Greatest comebacks in tennis...

Bubcay

Legend
I nominate Djokovic in 2018.

Ranked 22-nd in May 2018 after an injury and a big slide down the rankings in 2017, he managed to regain the number 1 spot at the beginning of November 2018. Pure clutch and persistence.

Novak Djokovic | The Comeback - 2018 Season [FILM] ᴴᴰ
 
Last edited:

Nate7-5

Hall of Fame
Jack Sock being down 5-1 in the 3rd set vs Kyle Edmund in the opening round at the Paris Masters. Somehow comes back to win that match, then goes on a run to win the entire tournament to give him barely enough points to make his debut in the Top 10 and make the ATP Finals. Beats Zvevev in the round robin and makes the semifinals where he lost to eventual champion Dmitrov (after being up a set).

 
Last edited:

big ted

Legend
i dont think he should credited for an injury comeback since he was so mysterious about it...
plus things only clicked when he fired pepe and rehired vajda so you could say it was more
of a coaching change than in injury comeback..
 

Bubcay

Legend
i dont think he should credited for an injury comeback since he was so mysterious about it...
plus things only clicked when he fired pepe and rehired vajda so you could say it was more
of a coaching change than in injury comeback..
Oh, come on. There is no doubt he was injured and had a surgery. We don't need to turn every topic into a conspiracy theory..
 
Last edited:

big ted

Legend
Oh, come on. There is no doubt he was injured and had a surgery. We don't need to turn every topic into a conspiracy theory..

well he wouldnt even call it surgery he called it a "small medical intervention" lol..
i say if thats what he wants us to believe then thats not really comeback worthy imo..
 

NAS

Hall of Fame
Obviously... Yeah...
Novak did whole Agassi's career after comeback, but yeah it's Agassi...
Agassi was not out with injury, it was motivation, second atp helped agassi by not banning him for a year or two.
Agassi should not be in this return discussion
 

sredna42

Hall of Fame
Jack Sock being down 5-1 in the 3rd set vs Kyle Edmund in the opening round at the Paris Masters. Somehow comes back to win that match, then goes on a run to win the entire tournament to give him barely enough points to make his debut in the Top 10 and make the ATP Finals. Beats Zvevev in the round robin and makes the semifinals where he lost to eventual champion Dmitrov (after being up a set).

So sock wins the greatest comeback, then greatest "fell in a career sinkhole" act
 

GabeT

G.O.A.T.
Still Fed, IMO.

Nothing will ever top winning a slam in your first official tournament back aged over 35 after a 6 month injury break.
We probably need to distinguish between best comeback at a single tournament vs other options (like best comeback for a given season or best comeback for a whole career)
 

dropshotlikeitshot

Professional
Jack Sock being down 5-1 in the 3rd set vs Kyle Edmund in the opening round at the Paris Masters. Somehow comes back to win that match, then goes on a run to win the entire tournament to give him barely enough points to make his debut in the Top 10 and make the ATP Finals. Beats Zvevev in the round robin and makes the semifinals where he lost to eventual champion Dmitrov (after being up a set).

In an alternate timeline, Sock wins that tournament and ends 2017 a top 5 player.
 

Bubcay

Legend
PETE ‘02 US Open. Nuff said.
That was indeed a great comeback. Seventeen seed nobody expected would go past the first few rounds as he was way out of his prime, retiring with a Grand Slam title.

giphy.gif


I still think Djokovic's demise and comeback, especially having in mind what he achieved after the Wimbledon 2018 up to now, is just unreal. He was written off by everyone, even contemplated not playing tennis any more, and then boom, back to no. 1.
 

AWM

Rookie
Nadal in 2013.
Having not played since Wimbledon in 2012 comes back in February ranked #5 goes onto play 17 tournaments, winning 10, Finalist in 4, Semi Finalist in 2 and also plays Wimbledon. Finishes year at #1.

Vina Del Mar 250 - F
Sao Paulo 250 - W
Acapulco - 500 - W
Indian Wells - W
Monte Carlo - F
Barcelona 500 - W
Madrid - W
Rome - W
Roland Garros - W
Wimbledon - 1st
Montreal - W
Cincinnati - W
US Open - W
Beijing 500 - F
Shanghai - SF
Paris - SF
WTF - F
 

Bubcay

Legend
Nadal in 2013.
Having not played since Wimbledon in 2012 comes back in February ranked #5 goes onto play 17 tournaments, winning 10, Finalist in 4, Semi Finalist in 2 and also plays Wimbledon. Finishes year at #1.

Vina Del Mar 250 - F
Sao Paulo 250 - W
Acapulco - 500 - W
Indian Wells - W
Monte Carlo - F
Barcelona 500 - W
Madrid - W
Rome - W
Roland Garros - W
Wimbledon - 1st
Montreal - W
Cincinnati - W
US Open - W
Beijing 500 - F
Shanghai - SF
Paris - SF
WTF - F
A great run indeed.
 
