hoodjem
G.O.A.T.
Here, let me.
Most Surprising Slam winners of all time?
- Thread starter hoodjem
- Start date
borg number one
Legend
Marat Safin winning the 2000 US Open was a surprise. He was not a threat at the majors when he beat Sampras in that final. Though Safin was regarded as an up and comer, who was dangerous and talented, very few expected him to win a major so soon. In later years, much was expected, and he did win the AO in 2005, but that title in 2000 title was stunning. Sampras seemed flat (he had a tough SF and Safin played so good in his first major final at 20).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptfjDZ2JBVg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptfjDZ2JBVg
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Mustard
Bionic Poster
In recent times:
John Newcombe at the 1975 Australian Open (that he beat Connors to do so)
Arthur Ashe at 1975 Wimbledon (that he beat Connors to do so)
Manuel Orantes at the 1975 US Open (that he beat Connors to do so)
Mark Edmondson at the 1976 Australian Open
Brian Teacher at the 1980 Australian Open
Ivan Lendl at the 1984 French Open (that he beat a peak McEnroe to do so)
Boris Becker at 1985 Wimbledon
Michael Chang at the 1989 French Open
Andre Agassi at 1992 Wimbledon (that he beat Ivanisevic to do so)
Sergi Bruguera at the 1993 French Open (that he beat Courier to do so)
Richard Krajicek at 1996 Wimbledon
Gustavo Kuerten at the 1997 French Open
Marat Safin at the 2000 US Open (that he beat Sampras to do so)
Goran Ivanisevic at 2001 Wimbledon (although I was blindly believing he would win from the start)
Thomas Johansson at the 2002 Australian Open
Albert Costa at the 2002 French Open (that he beat Ferrero to do so)
Gaston Gaudio at the 2004 French Open
Juan Martin del Potro at the 2009 US Open (that he beat Federer to do so)
The ones in bold were surprise winners of the tournament, period! The others were not surprise winners in and of themselves, but that they beat strong favourites to win the title.
John Newcombe at the 1975 Australian Open (that he beat Connors to do so)
Arthur Ashe at 1975 Wimbledon (that he beat Connors to do so)
Manuel Orantes at the 1975 US Open (that he beat Connors to do so)
Mark Edmondson at the 1976 Australian Open
Brian Teacher at the 1980 Australian Open
Ivan Lendl at the 1984 French Open (that he beat a peak McEnroe to do so)
Boris Becker at 1985 Wimbledon
Michael Chang at the 1989 French Open
Andre Agassi at 1992 Wimbledon (that he beat Ivanisevic to do so)
Sergi Bruguera at the 1993 French Open (that he beat Courier to do so)
Richard Krajicek at 1996 Wimbledon
Gustavo Kuerten at the 1997 French Open
Marat Safin at the 2000 US Open (that he beat Sampras to do so)
Goran Ivanisevic at 2001 Wimbledon (although I was blindly believing he would win from the start)
Thomas Johansson at the 2002 Australian Open
Albert Costa at the 2002 French Open (that he beat Ferrero to do so)
Gaston Gaudio at the 2004 French Open
Juan Martin del Potro at the 2009 US Open (that he beat Federer to do so)
The ones in bold were surprise winners of the tournament, period! The others were not surprise winners in and of themselves, but that they beat strong favourites to win the title.
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Game-Set-MATCH!!!
Rookie
I was in shock when Brian Teacher won a grand slam. he had a good serve and volly
Mustard
Bionic Poster
Teacher beat Kim Warwick in the 1980 Australian Open final. Warwick had beaten Guillermo Vilas in 5 sets in the semi finals, ending Vilas' attempts to win a third straight Australian Open.
accidental
Hall of Fame
Nadal's first French Open win was pretty surprising to me. I dont think anyone expected him to win the whole thing in his first attempt
Game-Set-MATCH!!!
Rookie
Yeah that was a good match
Manus Domini
Hall of Fame
Nadal winning the USO. Seriously, I still believe that was a fluke
What about Ivanisevic's wimby win?
What about Ivanisevic's wimby win?
borg number one
Legend
Stich winning Wimbledon in 1991 was a surprise.
