Who's the best player not to win a slam now

Best male player not to win a slam

  • Nalbandian

    Votes: 46 33.6%

  • Tsonga

    Votes: 8 5.8%

  • Ferrer

    Votes: 9 6.6%

  • Berdych

    Votes: 17 12.4%

  • Mecir

    Votes: 14 10.2%

  • Rios

    Votes: 16 11.7%

  • Others (mention who)

    Votes: 6 4.4%

  • Tsitsipas

    Votes: 4 2.9%

  • Ruud

    Votes: 11 8.0%

  • Soderling

    Votes: 6 4.4%
  • Total voters
    137
  • Poll closed .
Can someone please explain how Nalbandian, a player with only one Slam Final where he got his ass handed to him over strawberries&cream by Lleyton Hewitt of all people, is unanimously the best to never win a Slam?

He had poor longevity, won exactly two Masters, and never came close to winning the Big One. What exactly am I missing here
 
Nalbandian : 1 slam final, 1 masters, 2 M1000, 4 M1000 finals, n3
Tsonga : 1 slam final, 1 masters final, 2 M1000, 2 M1000 finals, n5
Ferrer : 1 slam final, 1 masters final, 1 M1000, 6 M1000 finals, n3
Ruud : 3 slam finals, 1 masters final, 1 M1000, 3 M1000 finals, n2
Tsitsipas : 2 slam finals, 1 masters, 3 M1000, 4 M1000 finals, n3
Rios : 1 slam final, 5 M1000, 2 M1000 finals, n1
Berdych : 1 slam final, 1 M1000, 3 M1000 finals, n4
Soderling : 2 slam finals, 1 M1000, n4
Mecir : 2 slam finals, 1 Olympic Gold, 3 M1000, 4 M1000 finals, n4
Martin : 2 slam finals, 1 M1000 final, n4
Corretja : 2 slam finals, 1 masters, 2 M1000, 3 M1000 finals, n2
 
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We've always said Nalbandian because he had a lot of potential but if we strictly look at the numbers Tsitsipas has 1 more slam F and 1 more M1000. Rios has 5 M1000 and was n1. Hard to pick
 
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The active players on the list have similar chances of winning a Slam as the inactive players on it.
 
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Kralingen said:
Can someone please explain how Nalbandian, a player with only one Slam Final where he got his ass handed to him over strawberries&cream by Lleyton Hewitt of all people, is unanimously the best to never win a Slam?

He had poor longevity, won exactly two Masters, and never came close to winning the Big One. What exactly am I missing here
Click to expand...
He was the only player barring Nadal , capable of challenging peakiest Federer. RG 06 where he was forced to retire. Roma 06 , AO 04 were extremely close matches. Beat him at USO 03, WTF 05, and Paris plus Madrid 07. This was when Federer was almost unstoppable , yet Nalbandian proved to be a serious obstacle
 
weakera said:
David Nalbandian 2007 Madrid Masters:

R1: Clement
R2: Berdych
R3: Del Potro
QF: Nadal
SF: Djokovic
F: Federer

Alexander Zverev 2026 RG:

R1: Bonzi
R2: Machac
R3: Halys
R4: De Jong
QF: Jodar
SF: Mensik
F: Cobolli
Click to expand...
Monster big 3 major run vs baby clay atp 500 post sincaraz run
 
NachoGPT said:
I would say Rios because he was world #1 and his only slam final loss was against a doper. But Nalbandian impresses me more.
Click to expand...
Rios played crap in the 1998 Australian Open final. LOL. Both Rios and Korda started the match slowly, but then Korda hit form while Rios stayed flat.

Korda in the quarter final had beaten Bjorkman from 2 sets down, and beat Kucera (who had beaten Sampras) in the semi finals. Even if Korda was doped at the time (and there's no way to prove it), it's not as simple as just handing it to Rios. What about Bjorkman and Kucera?
 
Kralingen said:
Can someone please explain how Nalbandian, a player with only one Slam Final where he got his ass handed to him over strawberries&cream by Lleyton Hewitt of all people, is unanimously the best to never win a Slam?

He had poor longevity, won exactly two Masters, and never came close to winning the Big One. What exactly am I missing here
Click to expand...
I get your point but ttw always loved Nalbandian. And that's for past 20 years
 
Kralingen said:
Can someone please explain how Nalbandian, a player with only one Slam Final where he got his ass handed to him over strawberries&cream by Lleyton Hewitt of all people, is unanimously the best to never win a Slam?

He had poor longevity, won exactly two Masters, and never came close to winning the Big One. What exactly am I missing here
Click to expand...
Hear, hear.
 
Kralingen said:
Can someone please explain how Nalbandian, a player with only one Slam Final where he got his ass handed to him over strawberries&cream by Lleyton Hewitt of all people, is unanimously the best to never win a Slam?

He had poor longevity, won exactly two Masters, and never came close to winning the Big One. What exactly am I missing here
Click to expand...
the talent was clearly there
 
Nalbandian was Federer's early nemesis. Nalbandian beat Federer in their 1998 US Open Junior final, and took a 5-0 lead in their head-to-head after their 2003 US Open fourth round match. As a result of this, when Federer hit peak form, Nalbandian never quite had an inferior complex against Federer like so many other players did. It finished 11-8 to Federer.

On the other hand, Hewitt was mentally ready for the tennis elite very early, and Hewitt led Federer 7-2 at the end of 2003, and Federer then won 15 in a row. Hewitt then won 2 of the last 3. It finished 18-9 to Federer.
 
Kralingen said:
Can someone please explain how Nalbandian, a player with only one Slam Final where he got his ass handed to him over strawberries&cream by Lleyton Hewitt of all people, is unanimously the best to never win a Slam?

He had poor longevity, won exactly two Masters, and never came close to winning the Big One. What exactly am I missing here
Click to expand...
I guess because of his big wins. YEC vs Fed in BO5, Madrid over all the Big 3 and Paris over Fedal
 
mike danny said:
AO 2006 has to be his worst loss
Click to expand...
Yes, 2 sets up on Baghdatis and lost. Nalbandian may have beaten Federer in the final possibly, as Federer wasn't (for him) in his best form at the tournament, and Nalbandian had recently beaten Federer in the 2005 YEC final.
 
weakera said:
Alexander Zverev 2026 RG:

R1: Bonzi
R2: Machac
R3: Halys
R4: De Jong
QF: Jodar
SF: Mensik
F: Cobolli
Click to expand...
This is a very soft draw as it stands now, but perceptions may change over time. Suppose Mensik and Jodar fulfill at least some of their promise and win several slams each. Cobolli I think is less likely to join the club, but I wouldn't rule him out entirely. Ten to 15 years from now, people who didn't follow the tournament as it unfolded might look at Zverev's list of conquests and say, "So he took out both proto-Jodar and nascent Mensik? Good wins!"
 
Mustard said:
Yes, 2 sets up on Baghdatis and lost. Nalbandian may have beaten Federer in the final possibly, as Federer wasn't (for him) in his best form at the tournament, and Nalbandian had recently beaten Federer in the 2005 YEC final.
Click to expand...
I used to think that, but this choke convinced me otherwise
 
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