Which run impressed you the most?

Most impressive run?

  • Total voters
    51
mike danny

mike danny

Bionic Poster
The choices are in the poll. Best run to a final by a slamless player.

Baghdatis defeated 3 consecutive top 10 players just to get to the final.

Gonzalez completely decimated Nadal and Haas. In the Haas match he commited only 3 UE.

Tsonga decimated Nadal.

Soderling went through a string of dangerous players: Ferrer, peak Rafa, Davydenko and Gonzalez. The only player to beat peak Nadal at RG.

Berdych defeated both Federer and Djokovic with the loss of just one set.

Nishikori defeated Raonic, Wawrinka and Djokovic in a row.

If there are other runs more impressive than these choices, please specify.
 
Among those mentioned, Nishikori had the biggest fortune in the sense that he was the only one to get a final opponent not named Federer, Nadal or Djokovic. The others were less fortunate.

That's why it was embarrasing that he lost to his then pigeon Cilic in the final. He barely put up a fight.
 
NatF said:
Soderling based on the draw.
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Yeah. Most guys are focusing on him upsetting Nadal, but Robin also had to beat other dangerous players, all competent clay court players in Ferrer, Davydenko and Gonzalez.

His run was surprising and impressive at the same time. Surprising because Sod's game was tailored made for faster surfaces, specifically indoor conditions and impressive because despite that aspect regarding his game, he still beat very competent clay courters.
 
Gonzo at the AO. He was playing out of his mind. People who never watched that tournament like to claim Gonzo was another "weak opponent" in a slam final for Roger. Well, he was hardly weak. His FH was on the level of 2009 Del Po's throughout the entire tournament.
 
Other. Since this is the toughest of all. Regardless of slam or slamless player.

Pete's USO 2001 run. 3 Former USO champs back to back to back and Peaking Hewitt in the finals. And at 30 years old. Doesn't get any tougher than that. Because theres no break "Mug Round"
 
Soderling at RG 2009. First player to achieve the "impossible" task ;)
 
90's Clay said:
Other. Since this is the toughest of all. Regardless of slam or slamless player.

Pete's USO 2001 run. 3 Former USO champs back to back to back and Peaking Hewitt in the finals. And at 30 years old. Doesn't get any tougher than that. Because theres no break "Mug Round"
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Very good choice. But the idea of the thread was about slamless players, not proven champions like Pete.
 
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Just because it's the most recent in my mind, out of those choices I would say probably Nishikori at the USO 2014. The two five setters vs Raonic and Wawrinka followed by the match he played and won giving a 10/10 performance vs Djokovic at his apex were great to watch. But he was mauled in the final by Cilic and he hasn't done a thing to advance his career since that final appearance. That will probably go down as the peak of his career. He's too injury prone and too mentally fragile vs the Big Four players to be a fan of, at least for me.
 
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SinjinCooper said:
Curren. Wimbledon '85. 'Nufced.
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Agreed.

Took down Edberg (who went on to win Australian Open later in the year), defending champion McEnroe and Connors in consecutive matches. Without loss of a set.

Losing to Becker in the final means he faced 4 all time greats in a row.

Only thing like it was future champion Ivanisevic's run at Wimbledon 92.

Downed Lendl, Edberg and Sampras before running into Agassi.
 
Of the list, it comes down to Nishi and Soderling for me. Soderling snapped Rafa's French win streak, the one black mark in a period of major domination that is one of the strongest in History. Nishi at the 2014 US Open beat Raonic, Stan and Novak all in a row..no small task on the courts of the US Open. Then he ran out of gas in the final and turned in a weaker performance. It really comes down to whats more impressive...beating Rafa at the french or those 3 guys at the US Open...its almost a tie haha.
 
boredone3456 said:
Of the list, it comes down to Nishi and Soderling for me. Soderling snapped Rafa's French win streak, the one black mark in a period of major domination that is one of the strongest in History. Nishi at the 2014 US Open beat Raonic, Stan and Novak all in a row..no small task on the courts of the US Open. Then he ran out of gas in the final and turned in a weaker performance. It really comes down to whats more impressive...beating Rafa at the french or those 3 guys at the US Open...its almost a tie haha.
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Soderling went through other dangerous clay courters during his run, not just Rafa.
 
mike danny said:
Soderling went through other dangerous clay courters during his run, not just Rafa.
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Well, going through his draw in 2009 the 3 biggest names that Jump out are Rafa, Ferrer and Fernando. Rafa obviously big stunning victory. Ferrer, well he is a very good clay courter and honestly I have always though he has underperformed at the French overall, and Fernando, dangerous obviously as well.