In a match?
I nominate Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon in 1986 1987, recovering from 1-6 1-6 1-4 down against thirteenth seed Mikael Pernfors to win it in five. He has a few like that on his resumé (see also the 1991 US Open run), but that was likely his best turnaround.

In a tournament?
Probably Henri Cochet at Wimbledon in 1927; won the QF, SF, and F from two sets down each time. Beat Hunter first, 3-6 3-6 6-2 6-2 6-3. Then beat Tilden in the semis 2-6 4-6 7-5 6-4 6-3, having saved a match point on Big Bill's serve at 1-5 in the third. Then won the title against Davis Cup team-mate Borotra 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-5 after saving an all-time record six match points.

In a tournament after an absence through injury or loss of form?
Federer at the AO in '17, Sampras at the USO in '02, and Ivanisevic at W in '01 all deserve a mention. Also Monica Seles in 1995; in her first outing after a 28-month absence she won the Canadian Open for the loss of only 14 games in five matches, and then reached the USO F the following month before winning the AO for the fourth time in '96.

In a year?
Likely Agassi as already mentioned, going from a crystal meth-using fatty ranked #141 to #4 in 12 months, and then all the way up to #1 in another 8 months.

From retirement?
Clijsters has been mentioned for coming back as a mother and winning a slam. Well, Margaret Court retired in 1966 with 36 slams. She then came back in 1968, won 19 more including the CYGS in singles in 1970. Retired again in 1971 when she discovered she was pregnant, and then came back a second time as a mother to win 9 more slams, including three singles in a year for the fifth time in her career in 1973. The same year she also completed a second "boxed set" (the career slam in singles, doubles, and mixed), which has only ever been done by Court herself, Navratilova, and Doris Hart.
 
Last edited:

Bubcay

Legend
In a match?
I nominate Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon in 1986, recovering from 1-6 1-6 1-4 down against thirteenth seed Mikael Pernfors to win it in five. He has a few like that on his resumé (see also the 1991 US Open run), but that was likely his best turnaround.

In a tournament?
Probably Henri Cochet at Wimbledon in 1927; won the QF, SF, and F from two sets down each time. Beat Hunter first, 3-6 3-6 6-2 6-2 6-3. Then beat Tilden in the semis 2-6 4-6 7-5 6-4 6-3, having saved a match point on Big Bill's serve at 1-5 in the third. Then won the title against Davis Cup team-mate Borotra 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-5 after saving an all-time record six match points.

In a tournament after an absence through injury or loss of form?
Federer at the AO in '17, Sampras at the USO in '02, and Ivanisevic at W in '01 all deserve a mention. Also Monica Seles in 1995; in her first outing after a 28-month absence she won the Canadian Open for the loss of only 14 games in five matches, and then reached the USO F the following month before winning the AO for the fourth time in '96.

In a year?
Likely Agassi as already mentioned, going from a crystal meth-using fatty ranked #141 to #4 in 12 months, and then all the way up to #1 in another 8 months.

From retirement?
Clijsters has been mentioned for coming back as a mother and winning a slam. Well, Margaret Court retired in 1966 with 36 slams. She then came back in 1968, won 19 more including the CYGS in singles in 1970. Retired again in 1971 when she discovered she was pregnant, and then came back a second time as a mother to win 9 more slams, including three singles in a year for the fifth time in her career in 1973. The same year she also completed a second "boxed set" (the career slam in singles, doubles, and mixed), which has only ever been done by Court herself, Navratilova, and Doris Hart.
Excellent post - thank you.
 

Mustard

Bionic Poster
In a match?
I nominate Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon in 1986, recovering from 1-6 1-6 1-4 down against thirteenth seed Mikael Pernfors to win it in five. He has a few like that on his resumé (see also the 1991 US Open run), but that was likely his best turnaround.

1987 Wimbledon. That was some match. Pernfors didn't "choke" either as some people think. It's also often forgotten that on top of Connors being 1-6, 1-6, 1-4 down, he was also 0-3 down in the fourth set.

1991 US Open against Patrick McEnroe, Connors trailed 4-6, 6-7, 0-3 and serving at 0-40, and came back to win. That was only the first round in a run to the semi finals.
 

Feather

Legend
For me, a wildcard , ranked 125, winning Wimbledon is the greatest comeback not only in the history of Tennis but also in any sports.
Goran Ivanisevic winning Wimbledon 2001, where he lost three finals before, is like a miracle. A truly magnificent moment in Tennis

PURE MAGIC! My most favorite moment in Tennis
 

McLovin

Legend
Mary Jo Fernandez vs Gabriela Sabatini, 1993 French Open QF.

MJF was down 1-6, 1-5, and all she wanted to do was make it past the 1 hour mark. She ended up winning 1-6, 7-6 (4), 10-8.
 
Top