Straight set losses in majors

[krosero]

We hear a lot about five-set matches and many of those records have been compiled, including an excellent one here: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=335267.

In this thread I want to start a list of straight-set defeats and see what, if anything, it tells us.

I've bolded those losses that occurred during a player's GS-winning period.

JIMMY CONNORS
Cox at ‘70 USO (R128)
Dibley at ‘71 USO (R64)
Solomon at ‘72 RG (R32)
Nastase at ‘72 W (QF)
Ramirez at ‘73 RG (R128) - in two sets
Newcombe at ‘73 USO (QF)
Orantes at ‘75 USO (F)
Tanner at ‘76 W (QF)
Borg at ‘78 W (F)
Borg at ‘79 W (SF)
McEnroe at ‘79 USO (SF)
Borg at ‘81 USO (SF)
Higueras at ‘82 RG (QF)
Roger-Vasselin at ‘83 RG (QF)
McEnroe at ‘84 RG (SF)
McEnroe at ‘84 W (F)
Lendl at ‘85 RG (SF)
Curren at ‘85 W (SF)
Lendl at ‘85 USO (SF)
Witsken at ‘86 USO (R32)
Becker at ‘87 RG (QF)
Cash at ‘87 W (SF)
Lendl at ‘87 USO (SF)
Agassi at ‘88 USO (QF)
Rostagno at ‘91 W (R32)
Courier at ‘91 USO (SF)

BJORN BORG
Dent at ’74 AO (R16)
El Shafei at ’74 W (R32)
Connors at ’75 USO (SF)
Connors at ’78 USO (F)

JOHN MCENROE
Orantes at ’77 USO (R16) - in two sets
Connors at ’78 USO (SF)
Gullikson at ’79 W (R16)
Lendl at ’81 RG (QF)
Lendl at ’82 USO (SF)
Wilander at ’85 RG (SF)
Curren at ’85 W (SF)
Lendl at ’85 USO (F)
Lendl at ’87 USO (QF)
Masur at ’88 W (R64)
Lendl at ’89 AO (QF)
Edberg at ’89 W (SF)
Rostagno at ’90 W (R128)
Edberg at ’91 W (R16)
Ferreira at ’92 AO (QF)
Agassi at ’92 W (SF)
Courier at ’92 USO (R16)

IVAN LENDL
Clerc at ’78 RG (R128)
Gerulaitis at ’79 RG (R16)
McNamara at ’79 W (R128)
Tanner at ’79 USO (R64)
McEnroe at ’83 W (SF)
Wilander at ’83 AO (F)
McEnroe at ’84 USO (F)
Curren at ’84 AO (R16)
Becker at ’86 W (F)
Cash at ’87 W (F)
Svensson at ’89 RG (R16)
Edberg at ’90 W (SF)
Edberg at ’91 USO (SF)
Sampras at ’94 AO (R16)
Boetsch at ’94 RG (R128)
Karbacher at ’94 USO (R64), by RET. in third set

MATS WILANDER
Teacher at ’82 W (R16)
Lendl at ’82 USO (R16)
Noah at ’83 RG (F)
Lendl at ’83 USO (QF)
Lendl at ’84 RG (SF)
Edberg at ’85 AO (F)
Chesnokov at ’86 RG (R32)
Cash at ’87 W (QF)
Mecir at ’88 W (QF)
Krishnan at ’89 AO (R64)
Chesnokov at ’89 RG (QF)
Edberg at ’90 AO (SF)
Santoro at ’91 RG (R64)
Pioline at ’93 USO (R32)
Agassi at ’94 RG (R128)
Forget at ’94 USO (R128)
Eltingh at ’95 AO (R128)
Eltingh at ’95 W (R32)
Martin at ’95 USO (R64)
Martin at ’96 RG (R64)

STEFAN EDBERG
McEnroe at ’84 USO (R64)
Connors at ’85 RG (QF)
Curren at ’85 W (R16)
Mecir at ’86 W (R32)
Lendl at ’86 USO (SF)
Winogradsky at ’87 RG (R64)
Perez-Roldan at ’88 RG (R16)
Becker at ’89 W (F)
Connors at ’89 USO (R16)
Bruguera at ’90 RG (R128)
Volkov at ’90 USO (R128)
Cherkasov at ’92 RG (R32)
Bjorkman at ’94 USO (R32)
Stich at ’95 RG (R64)
Norman at ’95 W (R64)
Agassi at ’95 USO (R32)
Rosset at ’96 RG (R16)
Ivanisevic at ’96 USO (QF)