He got into the top 10 and was a really good server especially, but that was a surprise. He did reach the finals of the US Open and even the French Open as well, but there were a lot of strong contenders for that title. Impressively, he came out on top.Sampras started compiling his Wimbledon titles in 1993, after taking the 1990 US Open. Becker and Edberg faced each other in three consecutive Wimbledon finals from 1988-1990, before Stich won it in 1991. Stich beat Edberg in the SF (I read that he didn't break Edberg's serve once in the match. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lct8uF32y4c) and then he took out fellow German Becker in straight sets in the '91 final.
He got into the top 10 and was a really good server especially, but that was a surprise. He did reach the finals of the US Open and even the French Open as well, but there were a lot of strong contenders for that title. Impressively, he came out on top.Sampras started compiling his Wimbledon titles in 1993, after taking the 1990 US Open. Becker and Edberg faced each other in three consecutive Wimbledon finals from 1988-1990, before Stich won it in 1991. Stich beat Edberg in the SF (I read that he didn't break Edberg's serve once in the match. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lct8uF32y4c) and then he took out fellow German Becker in straight sets in the '91 final.
VGP
Legend
Sampras at the 1990 USO was a surprise. His game just gelled during the tournament. What was he seeded? 12? There was little talk of him when the tournament started.
Remember going in that Edberg was #1, Becker was defending champ, Lendl made nine straight final appearances, McEnroe made a run to the semis, Agassi was coming off his RG final appearance (I assume he had control of his wig by then) and made a run to the final.
Edberg lost first round, Agassi took out Becker in the semis, Sampras' confidence grew after taking Lendl out in five then served McEnroe off the court in the semis and then he manhandled a nervous Agassi in the final.
The back story of Sampras' run at the USO was peppered with things that worked in his favor. Obviously he had history with Agassi and wasn't intimidated. A year earlier Lendl invited Sampras to his home to train and that made an impression on him as to what it takes to win and I'm sure it dulled his sense of awe. Also Sampras beat McEnroe in Canada just prior to the USO that year.
I wonder if instances like these are what Federer talks about when he doesn't want to give advice to juniors that are about to make the pros those that just made the jump....He did take out his idol in Sampras when they played that one time on tour.
Remember going in that Edberg was #1, Becker was defending champ, Lendl made nine straight final appearances, McEnroe made a run to the semis, Agassi was coming off his RG final appearance (I assume he had control of his wig by then) and made a run to the final.
Edberg lost first round, Agassi took out Becker in the semis, Sampras' confidence grew after taking Lendl out in five then served McEnroe off the court in the semis and then he manhandled a nervous Agassi in the final.
The back story of Sampras' run at the USO was peppered with things that worked in his favor. Obviously he had history with Agassi and wasn't intimidated. A year earlier Lendl invited Sampras to his home to train and that made an impression on him as to what it takes to win and I'm sure it dulled his sense of awe. Also Sampras beat McEnroe in Canada just prior to the USO that year.
I wonder if instances like these are what Federer talks about when he doesn't want to give advice to juniors that are about to make the pros those that just made the jump....He did take out his idol in Sampras when they played that one time on tour.
borg number one
Legend
Sampras in 1990 is a really good choice for this thread. Thinking about Sampras, his 2002 US Open win was a surprise, given that it was his first title of any kind in about two years ( no titles after that big 2000 Wimbledon title). Yet, by the time he was deep in the tournament, you could see that he playing in great form once again, serving so well. That final against Agassi was exciting to watch.
Mustard
Bionic Poster
Hardly surprising. Gomez was world number 7, and along with Muster and Chesnokov, had the best clay-court seasons in 1990.
kiki
Banned
Definitely so.
kiki
Banned
Yeah, it was.So was Stich beating Boris at Wimbledon, as Bnº1 posted ( after that display of play, the surprise was not seeing him win another GS even if he was very close to repeat).
Another surprise for many was Gimeno in the 1972 FO.He was a man close to retirement, he had the talent to win big but somehow was always sidelined by the names of Laver,Rosewall,Newcombe ( what a bad luck being born at the same time of the greatest aussie dinasty all time).
