Five-setters in slams

Mark-Touch

Mark-Touch

Legend
This post was inspired by what we saw in the A.O. men's final on Sunday.

It goes out to all the trivia/stats guys/gals here.

Can someone please tell me which player holds the record for winning a slam with the most 5-setters?
For example was it three 5-setters? Four 5-setters? Five 5-setters? More?

I'd be curious to know who holds this record.
 
Razer said:
Most 5 setters won in Grand Slams

Djokovic - 34 (77.27%)
Sampras - 29 (76.32%)
Federer - 29 (63%)
Cilic - 27 (65.85%)
Hewitt - 26 (57.78%)

Sorry I think you are asking something else...like most 5 setters won in a single slam....I have no idea reg that ...cheers
Click to expand...

No, let me be more clear.
Which player on his way to winning a slam, had to play the most amount of five-set matches?
Did they have to play 7 five-set matches? 6? 5?
 
Mark-Touch said:
No, let me be more clear.
Which player on his way to winning a slam, had to play the most amount of five-set matches?
Did they have to play 7 five-set matches? 6? 5?
Click to expand...
Off the top of my head, I can think of Kuerten winning three 5-setters at the 1997 French Open, against Muster, Medvedev and Kafelnikov (in succession). Federer at the 2017 Australian Open won 5-setters against Nishikori, Wawrinka and Nadal.
 
3 is going to be the record. During that 2024 AO final, they said that Medvedev set two records. 1. Most sets played in a grand slam tourney with 31. 2. Most 5-set matches played in a grand slam tourney with 4.

Ergo, several players are going to be tied with 3 each. @Mustard listed two epic tourneys that are tied for the record.
 
Pheasant said:
3 is going to be the record. During that 2024 AO final, they said that Medvedev set two records. 1. Most sets played in a grand slam tourney with 31. 2. Most 5-set matches played in a grand slam tourney with 4.
Click to expand...
I haven’t heard that 4 five-setters on one slam is a record. Another record for the longest time on court.
 
Mustard said:
Off the top of my head, I can think of Kuerten winning three 5-setters at the 1997 French Open, against Muster, Medvedev and Kafelnikov (in succession). Federer at the 2017 Australian Open won 5-setters against Nishikori, Wawrinka and Nadal.
Click to expand...
Edberg at the 92 US Open (Krajicek, Lendl, Chang) and Alcaraz 30 years later in the same place (Cilic, Sinner, Tiafoe) are also on this list.
 
Pheasant said:
3 is going to be the record. During that 2024 AO final, they said that Medvedev set two records. 1. Most sets played in a grand slam tourney with 31. 2. Most 5-set matches played in a grand slam tourney with 4.

Ergo, several players are going to be tied with 3 each. @Mustard listed two epic tourneys that are tied for the record.
Click to expand...
I read that too in an article. I would like corroboration from the data books.
If it's true, then the record previously was three 5-setters (played).
And with the examples given above we have at least two players who also won the slam in which they played three 5-setters.
 
Mark-Touch said:
I read that too in an article. I would like corroboration from the data books.
If it's true, then the record previously was three 5-setters (played).
And with the examples given above we have at least two players who also won the slam in which they played three 5-setters
Click to expand...
Hopefully, more posters will share info on others that won the title with three 5-setters in that tourney. So far, we've gotten some great examples.

I also searched, but found nothing. But they talked about it during the match. Med's four 5-setters was a new record for a guy that reached the final(including the final). I'd also be curious if there are others besides Genepri that played four 5-setters as well.
 
Razer said:
Most 5 setters won in Grand Slams

Djokovic - 34 (77.27%)
Sampras - 29 (76.32%)
Federer - 29 (63%)
Cilic - 27 (65.85%)
Hewitt - 26 (57.78%)

Sorry I think you are asking something else...like most 5 setters won in a single slam....I have no idea reg that ...cheers
Click to expand...

Didn't anticipate Cilic playing so many.
 