BORIS BECKER
Testerman at ’84 AO (QF)
Wilander at ’85 RG (R64)
Wilander at ’87 RG (SF)
Cahill at ’88 USO (R64)
Svensson at ’89 AO (R16)
Wilander at ’90 AO (QF)
Stich at ’91 W (F)
Haarhuis at ’91 USO (R32)
McEnroe at ’92 AO (R32)
R. Gilbert at ’93 RG (R64)
Sampras at ’93 W (SF)
Ivanisevic at ’94 W (SF)
P. McEnroe at ’95 AO (R128)
Rafter at ’99 W (R16)

PETE SAMPRAS
Saceanu at ’89 AO (R128)
Chang at ’89 RG (R64)
Berger at ’89 USO (R16)
Van Rensburg at ’90 W (R128)
Champion at ’91 RG (R64)
Courier at ’91 USO (QF)
Agassi at ’92 RG (QF)
Edberg at ’93 AO (SF)
Philippoussis at ’96 AO (R32)
Kafelnikov at ’96 RG (SF)
Krajicek at ’96 W (QF)
Delgado at ’98 RG (R64)
Sampras at ’00 USO (F)
Blanco at ’01 RG (R64)
Hewitt at ’01 USO (F)

ANDRE AGASSI
Kuchna at ’87 RG (R64)
Leconte at ’87 W (R128)
Sampras at ’90 USO (F)
Krickstein at ’91 USO (R128)
Courier at ’92 RG (SF)
Kafelnikov at ’95 RG (QF)
Chang at ’96 AO (SF)
Chang at ’96 USO (SF)
Sampras at ’99 W (F)
Clement at ’00 USO (R64)
Srichaphan at ’02 W (R64)
Haehnel at ’04 RG (R128)
Federer at ’05 AO (QF)
Nadal at ’06 W (R32)

 

[krosero]

And a couple of well-known active players.

ROGER FEDERER
Clement at ’00 AO (R32)
Corretja at ’00 RG (R16)
Kafelnikov at ’00 W (R128)
Clement at ’01 AO (R32)
Corretja at ’01 RG (QF)
Agassi at ’01 USO (R16)
Arazi at ’02 RG (R128)
Ancic at ’02 W (R128)
Mirnyi at ’02 USO (R16)
Horna at ’03 RG (R128)
Kuerten at ’04 RG (R32)
Djokovic at ’08 AO (SF)
Nadal at ’08 RG (F)
Djokovic at ’11 AO (SF)
Djokovic at ’12 RG (SF)
Tsonga at ’13 RG (QF)
Robredo at ’13 USO (QF)
Nadal at ’14 AO (SF)
Cilic at ’14 USO (SF)

RAFAEL NADAL
Srichaphan at ‘03 W (R32)
El Aynaoui at ‘03 USO (R64)
Hewitt at ‘04 AO (R32)
Roddick at ‘04 USO (R64)
Gonzalez at ‘07 AO (QF)
Tsonga at ‘08 AO (SF)
Del Potro at ‘09 USO (SF)
Murray at ‘10 AO (QF) - by RET. in third set
Ferrer at ‘11 AO (QF)
Darcis at ‘13 W (R128)
Berdych at ‘15 AO (QF)

 

[krosero]

Borg's record pops out immediately. Of course he retired young, but in 7 years of winning Slams he was rarely defeated in straights.

Certain players may be more difficult to put away in 3 straight sets; I think this is probably true in the same general sense that certain players have great five-set records and are difficult to defeat in five.

The reasons for this would have to be complex -- just as a great 5-set record is not a simple thing.

Intuitively you'd suspect that players with little power would be most susceptible to getting blown away in straights. But that can't be it -- or it can't be the whole story -- because Sampras, Lendl, and Connors, for all their power, each took straight-set defeats a few times, in their prime/peak periods.

Possibly certain players, for whatever reason(s), have a greater ability to "get into" a match -- to sink their teeth into it, before three sets have slipped away. Other players may be more susceptible to getting swept in straights and then saying, after the match, "I just was out-played; I never got into it."

That would be just one factor, I think.

Surface is undoubtedly a factor, as always. McEnroe and Federer, in their prime years, were difficult to defeat in straights on fast surfaces, but they both were swept in straights more than once on clay.