

Do you mean Laver Cup?

 

[BorgTheGOAT]

ivanisevic sampras wimby semi 1995

becker sampras wimby final 1995

becker sampras wtf final 1996

ivanisevic sampras wimby final 1998

roddick federer wimby final 2009

Take that you are not exactly a Sampras fan.

 

[Curtennis]

Do you mean Laver Cup?

Total brain fart.

 

[BorgTheGOAT]

Agassi-Becker Wimbledon SF 95 - As a 9 years old I became immediately an Agassi fan after seeing him in my first ever tennis match against Mronz two rounds before. Cried after he lost to Becker.

Agassi - Sampras 1995 USO final - same as above.

Agassi - Sampras 1999 Wimbledon final - After his FO win and his dominant 7-5, 7-6, 6-2 against Rafter in the semi (while Pete hadn't done anything that year and looked vulnerable at Wimblie against Scud and Henman) I was sure he would beat his demons and finally win against Pete. Looked promising after having three breakpoints at 3-3 in the first, all dreams were quickly shattered by Pete goating.

Nadal - Djoko AO 12 - after the six losses in 2011 I believed Rafa would finally win that, he came pretty damn close in the fifth when he missed that bh and left me devastated.

Funny thing about all those matches is that today I like both Becker and Pete more than Agassi, while I am indifferent between Rafa and Novak, so rewatching those matches does not hurt anymore but actually gives me joy for the most part.

 

[JasonZ]

Take that you are not exactly a Sampras fan.

actually i was a fan of him when he played, but i liked ivanisevic, becker, rafter and philippoussis much much more.

oh i forgot: rafter sampras wimby final 2000 made me also very sad.

 

[BTURNER]

Evert's 1989 quarterfinal at the US OPen to Zina Garrison. Evert had actually been playing well to crush Seles. People forget that s Evert was 5-3 up ( if I recall the game score correctly) in the first set against an opponent she had taken out comfortably in straights at the Lipton, before Zina began moving like a cheetah and hitting the ball so cleanly from all over the court. Zina absolutely deserved that win, but it would have been so fitting had Evert reached yet another semifinal 19 years after her first and forced Martina to take her out. I suspect Martina would have won, but it sure as hell could have been very interesting.

Zina truly outplayed her. Admired the effort, just wish she could have done it some other match.

 

[Vincent-C]

actually i was a fan of him when he played, but i liked ivanisevic, becker, rafter and philippoussis much much more.

oh i forgot: rafter sampras wimby final 2000 made me also very sad.

Yes, I really wanted Rafter to win that one, too. Damn.

 

[BauerAlmeida]

Djokovic vs Nadal RG 2013. He did amazingly to come back in the 4th and was a break up in the fifth. He plays a great point when serving 4-2 and deuce that would leave him one point away from serving for the match against NADAL at ROLAND GARROS. Only to touch the net and end up losing that game and consequently the match.

Djokovic vs Wawrinka RG 2015. Finally, he beats Nadal at RG and he has a golden chance to win the event. Wins the first set and then loses the other 3, the 4th one from a break up. Little did I know that he would end up winning the event THREE times, so I would have cared less.

Safin vs Robredo RG 2005. Looking back, he had no chance of winning knowing Nadal would end up winning the tournament and dominating that surface and event for years to come. But at the time it was bad, losing 8-6 in the fifth at a slam he had never won and had the game to do so. AO 2002 and RG 2002 were also bad but I was a kid back then and less into tennis.

Nalbandian vs Baghdatis AO 2006. He was 2-0 up, and then he was 4-2 up in the fifth. Federer in the final was obviously going to be a tough ask, but he seemed vulnerable in that event and he had just beaten him at the Masters Cup. And there was no other player Federer would have rather avoided at the time on a hard court. This one was worse than USO 2003 because in the latter he was injured and although he would have beaten Ferrero in normal circumstances, carrying two injuries it was a different story. Also, the terrible schedule, the wrong line call and the fan shouting made it more justifiable to lose.

Gilles Muller vs Karlovic circa 2015 in one of the grass warm-up events. It looked like it was his golden opportunity to finally win an ATP event and he choked having MPs on his serve. He was in his mid-30s so it looked like it was now or never at the time, but fortunately, he ended up winning a couple of events.

Davis Cup 2008. Argentina losing at home vs Nadal-less Spain because of stupid internal fights and bad decisions. Looked like it was never meant to be. Winning it before they ruined the competition was pure joy. Felt almost like the World Cup. Almost. Especially given it was soon after JMDP lost a very close final vs Murray at the Olympics.

 

[JasonZ]

Djokovic vs Nadal RG 2013. He did amazingly to come back in the 4th and was a break up in the fifth. He plays a great point when serving 4-2 and deuce that would leave him one point away from serving for the match against NADAL at ROLAND GARROS. Only to touch the net and end up losing that game and consequently the match.

Djokovic vs Wawrinka RG 2015. Finally, he beats Nadal at RG and he has a golden chance to win the event. Wins the first set and then loses the other 3, the 4th one from a break up. Little did I know that he would end up winning the event THREE times, so I would have cared less.

Safin vs Robredo RG 2005. Looking back, he had no chance of winning knowing Nadal would end up winning the tournament and dominating that surface and event for years to come. But at the time it was bad, losing 8-6 in the fifth at a slam he had never won and had the game to do so. AO 2002 and RG 2002 were also bad but I was a kid back then and less into tennis.

Nalbandian vs Baghdatis AO 2006. He was 2-0 up, and then he was 4-2 up in the fifth. Federer in the final was obviously going to be a tough ask, but he seemed vulnerable in that event and he had just beaten him at the Masters Cup. And there was no other player Federer would have rather avoided at the time on a hard court. This one was worse than USO 2003 because in the latter he was injured and although he would have beaten Ferrero in normal circumstances, carrying two injuries it was a different story. Also, the terrible schedule, the wrong line call and the fan shouting made it more justifiable to lose.

Gilles Muller vs Karlovic circa 2015 in one of the grass warm-up events. It looked like it was his golden opportunity to finally win an ATP event and he choked having MPs on his serve. He was in his mid-30s so it looked like it was now or never at the time, but fortunately, he ended up winning a couple of events.

Davis Cup 2008. Argentina losing at home vs Nadal-less Spain because of stupid internal fights and bad decisions. Looked like it was never meant to be. Winning it before they ruined the competition was pure joy. Felt almost like the World Cup. Almost. Especially given it was soon after JMDP lost a very close final vs Murray at the Olympics.

that nalby ao loss 2006 against baghdatis was really painful, nalby was my favourite player after the ivanisevic rafter generation.

 

[bobcolbert]

FO 1982. Dramatic for Vilas. He used a wrong tactic, but he was very unlucky too.

 

[ChrisJR3264]

Roddick 5 set loss to Federer in the wimby final. Andy have it all that day. Played well enough to win it. Had a great tournament. Honestly played the match of his life and still came up short in the 5th. That second set tie breaker where he choked a few routine winners hurt.