Nishi beat Novak, Stan, and Raonic.

I would probably say Raonic and Fernando cancel each other out on the respective surface in terms of skill and danger level at the time. Stan to me on hardcourts is a more impressive win than the Ferrer win. Stan had won the AO in 2014 and had been in the US Open SF the previous year. Then it comes down to Novak and Rafa...I'd probably say Rafa on Clay is the more impressive win especially given what Rafa went on to achieve after that defeat...although Novak had been in the previous 4 finals at the US Open before Kei took him out so its not a total landslide.

I look at it this way, no one thought Rafa would lose, and I'm not sure how many people thought Kei could actually beat Novak...its close which run was more impressive. I might have to tip the scales because Robin was able to make the final again in 2010...whereas Kei hasn't really been able to replicate that form.
 
My list would be 1. Curren 2. Soderling 3. Nishikori.

Curren wins for beating Edberg-McEnroe-Connors in straight sets. Soderling is a close #2 with three wins over very good clay courters to go along with the win over Nadal, but he did drop a set against Ferrer and two against Gonzo. Nishikori is #3 with the four set win against Djokovic and the five-set wins over Stan and Milos.
 
boredone3456 said:
Well, going through his draw in 2009 the 3 biggest names that Jump out are Rafa, Ferrer and Fernando. Rafa obviously big stunning victory. Ferrer, well he is a very good clay courter and honestly I have always though he has underperformed at the French overall, and Fernando, dangerous obviously as well.

Nishi beat Novak, Stan, and Raonic.

I would probably say Raonic and Fernando cancel each other out on the respective surface in terms of skill and danger level at the time. Stan to me on hardcourts is a more impressive win than the Ferrer win. Stan had won the AO in 2014 and had been in the US Open SF the previous year. Then it comes down to Novak and Rafa...I'd probably say Rafa on Clay is the more impressive win especially given what Rafa went on to achieve after that defeat...although Novak had been in the previous 4 finals at the US Open before Kei took him out so its not a total landslide.

I look at it this way, no one thought Rafa would lose, and I'm not sure how many people thought Kei could actually beat Novak...its close which run was more impressive. I might have to tip the scales because Robin was able to make the final again in 2010...whereas Kei hasn't really been able to replicate that form.
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The other big name Robin took out that year was Davydenko.
 
cc0509 said:
But most people don't care about any of them. Beating the clay GOAT at his very peak at the FO is a whole other story.
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I know. I just wanted to put into perspective how impressive Robin's run really was, since Rafa wasn't the only competent clay courter he defeated.
 
buscemi said:
My list would be 1. Curren 2. Soderling 3. Nishikori.

Curren wins for beating Edberg-McEnroe-Connors in straight sets. Soderling is a close #2 with three wins over very good clay courters to go along with the win over Nadal, but he did drop a set against Ferrer and two against Gonzo. Nishikori is #3 with the four set win against Djokovic and the five-set wins over Stan and Milos.
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I wonder how much of a shock was in the end when Curren could not replicate that form against a 17 year old Becker.

And whether 17 year old Boris would have still won Wimb had Connors, Mac or Edberg not been taken out.
 
mike danny said:
The other big name Robin took out that year was Davydenko.
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Right. Davydenko was #5 in 2008, #6 in 2009, won WTF in 2009, and was a two time French Open SF (and 1 time QF) coming into that QF match with Soderling. The 4th best player Nishikori played at the 2014 U.S. Open was Mayer, so that's a big difference.
 
buscemi said:
Right. Davydenko was #5 in 2008, #6 in 2009, won WTF in 2009, and was a two time SF (and 1 time QF) coming into that QF match with Soderling. The 4th best player Nishikori played at the 2014 U.S. Open was Mayer, so that's a big difference.
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ya I screwed up and missed Davydenko, but at the end of the day are Davydenko/Ferrer/Fernando more impressive than Raonic/Stan? Stan had won a major on hardcourts that year so that has to at least offer some balance, even if the scales still arguably tip the other way.

