Best single tournament performances of the open era.

[Wuornos]

The following are what I consider to be the most outstanding single tournament performances of the open era.

Men

1. Rod Laver US Open of 1969
2. John McEnroe US Open of 1984
3. Ivan Lendl French Open of 1984
4. Roger Federer Wimbledon of 2006
5= Mats Wilander Australian Open of 1988
5= Andre Agassi Australian Open of 2000
7. Pete Sampras Wimbledon of 1993
8. Jim Courier Australian Open of 1992
9. Rafael Nadal French Open of 2007
10. Pat Cash Wimbledon of 1987
11. Björn Borg French Open of 1979
12. Jimmy Connors US Open of 1974


Women

1. Monica Seles Australian Open of 1993
2. Serena Williams Australian Open of 2003
3. Chris Evert French Open of 1986
4. Martina Navratilova Wimbledon of 1984
5. Margaret Smith Court US Open of 1973
6. Steffi Graf Wimbledon 1988
7. Justine Henin Australian Open 2004
8. Billie Jean King Wimbledon 1972
9. Ann Jones Wimbledon 1969
10. Maria Sharapova US Open 2006
11. Venus Williams US Open 2001
12. Evonne Goolagong Wimbledon 1971

Each player named once and once only for their best event.

What performances do other people think represented the greatest level of achievement within the confines of a single event.

 

[Andres]

The following are what I consider to be the most outstanding single tournament performances of the open era.

Men

1. Rod Laver US Open of 1969
2. John McEnroe US Open of 1984
3. Ivan Lendl French Open of 1984
4. Roger Federer Wimbledon of 2006
5= Mats Wilander Australian Open of 1988
5= Andre Agassi Australian Open of 2000
7. Pete Sampras Wimbledon of 1993
8. Jim Courier Australian Open of 1992
9. Rafael Nadal French Open of 2007
10. Pat Cash Wimbledon of 1987
11. Björn Borg French Open of 1979
12. Jimmy Connors US Open of 1974

Are you nuts? FO 1979 instead of 1978??

Borg gave 6 bagels, and 7 breadsticks in that FO. Never lost a set and only played one TB, against Tanner in the R16.

I don't have the results of Laver's 1969 USO, but Borg's FO in 1978 was better than Jmac's Wimby in 1984.

Björn Borg, French Open of 1978 should be #2, if not #1.

 

[hoodjem]

I would like to see the stats on these. For me, I think fewest lost sets (surely there are plenty of bagels in here), and fewest games won by opponents would settle it. (Did anyone ever win a major with no lost games? That would be unbelivable.)

Anyone got these?

 

[noeledmonds]

In no particular order a few off the top of my head, naming each player no more than once (open-era only):

Borg FO 1978- No sets lost, multiple bagels and bread sticks, fewest games lost while winning grand slam tournament

McEnroe SW19 1984- destroyed Lendl and Connors in straight sets in consecutive rounds to win easily

Laver USO 1969- eased past everyone (including Emerson, Ashe and Roche) to complete The Grand Slam

Federer SW19 2005- Solid throughout and demolished Roddick in final, easily beat Hewitt also

Agassi AO 2000- beat Sampras in epic semi and then eased past Kafelinikov in final

Safin USO 2000- power played past Sampras in final

Vilas USO 1977- taught Connors a lesson with flambouyant strokes

Connors USO 1974- gave old Rosewall a 2nd thrashing of the year

Kurten FO 1997- beat 3 former champions (Muster, Brugera, Kafelnikov) to win maiden grand slam title

Sampras SW19 1999- crushed top form Agassi in straight sets

Becker SW19 1986- cruised past everyone, pummeling Lendl in the final

Muster FO 1995- never looked tired as he powered past Kafelinkov and Chang to win his only grand slam

 

[CEvertFan]

In no particular order a few off the top of my head, naming each player no more than once (open-era only):

Borg FO 1978- No sets lost, multiple bagels and bread sticks, fewest games lost while winning grand slam tournament

McEnroe SW19 1984- destroyed Lendl and Connors in straight sets in consecutive rounds to win easily