Pheasant said:
3 is going to be the record. During that 2024 AO final, they said that Medvedev set two records. 1. Most sets played in a grand slam tourney with 31. 2. Most 5-set matches played in a grand slam tourney with 4.

Ergo, several players are going to be tied with 3 each. @Mustard listed two epic tourneys that are tied for the record.
Click to expand...

Meddy doubles his five-set matches in AO24, quite intriguing.
 
Shout out to Edberg at the 1992 US Open. Three consecutive five setters going into the final (vs Krajicek, Lendl and Chang), followed by beating Sampras in the final from a set down. I think Pete served for the third set as well.

Edit: oops, I see that tournament was brought up already.
 
Here are the 4 players that I found that actually won 4 five-set matches in the same tourney. None of them won the title. One obscure tennis site happened to mention Denton. Others didn't list him. So there may be others out there.

Steve Denton, 1981 AO. He lost the final in 4 to Kriek
Todd Martin, 1994 WI. He lost to sampras in the semis in 4 sets
Nicolas Lapentti, 1999 AO. He lost to Enqvist in the semis in straight sets
Albert Costa, 2003 FO. He lost in the semis to Ferrero in straight sets
 
Pheasant said:
3 is going to be the record. During that 2024 AO final, they said that Medvedev set two records. 1. Most sets played in a grand slam tourney with 31. 2. Most 5-set matches played in a grand slam tourney with 4.

Ergo, several players are going to be tied with 3 each. @Mustard listed two epic tourneys that are tied for the record.
Click to expand...


The fact that the hapless Med tied that record by playing 4 5-setters is rather pathetic.
Top players take care of business in the early rounds and dont mess around with that many 5 setters.
 
Mark-Touch said:
This post was inspired by what we saw in the A.O. men's final on Sunday.

It goes out to all the trivia/stats guys/gals here.

Can someone please tell me which player holds the record for winning a slam with the most 5-setters?
For example was it three 5-setters? Four 5-setters? Five 5-setters? More?

I'd be curious to know who holds this record.
Click to expand...
among slam winners, 3 five-setters is the record... but a few players have won 4 five-setters in a slam without winning it:

Players who won 3 straight 5-setters in a same event

trivia: list of players who won 3 straight 5-setters in a same event, in the open era (feel free to help me to complete the list !) kodes, 1974 W (lost a 4th, consecutive) tanner, 1974 USO gehring, 1978 RG teltscher, 1979 RG (lost a 4th, consecutive) dibley, 1979 AO denton, 1981 AO (also won a...
tt.tennis-warehouse.com tt.tennis-warehouse.com
(denton, martin, lapentti, costa)
 
vive le beau jeu ! said:
among slam winners, 3 five-setters is the record... but a few players have won 4 five-setters in a slam without winning it:

Players who won 3 straight 5-setters in a same event

trivia: list of players who won 3 straight 5-setters in a same event, in the open era (feel free to help me to complete the list !) kodes, 1974 W (lost a 4th, consecutive) tanner, 1974 USO gehring, 1978 RG teltscher, 1979 RG (lost a 4th, consecutive) dibley, 1979 AO denton, 1981 AO (also won a...
tt.tennis-warehouse.com tt.tennis-warehouse.com
(denton, martin, lapentti, costa)
Click to expand...
Here it is! This is a very comprehensive list. Awesome!
 
Pheasant said:
Med's four 5-setters was a new record for a guy that reached the final(including the final). I'd also be curious if there are others besides Genepri that played four 5-setters as well.
Click to expand...
Safin played 27 sets to reach the 2004 Australian Open final.