In recent years, probably Gaudio was the most surprising champion.And, in the 1990´s, I can´t help thinking about Korda, who was a real bombastic player when turned on but was never expected to take a GS
kiki
Banned
very good list and good point in distinguing bold and no bold types.I almost agree but , to me, krajicek win at W was not that much surprising; he certainly was not the favourite but, by the time he won Wimbledon, had a very good record and had stablished himself as one of the top players in the world.
And, of the three 1975 losses Connors had, it is a well disguissed surprise.Newcombe on home grass, Orantes on clay and Ashe, at any time, had the weapons to beat Jimmy in a round way...still he was coming off his best year and everybody expected him to whicn any tourney he entered ( that probably cost him the 3 Gran Slams).
kiki
Banned
kiki
Banned
I was tempted to introduce kriek´s name, but IMHO, he was really, talent wise, one of the best players of his generation, with a record only overcome by true greats.Powerful, nimble, very solid, great hands at the net and at the baseline, one of the fastest all time players, his mind was probably not so much focused on tennis ( or, as sometimes happens, an excess of talent diverses it from the real goal).
If that had been the case, he probably would be one of the all time greats by now."almost" won any tournament that counts and was a terror to anyone if inspired.
If that had been the case, he probably would be one of the all time greats by now."almost" won any tournament that counts and was a terror to anyone if inspired.
Cesare
Semi-Pro
Very right point. I remember Andres, such a great player. but i just didn't expected him to win the french open at the age of 30 years, defeating the 20 years old Agassi, the"next big thing" in tennis at that time.
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kiki
Banned
and what abouit the great come back of Evonne Cawley at the 1980 Wimbledon Championships ( beat Austin and Evert, back to back a few weeks after her son - or daughter- was born)
Mustard
Bionic Poster
yes, nobody had heard of the brazilian guy.
I actually had. Being a Muster fan, Austria had played Brazil in Davis Cup in September 1996. The doubles rubber was Muster/Plamberger vs. Oncins/Kuerten. This is the match where Brazil had just gone a break up in the fifth set, when Muster then refused to continue with the match due to the Brazilian fans constantly reflecting the sun's light into his eyes by using mirrors and watches. Austria then refused to play on with the tie. Austria were later fined £35,500 by the ITF after Austria's bid to get the tie replayed at a neutral venue was rejected.
kiki
Banned
I remember very well Muster, whom I´ve seen play live lots of times.He was never a big talent, but his steady top spin game and physical conditioning were among the greatest, on clay, during 1990´s.His menthal strength was terrific, having overcome that awesome car crash when he was climbing to the top.
In the 90´s the big clay court quarter would be Bruguera,Courier,Muster and Kuerten in temrs of solid results all the way long.
Mustard
Bionic Poster
Agreed.
Agreed, with special mention to Kafelnikov and Medvedev.
Medvedev was the unluckiest player at the French Open:
1992: lost to eventual champion, Courier, in the fourth round
1993: lost to eventual champion, Bruguera, in the semi finals
1994: lost to eventual champion, Bruguera, in the quarter finals
1995: lost to eventual champion, Muster, in the fourth round
1997: lost to eventual champion, Kuerten, in the fourth round
1999: lost to Agassi in the final after blowing a dominant 2 set lead.
N
NadalAgassi
Guest
1992: wasnt a big threat yet anyway.
1993: he would have lost to Courier too so semis is not an unlucky result for him.
1994: yeah I agree this was unlucky, but if he was destined to win the title this year he would have won that match with Bruguera.
1995: he was on the way down, not that big a threat anymore unlike 93-94.
1997: I thought he had a good shot this year as it was wide open. He should have found a way to win that match anyway though, Kuerten was still a nobody at that exact moment (who would only become a somebody in a weeks time).
1999: LOL how is choking unlucky. It was bad for him to blow this match, not unlucky.
Mustard
Bionic Poster
True. Medvedev was a qualifier at the 1992 French Open, ranked 175 in the world. But he had played very well until Courier thrashed him.