I think Novak vs Rafa is so tight based on each ones achievements on hardcourts and clay to that point, edge to Rafa because his record at the French itself alone is so dominant. however Novak had been in the previous 4 US Open finals.

Plus you have to keep in might Kei beat 2 reigning major champions to get to that final. I really think its close and could be ruled either way.
 
cc0509 said:
It was definitely the career defining run for Soderling.
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Given that his game was supposed to be tailor made for faster surfaces and that all his titles had come indoors prior to that run, it was surprising to see him make his first GS final on clay of all surfaces.
 
boredone3456 said:
ya I screwed up and missed Davydenko, but at the end of the day are Davydenko/Ferrer/Fernando more impressive than Raonic/Stan? Stan had won a major on hardcourts that year so that has to at least offer some balance, even if the scales still arguably tip the other way.

I think Novak vs Rafa is so tight based on each ones achievements on hardcourts and clay to that point, edge to Rafa because his record at the French itself alone is so dominant. however Novak had been in the previous 4 US Open finals.

Plus you have to keep in might Kei beat 2 reigning major champions to get to that final. I really think its close and could be ruled either way.
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It's a shame he failed at the last hurdle. He was very fortunate to not get another Fedalovic opponent in the final unlike others before him, yet he still could not take advantage.
 
mike danny said:
It's a shame he failed at the last hurdle. He was very fortunate to not get another Fedalovic opponent in the final unlike others before him, yet he still could not take advantage.
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I honestly think Kei ran out of gas. He went the distance in his 3 previous matches and his body just couldn't carry him through. I had him as my favorite to beat Cilic after whom he beat to get there....plus by now we know Kei and his fitness/body are never consistant...sooo that was just the first major example?
 
boredone3456 said:
I honestly think Kei ran out of gas. He went the distance in his 3 previous matches and his body just couldn't carry him through. I had him as my favorite to beat Cilic after whom he beat to get there....plus by now we know Kei and his fitness/body are never consistant...sooo that was just the first major example?
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But he always does so that's something that's hard to respect IMO. Credit to Cilic though as his USO 2014 run was astounding. Cilic is another player who is perplexing. He has all the tools in his game to be a world-beater on faster surfaces but can't be consistent to save his life.
 
boredone3456 said:
ya I screwed up and missed Davydenko, but at the end of the day are Davydenko/Ferrer/Fernando more impressive than Raonic/Stan? Stan had won a major on hardcourts that year so that has to at least offer some balance, even if the scales still arguably tip the other way.

I think Novak vs Rafa is so tight based on each ones achievements on hardcourts and clay to that point, edge to Rafa because his record at the French itself alone is so dominant. however Novak had been in the previous 4 US Open finals.

Plus you have to keep in might Kei beat 2 reigning major champions to get to that final. I really think its close and could be ruled either way.
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Yeah, it's probably pretty close. I would give the slight edge to Robin due to Nadal plus three other quality opponents, but the Stan factor evens things out a bit.
 
It's clearly either Gonzo, Tsonga, or Soderling. In terms of pure level, I would lean to Gonzo. Soderling's was probably the most impressive though. Tsonga's was awesome as well.
 
Even Baghdatis and "Other. Please specify" got some votes.

tomasberdych_wideweb__470x313,0.jpg
 
Roddick facing Fed in the 2009 wimby final. Best match I've ever seen Roddick play and he still lost. Felt bad for him. He never was the same after that loss but Wimbledon 2009 for Roddick was impressive to me.
 
All those proposed choices were great runs. Sadly they got so close but no cigar in the end so who will remember them in 20 years time...?
 
asif said:
no love for Krajicek 96?

he did a Soderling but actually went the distance
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Krajicek did not have any threats after Sampras.

Even after you had defeated Nadal or Federer, you would have still got to go through the other. That's why it was very difficult to win slams in their presence. What Delpo did was special.
 
mike danny said:
Krajicek did not have any threats after Sampras.

Even after you had defeated Nadal or Federer, you would have still got to go through the other. That's why it was very difficult to win slams in their presence. What Delpo did was special.
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Krajicek beat Stich in 4R before beating Sampras in QF ..just saying...
 
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