R128: Marat Safin def. Brian Vahaly (6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4)
R64: Marat Safin def. Jarkko Nieminen (7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4)
R32: Marat Safin def. Todd Martin (7-5, 1-6, 4-6, 6-0, 7-5)
R16: Marat Safin def. James Blake (7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3)
QF: Marat Safin def. Andy Roddick (2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4)
SF: Marat Safin def. Andre Agassi (7-6, 7-6, 5-7, 1-6, 6-3)
FR: Roger Federer def. Marat Safin (7-6, 6-4, 6-2)
 
Not singles but have to give a shout to Matt Ebden/Max Purcell at Wimbledon 2022. The pair won the title by playing FIVE five set matches. The only match that didn't go 5 was their QF match. They defeated the top 3 ranked teams en route to the title plus the #7 seeds as well. Insane run!

1R: Goransson/McLachlan 6-7 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6 (fought back from 2 sets to love down and saved 3 match points)
2R: Vliegen/Withrow 6-4 6-7 4-6 7-6 7-4 (fought back from 2 sets to 1 down)
3R: #3 Koolhof/Skupski 7-5 6-4 3-6 4-6 7-5
QF: #7 Peers/Polasek 6-4 6-4 6-2
SF: #1 Ram/Salisbury 3-6 6-7 7-6 6-4 6-2 (fought back from 2 sets to love down and saved 5 match points)
Final: #2 Metkic/Pavic 7-6 6-7 4-6 6-4 7-6 (fought back from 2 sets to 1 down)

It was the final Wimbledon where men's doubles was B05 so the feat will never be beaten.
 
Pheasant said:
Here it is! This is a very comprehensive list. Awesome!
Click to expand...
Well it's cool and related, but not quite what my thread is about.
His list is for three straight 5-setters, and not necessarily winning the title.
I'm asking about the maximum number of 5-setters on the way to winning the slam title.

So for example, playing back-to-back 5-setters in the first two rounds and then a 5-setter in the 4th round and then again in the final would fit the bill, as this would give a total of four 5-setters on the way to the title.
 
Mustard said:
Safin played 27 sets to reach the 2004 Australian Open final.

R128: Marat Safin def. Brian Vahaly (6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4)
R64: Marat Safin def. Jarkko Nieminen (7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4)
R32: Marat Safin def. Todd Martin (7-5, 1-6, 4-6, 6-0, 7-5)
R16: Marat Safin def. James Blake (7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3)
QF: Marat Safin def. Andy Roddick (2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4)
SF: Marat Safin def. Andre Agassi (7-6, 7-6, 5-7, 1-6, 6-3)
FR: Roger Federer def. Marat Safin (7-6, 6-4, 6-2)
Click to expand...
The alphaest of alpha tennis player

The most alpha alpha alpha whatever bs player

Goes to 4 and 5 vs absolutely nobodies.

He is not an alpha beta gamma player. He is not atg. And his peak prime discussions belong in imaginations.
 
Mustard said:
Off the top of my head, I can think of Kuerten winning three 5-setters at the 1997 French Open, against Muster, Medvedev and Kafelnikov (in succession). Federer at the 2017 Australian Open won 5-setters against Nishikori, Wawrinka and Nadal.
Click to expand...

Overall sets lost en route to a slam title, I think the record in recent decades is eight (for example, Becker at Wimbledon in 85 and Kuerten at Roland Garros 97). Meddy would have broken that had he won set 4 or 5 of the final on Sunday. Winning with seven dropped sets is a bit more common (for example, Feddy at AO 2017, Edberg at Wimbledon 1988, Edberg at US Open 1992).

I don’t recall anyone dropping nine or more sets but winning the title.
 
Mark-Touch said:
Well it's cool and related, but not quite what my thread is about.
His list is for three straight 5-setters, and not necessarily winning the title.
I'm asking about the maximum number of 5-setters on the way to winning the slam title.

So for example, playing back-to-back 5-setters in the first two rounds and then a 5-setter in the 4th round and then again in the final would fit the bill, as this would give a total of four 5-setters on the way to the title.
Click to expand...
Here are the only players who won majors playing 3 five setters:
Borg 1974 RG
Newcombe 1975 AO
Borg 1977 W
Edberg 1992 USO
Kuerten 1997 RG
Gaudio 2004 RG
Federer 2017 AO
Alcaraz 2022 USO

No won has won 4 five setters en route to winning a major.
 