Laver USO 1969- eased past everyone (including Emerson, Ashe and Roche) to complete The Grand Slam

Federer SW19 2005- Solid throughout and demolished Roddick in final, easily beat Hewitt also

Agassi AO 2000- beat Sampras in epic semi and then eased past Kafelinikov in final

Safin USO 2000- power played past Sampras in final

Vilas USO 1977- taught Connors a lesson with flambouyant strokes

Connors USO 1974- gave old Rosewall a 2nd thrashing of the year

Kurten FO 1997- beat 3 former champions (Muster, Brugera, Kafelnikov) to win maiden grand slam title

Sampras SW19 1999- crushed top form Agassi in straight sets

Becker SW19 1986- cruised past everyone, pummeling Lendl in the final

Muster FO 1995- never looked tired as he powered past Kafelinkov and Chang to win his only grand slam

A suggestion. You might want to just say Wimbledon instead of the SW19 which I'm sure everyone doesn't know.

 

[urban]

Regarding the tough draw, i found Courier's 1992 RG win, one of the best performances in recent times. I think, in terms of lost games, Kramers Wim win of 1947 with 37 or so lost games in 7 matches, was exceptional.

 

[Deleted member 3771]

Graf's 1988 French Open is easily above Seles' 1993 Australian Open and S williams 2003 A0

Graf won each match in straigth sets,gave everyone except Sabatini a bagel or breadstick, and lost only 20 games and won the final 6-0, 6-0.

 

[!Tym]

Bruguera 93 French MOWED through the field, slipping under the radar, up until the epic finale.

 

[bluetrain4]

Good question.

I have to add Stefan Edberg's 1992 U.S. Open win (his last Slam) to the list.

Not because he dominated, but because of the quality of opponents and the closeness of the matches

After three straight sets wins (Matter, Hlasek, Svensson),

Rnd 16 - def. Krajicek - 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Qtrs - def. Lendl - 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6
SFs - def. Chang - 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4

I believe he was down a break in the fifth in all of those five setters.

Finals - def. Sampras 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2.

I was looking at the 1992 draw and there were a ton of great matches that year among top players.

 

[Wuornos]

Are you nuts? FO 1979 instead of 1978??

Borg gave 6 bagels, and 7 breadsticks in that FO. Never lost a set and only played one TB, against Tanner in the R16.

I don't have the results of Laver's 1969 USO, but Borg's FO in 1978 was better than Jmac's Wimby in 1984.

Björn Borg, French Open of 1978 should be #2, if not #1.

i think perhaps we judge these things are different criteria. You look at margins of victory, while I look at who the vistories were against. Nothing wrong with either approach, just differing points of view.

I felt Borg's 1979 oppenents were marginally stronger at that point in time than when those he played in 1978.

Thanks for the point of view.

Regards

Tim

PS I was recommending McEnroe's 1984 US Open and not Wimbledon. In the US he, beat Jimmy Connors follwed by Ivan Lendl in the last 2 rounds.

 

[Wuornos]

In no particular order a few off the top of my head, naming each player no more than once (open-era only):

Borg FO 1978- No sets lost, multiple bagels and bread sticks, fewest games lost while winning grand slam tournament

McEnroe SW19 1984- destroyed Lendl and Connors in straight sets in consecutive rounds to win easily

Laver USO 1969- eased past everyone (including Emerson, Ashe and Roche) to complete The Grand Slam

Federer SW19 2005- Solid throughout and demolished Roddick in final, easily beat Hewitt also

Agassi AO 2000- beat Sampras in epic semi and then eased past Kafelinikov in final

Safin USO 2000- power played past Sampras in final

Vilas USO 1977- taught Connors a lesson with flambouyant strokes

Connors USO 1974- gave old Rosewall a 2nd thrashing of the year

Kurten FO 1997- beat 3 former champions (Muster, Brugera, Kafelnikov) to win maiden grand slam title

Sampras SW19 1999- crushed top form Agassi in straight sets

Becker SW19 1986- cruised past everyone, pummeling Lendl in the final

Muster FO 1995- never looked tired as he powered past Kafelinkov and Chang to win his only grand slam

Either your records are in error or mine. This is a worry. Wasn't it the US Open in 1984 that McEnroe beat Lendl and Connors cosecutively?