I thought Bruguera would have lost to Courier. Courier had a 4-0 head-to-head record over Bruguera without even losing a set against him. The only thing in Bruguera's favour was his good run to the final by dropping just 1 set (against Sampras in the quarter finals), whereas Courier had dropped a set in his matches against Tarango, Muster, Prpic and Krajicek and wasn't playing as well as he had at the same tournament in 1992. Still, it was a big shock to me when Bruguera beat Courier. Definitely Courier's most painful career loss.
Bruguera won their two most important matches.
He had won Hamburg that year in Muster's absence. He was still a threat but he got crushed by Muster.
It was an amazing match. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find this one on DVD anywhere.
Perhaps, but after those dominant first 2 sets, it was a horrible loss.
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kiki
Banned
Kafelnikov was talented but not very consistent.I think he was better on hard than on clay, even if he won the French.
As for Medvedev, well, after all, he seems to have been very sucessful in politics, ain´t he?
N
NadalAgassi
Guest
Medvedev IMO was definitely a better clay courter than Kafelnikov. It is a shame Kafelnikov won the French and Medvedev didnt, but Kafelnikov took his opportunity when the draw opened up in 96 and ran with it. He also was lucky Stich was way too nervous in the final and played such a bad match IMO, I think Stich would have beaten him playing up to his level of the rest of that French Open inspite that clay would favor Kafelnikov and inspite that his H2H with Stich is pretty good. In general Kafelnikov was a much better opportunist than Medvedev and he had a bit more luck too, but that is part of tennis.
Actually I didnt realize Medvedev won Hamburg in 95. He was still doing better than I thought at that point. I guess it was more by the end of the year when he was really in a free fall for awhile.
Actually I didnt realize Medvedev won Hamburg in 95. He was still doing better than I thought at that point. I guess it was more by the end of the year when he was really in a free fall for awhile.
borg number one
Legend
That's a good pick CEvertFan. See this clip from the 1997 French Open. At that point Graf was struggling with injuries and she failed to win a major (she missed a lot of time). Hingis took over #1. In 1998, Hingis and Davenport were ranked at the top of the rankings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiXgBJa3Xr0
dlk
Hall of Fame
I know the AO was not what it is today, but this is the one for me. Teacher was never rezlly ranked very high, only got to #7 after slam win. He probably only averaged a rank of #50.
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N
NadalAgassi
Guest
I think Majoli was more talented than many recognize. Maybe she wouldnt have won another slam even with full effort but she for sure could have stayed in the top 10 for many more years. She was never that hard a worker though, and after winning the French her work ethic went down the tubes altogether as the womens field was only getting stronger after 97.
How about Yvon Petra. A Frenchman, by far not in the league of the Musceteers. He won the first post War Wimbledon 1946. A half year earlier he was a prisoner of war and had laid on the deathbed. Heavy favorite was US boy Jack Kramer, who lost to Drobny early on. His semifinal opponent, Dinny Pails was late, because he had skipped a London tube. He never regrouped. The finalist Geoff Brown, had an excellent, ultra fast serve. But due to bad tactics he hold back the first two sets, and woke up too late. To my knowledge, Petra won nothing else important prior or afterwards.
kiki
Banned
Most likely.I recall, however, that he could be dangerous for top players, having beaten Borg and Connors on indoors carpet.
That AO tournament was very surprising with just Vilas, among the seeded players in the semifinals.In that period, the Ao could produce very unexpected runners up like John Marks,John LLoyd or John Sadri, who hardly reached final stages of a GS anymore (Sadri had his moments but faded away, while LLoyd will be morstly remembered as Chirs Evert´s husband rather than a top player)
kiki
Banned
...Good one.And what about big serving south african Bob Falkenbourg, who won Wimbly a year after Petra, but seemed to fade away shortly after.Did he ever have another good win ?
Good pont kiki. I think Falkenburg was from the US, but went to South America and played DC for Brazil or another South American country. Was indeed a big server. Had the habit to lose sets in the bagel, to come back in the fifth set. I think, he saved some mps against the more famous but unlucky John Bromwich in the Wim final.
rodrigoamaral
Hall of Fame
gaudio at the french open..
