Curious: how many times has a Grand Slam winner won all 21 sets without losing a set?

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Vamos Rafa Nadal

Guest
I know that Rafa has won all 21 sets without losing a single set at least twice and perhaps three times at Roland Garros - has anyone else ever achieved it? Probably Djokovic and Federer? Anyone else?

Someone misread what I wrote online about wanting my favorite player to win 21 sets, thinking I had meant without losing a single set (I would love it if it were to happen! But I just meant I wanted him to win 21 sets and win the USO!)
 

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
I know that Rafa has won all 21 sets without losing a single set at least twice and perhaps three times four times at Roland Garros - has anyone else ever achieved it? Probably Djokovic and Federer? Anyone else?

Someone misread what I wrote online about wanting my favorite player to win 21 sets, thinking I had meant without losing a single set (I would love it if it were to happen! But I just meant I wanted him to win 21 sets and win the USO!)
 

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
Well Alcaraz won’t ;)

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V

Vamos Rafa Nadal

Guest
Out of my head:

Nadal 4 times: all at RG.
Borg 3 times: twice at RG, once at W.
Federer 2 times: once at the AO, once at W.

Djokovic did not achieve it.
Yowzers, 4 times at Roland Garros for Rafa? I was pretty sure it was 3. It's an incredible achievement! Thanks for the info!
 

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
Do you know who has won a slam with most sets lost?
I'd be very surprised if it's not Djokovic. He often struggles through the draw.

Nadal and Djokovic have a lot of similarities, but one of their biggest differentiators is something that never gets talked about: Nadal tends to play really well when he wins (and it takes something special to knock him out), and Djokovic tends to overcome not playing well when he wins.

To be clear: that is not a statement of which of them is/was better (I don’t even really have an opinion on that and think there are excellent arguments for both).

Think of Djokovic’s notable wins in recent years, of course the 2019 Wimbledon final against Federer, where he really didn’t play very well outside of going lockdown mode in the tiebreakers (Fed broke 7 times to Djokovic’s 3 in that match and had a ~5% edge in return points won despite being leagues below Djokovic as a returner), looking adrift in the 2020 Australian Open final vs Dominic Thiem in what was a strange title match, or falling down two sets to a first time Slam finalist in Stefanos Tsitsipas before coming back to win Roland Garros.

Even some of the titles where he absolutely rolled at the business end, like AO 2016, US Open 2018, and AO 2019, featured a particularly thorny escape earlier in the tournament.

Nadal, on the other hand, usually has a higher baseline level of play. He has won a record 4 majors without losing a set, while Djokovic has none, one of the only feats he hasn’t accomplished in his incredibly balanced career.



 

abmk

Bionic Poster
AO: Fed in 07
RG: Borg in 78,80, Nadal in 08,10,17,20
Wimbledon: Borg in 76, Fed in 17
USO: no one
 

abmk

Bionic Poster
I'd be very surprised if it's not Djokovic. He often struggles through the draw.

Nadal and Djokovic have a lot of similarities, but one of their biggest differentiators is something that never gets talked about: Nadal tends to play really well when he wins (and it takes something special to knock him out), and Djokovic tends to overcome not playing well when he wins.

To be clear: that is not a statement of which of them is/was better (I don’t even really have an opinion on that and think there are excellent arguments for both).

Think of Djokovic’s notable wins in recent years, of course the 2019 Wimbledon final against Federer, where he really didn’t play very well outside of going lockdown mode in the tiebreakers (Fed broke 7 times to Djokovic’s 3 in that match and had a ~5% edge in return points won despite being leagues below Djokovic as a returner), looking adrift in the 2020 Australian Open final vs Dominic Thiem in what was a strange title match, or falling down two sets to a first time Slam finalist in Stefanos Tsitsipas before coming back to win Roland Garros.

Even some of the titles where he absolutely rolled at the business end, like AO 2016, US Open 2018, and AO 2019, featured a particularly thorny escape earlier in the tournament.


Nadal, on the other hand, usually has a higher baseline level of play. He has won a record 4 majors without losing a set, while Djokovic has none, one of the only feats he hasn’t accomplished in his incredibly balanced career.




Nadal also struggled in AO 22, RG 22 wins.

Djokovic didn't have any escape at all in AO 19. he walked through to the SF. then turned it on for the semi/final. (QF - he was cruising vs Nishi who retired)
A minor hiccup in USO 18 1st match, but that's it.
 

abmk

Bionic Poster
Nobody at the US Open is an interesting stat for sure. It probably shouldn't be surprising just given the conditions/environment there.

I have 4 instances of players reaching USO final without losing a set:
Lendl in USO 87
Hewitt in USO 04
Nadal in USO 10
Fed in USO 15

Lendl also won USO 85/86 losing just 1 set
Also notable is Fed going through QF/SF/F of USO 07 without losing a set - Roddick/Davy/Djokovic. All easily good enough to take a set atleast.
 

abmk

Bionic Poster
Easiest was something like ..... AO2006.

wut?
AO 2006 would make chutney and dance around any draws Djokovic has won starting from AO 16 with the exception of Wim 18/RG 21, literally everyone of them.
a pretty good Davy, a good Haas and Baggy for good 2 sets.
 

Jokervich

Hall of Fame
wut?
AO 2006 would make chutney and dance around any draws Djokovic has won starting from AO 16 with the exception of Wim 18/RG 21, literally everyone of them.
a pretty good Davy, a good Haas and Baggy for good 2 sets.
Why you resurrect my quote? I obviously posted in the wrong thread.
 

dapchai

Legend
Off the top of my head:

Nadal 4 times: all at RG.
Borg 3 times: twice at RG, once at W.
Federer 2 times: once at the AO, once at W.

Djokovic did not achieve it.
All Rafa's fans know it's 4 times.
I think both of you misunderstood the original question. @Vamos Carlos Alcaraz asked which players have won ALL 21 sets without losing a set, not who had won without losing a set alone. Strictly speaking, in this regard Rafa has only done that three times ('08, '10, '20 RG) because he won only 20 sets in '17 as PCB retired in the middle of the second set.
 

Rafa4LifeEver

G.O.A.T.
I think both of you misunderstood the original question. @Vamos Carlos Alcaraz asked which players have won ALL 21 sets without losing a set, not who had won without losing a set alone. Strictly speaking, in this regard Rafa has only done that three times ('08, '10, '20 RG) because he won only 20 sets in '17 as PCB retired in the middle of the second set.
Rafa didn't play PCB in 20
 
It is a record, indeed.
:)
Yes but you guys forgot to mention Borg at 74 FO who also lost 8 sets. Given that the first rounds were Bo3 one can even argue that he might have lost one more if all rounds had been Bo5 like for Becker and Kuerten. So interestingly, Borg both holds the record for fewest games lost and for most sets lost at a slam (even at the same slam).
 
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