Thanks

Tim

 

[Rabbit]

McEnroe - Wimbledon - 1984

 

[Wuornos]

Graf's 1988 French Open is easily above Seles' 1993 Australian Open and S williams 2003 A0

Graf won each match in straigth sets,gave everyone except Sabatini a bagel or breadstick, and lost only 20 games and won the final 6-0, 6-0.

I think our views on this are polar opposites. I think you see absolute domination as the greatest achievement, whereas I see winning a tournament against the toughest possible competition as outstanding achievement.

Both views are equally valid.

Thanks

Tim

 

[Wuornos]

Good question.

I have to add Stefan Edberg's 1992 U.S. Open win (his last Slam) to the list.

Not because he dominated, but because of the quality of opponents and the closeness of the matches

After three straight sets wins (Matter, Hlasek, Svensson),

Rnd 16 - def. Krajicek - 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Qtrs - def. Lendl - 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6
SFs - def. Chang - 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4

I believe he was down a break in the fifth in all of those five setters.

Finals - def. Sampras 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2.

I was looking at the 1992 draw and there were a ton of great matches that year among top players.

Great call bluetrain. I feel the same way as you, i.e. the greatest achievements are against the better quality of opposition.

Edberg is ceratinly high up on my list but I would marginally give his best performance as the US Open of 1991. The last 4 were Stefan Edberg. Jim Courier, Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors. Pete Sampras got beat in the QF by Courier.

Thanks

Tim

 

[pabloJD]

i think perhaps we judge these things are different criteria. You look at margins of victory, while I look at who the vistories were against. Nothing wrong with either approach, just differing points of view.

I felt Borg's 1979 oppenents were marginally stronger at that point in time than when those he played in 1978.

Thanks for the point of view.

Regards

Tim

PS I was recommending McEnroe's 1984 US Open and not Wimbledon. In the US he, beat Jimmy Connors follwed by Ivan Lendl in the last 2 rounds.

I'm not convinced at all by that approach (at just looking at who the wins are against).
According to that point of view, and to your ELO rating peaks, the best single performance (in a match) in the open era was Nalbandian's victory over Federer last week in Madrid, regardless of the level of play, beacuse Roger was at an open era peak. You can't do better than taht. And Roger doesn't even have the chance to beat himself for that honour.
I think that such a thing as best performance can't be judged independently from what happened on court. You have to see the match.

 

[Wuornos]

I'm not convinced at all by that approach (at just looking at who the wins are against).
According to that point of view, and to your ELO rating peaks, the best single performance (in a match) in the open era was Nalbandian's victory over Federer last week in Madrid, regardless of the level of play, beacuse Roger was at an open era peak. You can't do better than taht. And Roger doesn't even have the chance to beat himself for that honour.
I think that such a thing as best performance can't be judged independently from what happened on court. You have to see the match.

Good point Pablo. These were just my gut feelings and didn't rely on the Elo calculations at all.

If I were to use ELO calculations I would have to use the current Elo calculation for the time of the event. E.g. its no good giving someone the same credit for beating McEnroe in 1979 as in 1984.

Secondly your point about Nalbandian and Federer. I would probably rate the overall tournament strength so for example a win in a tournament with mean elo rating of all players of 2420 would be less of an achievment than winning a tournament where mean strength is 2560 etc. This would then have to be adjusted according to the nember of rounds and players. I'd not really thought about doing this as a specific exercise, but it would have to run along those lines otherwise you would risk the Nalbandian Federer efffect you describe above.

Your point about single match performance though is exactly right. Elo would rate Nalbandian's win as the best single match performance of the open era. Spot on it's nice to hear from someone who understands my work on elo ratings.

Great post and thanks.

Take care

Tim

 

[superman1]

Beating Federer in an epic and then beating Hewitt in his home Slam should be enough to qualify Safin's 2005 Australian Open.