Last edited:
Mustard said:
Safin played 27 sets to reach the 2004 Australian Open final.

R128: Marat Safin def. Brian Vahaly (6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4)
R64: Marat Safin def. Jarkko Nieminen (7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4)
R32: Marat Safin def. Todd Martin (7-5, 1-6, 4-6, 6-0, 7-5)
R16: Marat Safin def. James Blake (7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3)
QF: Marat Safin def. Andy Roddick (2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4)
SF: Marat Safin def. Andre Agassi (7-6, 7-6, 5-7, 1-6, 6-3)
FR: Roger Federer def. Marat Safin (7-6, 6-4, 6-2)
Click to expand...
Put in WORK!
 
Mark-Touch said:
I wouldn't call it laziness.
I'd call it pooling information!

You can be sure before I made my thread I attempted to find out this information by myself.
Click to expand...
first page of a Google search?

Come on man, you are just as capable as anyone else here of trawling through ‘the data books’
 
Moonballer Harold Solomon reached once RG final with 8 sets lost en route. I Think, Schroeder and Becker lost the most sets winning Wimbledon. Cochet 1927 had 3 tough 5 setters in his last 3 matches (Hunter, Tilden, Borotra), he came back in all matches from a 0-2 deficit..
 
Last edited:
Mark-Touch said:
This post was inspired by what we saw in the A.O. men's final on Sunday.

It goes out to all the trivia/stats guys/gals here.

Can someone please tell me which player holds the record for winning a slam with the most 5-setters?
For example was it three 5-setters? Four 5-setters? Five 5-setters? More?

I'd be curious to know who holds this record.
Click to expand...
Not sure who has the most, but here are some that come to mind:
Stefan Edberg won the 1992 US Open with 3 consecutive 5-set wins, coming back from a break down in the final set every single time.
Carlos Alcaraz won 3 consecutive 5-setters as well to win his US Open title.
Federer of course won those 3 legendary 5-setters to win the 2017 Australian Open, and beat 4 top 10 players as well.
 
Moose Malloy said:
Here are the only players who won majors playing 3 five setters:
Borg 1974 RG
Newcombe 1975 AO
Borg 1977 W
Edberg 1992 USO
Kuerten 1997 RG
Federer 2017 AO
Alcaraz 2022 USO

No won has won 4 five setters en route to winning a major.
Click to expand...
Thanks Moose that's just what I was looking for. :)
They are very rare indeed (only 7 times).
And it makes sense.

If you are an ATG, you should have the skills to avoid them (multiple 5-setters) most
of the time.
If you are not an ATG you are usually digging yourself a big hole to be buried in, as they will
eventually take a toll on your energy levels going forward.

That's why I get a chuckle when I see so many 5-setters in the early rounds by these
non-ATGs. Their winning chances take a big hit each time it occurs, but at least their paycheck increases. :)
 
Mark-Touch said:
Thanks Moose that's just what I was looking for. :)
They are very rare indeed (only 7 times).
And it makes sense.

If you are an ATG, you should have the skills to avoid them (multiple 5-setters) most
of the time.
If you are not an ATG you are usually digging yourself a big hole to be buried in, as they will
eventually take a toll on your energy levels going forward.

That's why I get a chuckle when I see so many 5-setters in the early rounds by these
non-ATGs. Their winning chances take a big hit each time it occurs, but at least their paycheck increases. :)
Click to expand...
Forgot Gaudio in 2004 - so 8 times
 
I think I recall a commentator during the AO saying Alcaraz is 9-1 in 5-setters.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
nolefam_2024 said:
The alphaest of alpha tennis player

The most alpha alpha alpha whatever bs player

Goes to 4 and 5 vs absolutely nobodies.

He is not an alpha beta gamma player. He is not atg. And his peak prime discussions belong in imaginations.
Click to expand...
Are you calling Roddick and Agassi "absolute nobodies"? LOL.
 
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