 

[laurie]

I would like to add a few here:

Sampras winning Wimbledon in 1994 with dropping only one set in the semifinal against Martin.

Ivanesivic beating Roddick, Rusedski, Safin, Henman and Rafter in 2001 Wimbledon as a wildcard - one of the greatest performances ever.

Sampras coming from a tidle wave of criticism to win the 2002 US Open beating Rusesdki, Haas, Roddick, Schalken and Agassi.

Venus after been written off at 2005 Wimbledon beating Pierce, defending champion Sharapova in the semi and the amazing 3hrs 20 min final against Davenport.

Steffi Graf winning the French in 1999 after not winning a slam for 3 years, beating Hingis in that epic final and Monica Seles in the semifinal.

Agassi winning the French Open in 1999 coming from two sets down in the final plus beating defending champ Carlos Moya earlier in the tournament, making up for his 2 final losses in the early 1990s.

 

[Wuornos]

Beating Federer in an epic and then beating Hewitt in his home Slam should be enough to qualify Safin's 2005 Australian Open.

Yep for me too this was Safin's best performance. Definitely in my book in the top 20.

Cheers

Tim

 

[Wuornos]

I would like to add a few here:

Sampras winning Wimbledon in 1994 with dropping only one set in the semifinal against Martin.

Ivanesivic beating Roddick, Rusedski, Safin, Henman and Rafter in 2001 Wimbledon as a wildcard - one of the greatest performances ever.

Sampras coming from a tidle wave of criticism to win the 2002 US Open beating Rusesdki, Haas, Roddick, Schalken and Agassi.

Venus after been written off at 2005 Wimbledon beating Pierce, defending champion Sharapova in the semi and the amazing 3hrs 20 min final against Davenport.

Steffi Graf winning the French in 1999 after not winning a slam for 3 years, beating Hingis in that epic final and Monica Seles in the semifinal.

Agassi winning the French Open in 1999 coming from two sets down in the final plus beating defending champ Carlos Moya earlier in the tournament, making up for his 2 final losses in the early 1990s.

You'll think I'm crazy here but actually prefer Goran Ivanišević's overall performance in Wimbledon 1994 even though he lost the final to Sampras.

Thanks

Tim

 

[laurie]

You'll think I'm crazy here but actually prefer Goran Ivanišević's overall performance in Wimbledon 1994 even though he lost the final to Sampras.

Thanks

Tim

Yes you are crazy! Kidding.

It's true someone can have a great slam run and lose the final, I was thinking of that myself. Why not include those?

I was thinking of Sampras at the US Open in 2001 when he knocked out the 1998 champion Rafter in the 4th rd, 1999 champion Andre Agassi in the quarterfinal and 2000 champion Marat Safin in the semifinal, before coming unstuck against Hewitt in the final. That was a great performance, but because it was Sampras, everyone preferred to concentrate on the fact that he lost badly in the final, not how well he played to get to the final.

I can include Rafter as well. He played so well in the 2001 Wimbledon semifinal against Agassi and the final against Goran but still not holding the trophy. And Davenport's run at 2005 Wimbledon, winning some great matches against Clisjters, Kuznetsova, coming from a set down against Mauresmo in the semifinal and having a matchpoint against Venus in the final.

These players deserve a mention too, not just the winners.

 

[chaognosis]

Are you using Elo to calculate the strength of the opponents faced? If that's the case, wouldn't the ratings for the early open years (e.g., Laver's 1969 Wim draw) necessarily be less accurate, as you don't have much data to go by? As an even more extreme example, how would (or could) you rate Rosewall's 1968 RG performance, given that this event more or less marked the beginning of the open era--you wouldn't have any previous results by which to calculate the strength of the players at that point... unless, in these cases, you are willing to extend your gaze back into the pre-open era years and make more subjective judgments. I am very curious how someone with your interest in statistics and objectivity would find a way to handle these situations fairly.

 

[Wuornos]

Are you using Elo to calculate the strength of the opponents faced? If that's the case, wouldn't the ratings for the early open years (e.g., Laver's 1969 Wim draw) necessarily be less accurate, as you don't have much data to go by? As an even more extreme example, how would (or could) you rate Rosewall's 1968 RG performance, given that this event more or less marked the beginning of the open era--you wouldn't have any previous results by which to calculate the strength of the players at that point... unless, in these cases, you are willing to extend your gaze back into the pre-open era years and make more subjective judgments. I am very curious how someone with your interest in statistics and objectivity would find a way to handle these situations fairly.

Thanks Chaog.

In answer to your first point, no, i'm not using Elo to calculate these performances. They are just my personal opinion and nothing more.

I don't track back to the pre open era as I really I don't know that much about it, but I can actually say that I have been following tennis since the early open era and did have the pleasure, admittedly as a youngster with my father of watching Rod Laver play at Wimbledon in 1969. Any earlier than that and I don't feel qualified to comment even from my own opinion.

I don't think its possible to extend the Elo ratings back any further than 1968, or at least I haven't yet thought of way. The existance of two distinct populations with the pros and amateurs and the need to ensure the population medians remain constant and comparable with each other seems to me insurmountable.

I have to confess in the early years of the open era elo calculations I did use an increased K factor in order that the ratings may achieve representative levels more quickly. Even using this, as you quite rightly identify, it would be impossible to rate anyones performance with any level of accuracy at Roland Garros of 1968.

Sorry to disappoint but if you ever do think of way of callibrating to the two population medians prior to 1968 to make them comparible, I would be most interested in hearing.

Take care

Tim

 

[chaognosis]

No problem--certainly no need to apologize! I admire all the work you've done. This particular list makes more sense knowing that it is your personal opinion, and not derived from some obscure formula. I like your choices, too.

 

[counterpunchingrules]

"Ivanesivic beating Roddick, Rusedski, Safin, Henman and Rafter in 2001 Wimbledon as a wildcard - one of the greatest performances ever."








ya easily the most impressive as of late in my book

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

"Ivanesivic beating Roddick, Rusedski, Safin, Henman and Rafter in 2001 Wimbledon as a wildcard - one of the greatest performances ever."








ya easily the most impressive as of late in my book

i agree... 4 former/future #1 (moya, roddick, safin, rafter) + 2 former/future #4 (rusedski, henman)
and i think he was 2 points away from defeat in both the SF versus henman and the final vs rafter.

goran, you were amazing !

 

[BTURNER]

The following are what I consider to be the most outstanding single tournament performances of the open era.

Men

1. Rod Laver US Open of 1969
2. John McEnroe US Open of 1984
3. Ivan Lendl French Open of 1984
4. Roger Federer Wimbledon of 2006
5= Mats Wilander Australian Open of 1988
5= Andre Agassi Australian Open of 2000
7. Pete Sampras Wimbledon of 1993
8. Jim Courier Australian Open of 1992
9. Rafael Nadal French Open of 2007
10. Pat Cash Wimbledon of 1987
11. Björn Borg French Open of 1979
12. Jimmy Connors US Open of 1974


Women

1. Monica Seles Australian Open of 1993
2. Serena Williams Australian Open of 2003
3. Chris Evert French Open of 1986
4. Martina Navratilova Wimbledon of 1984
5. Margaret Smith Court US Open of 1973
6. Steffi Graf Wimbledon 1988
7. Justine Henin Australian Open 2004
8. Billie Jean King Wimbledon 1972
9. Ann Jones Wimbledon 1969
10. Maria Sharapova US Open 2006
11. Venus Williams US Open 2001
12. Evonne Goolagong Wimbledon 1971

Each player named once and once only for their best event.

What performances do other people think represented the greatest level of achievement within the confines of a single event.

You say tournament but mention only the slams. Undoubtedly Graf's most overwhelming event was not a slam but at the Lipton, not only beating Evert and Navratilova in the last two rounds but utterly destroying them on a hard court before she had even won her first slam.

 

[Moose Malloy]

^as far as Graf goes, she beat the top 3 seeds en route to winning the '99 French. has anyone else(male or female) done that at a slam in the open era?

 

[krosero]

^as far as Graf goes, she beat the top 3 seeds en route to winning the '99 French. has anyone else(male or female) done that at a slam in the open era?

Can't think of any. But Wilander won Roland Garros in '82 by beating all of the top five seeds except #1 (Connors).

 

[ofey]

For me:

1. Edberg in 1992 US Open. His final GS and he wins it with some battling performances being down a break in the Ro16, QF,SF and a final against Sampras.

2. Ivanesivic in 2001 Wimbledon. Wildcard entry was a man on a mission. He beat Roddick, Rusedski, Safin, Henman and Rafter. That's pure determination.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

For me:

1. Edberg in 1992 US Open. His final GS and he wins it with some battling performances being down a break in the Ro16, QF,SF and a final against Sampras.

2. Ivanesivic in 2001 Wimbledon. Wildcard entry was a man on a mission. He beat Roddick, Rusedski, Safin, Henman and Rafter. That's pure determination.

excellent choice !
(with 2 of my all-time favorite players)

EDIT
i should also have mentionned edberg's 1992 US open in my previous post !

 

[pabloJD]

excellent choice !
(with 2 of my all-time favorite players)

i should also have mentionned edberg's 1991 US open in my previous post !
(it's a typo, i guess: in 1992 the final wasn't against pete but against courier... a lovely destruction of the lumberjack with swedish finesse !)

I was also a BIG fan of Stefan and Goran. It's curious because their games and personalities were as different as they could be

 

[bluetrain4]

excellent choice !
(with 2 of my all-time favorite players)

i should also have mentionned edberg's 1991 US open in my previous post !
(it's a typo, i guess: in 1992 the final wasn't against pete but against courier... a lovely destruction of the lumberjack with swedish finesse !)

The 1991 USO finals was Edberg v. Courier
1992 Edberg v. Sampras

 

[chiapants226]

federer - 2007 australian open. didnt drop a set.

 

[CyBorg]

Didn't Borg hurt himself in Hamburg just prior to the 79 RG? All in all he struggled a bit at RG that year, although it made for a slightly more exciting tournament than usual (I say slightly because he still didn't face a fifth set).

I saw the Pecci match and that was excellent tennis and actually somewhat close.

 

[Deleted member 21996]

C'mon guys... Gaudio winning the 2004 OZ is a gargantuan achievment.

it is where a guy does the unthinkable...

 

[Arafel]

Either your records are in error or mine. This is a worry. Wasn't it the US Open in 1984 that McEnroe beat Lendl and Connors cosecutively?

Thanks

Tim

Yes. Connors defeated Lendl in the 84 Wimbledon semis in 4 sets, then McEnroe demolished him in one of the best displays of tennis ever.

McEnroe was more dominant at Wimbledon that year. He won every match pretty easily. At the US, Connors took him to 5 sets in the semis and it was up in the air for most of the match who would win.

As a side note, if McEnroe hadn't choked to Lendl at Roland Garos, he would have beaten Connors and Lendl in semis and finals twice that year, since he beat Connors in the semis of the French.

 

[snapple]

How bout Wilander winning the French in 1982 at the age of 17 by beating Lendl, Gerulitas, Clerc, and Vilas in succession? Hard to beat that!

 

[andreh]

For me:

1. Edberg in 1992 US Open. His final GS and he wins it with some battling performances being down a break in the Ro16, QF,SF and a final against Sampras.

2. Ivanesivic in 2001 Wimbledon. Wildcard entry was a man on a mission. He beat Roddick, Rusedski, Safin, Henman and Rafter. That's pure determination.

The great thing, IMO, about the 1992 Open win for Edberg was that he won even though he didn't play very well. He was nowhere near the form of any other slam he won (or even some in which he lost in the final). It was all heart.

 

[msunderland71]

That was the French Open he won. Not sure about the whole tourni, but the final was an amazing match where I think Coria had 2 match-points where he went for the passing shot and missed by 2-3 inches. Coria must still have nightmares about those 2 championship points.

C'mon guys... Gaudio winning the 2004 OZ is a gargantuan achievment.

it is where a guy does the unthinkable...