Worst players ever to win a Grand Slam title, a statistical approach

[money_ball]

This post is a direct consequence of the discussion from this earlier post:

"Best players never to win a Grand Slam title, a statistical approach":
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=400127

The statistical metric that all of this is based on is:

Career winning % in Grand Slam matches

The following are all of the players who have only won 1 Grand Slam title during the Open Era:

Year — Player — Grand Slam Event
1972 — Andres Gimeno — Roland Garros
1975 — Manuel Orantes — US Open
1976 — Mark Edmondson — Australian Open
1976 — Adriano Panatta — Roland Garros
1977 — Roscoe Tanner — Australian Open (Jan)
1977 — Vitas Gerulaitis — Australian Open (Dec)
1980 — Brian Teacher — Australian Open
1983 — Yannick Noah — Roland Garros
1987 — Pat Cash — Wimbledon
1989 — Michael Chang — Roland Garros
1990 — Andres Gomez — Roland Garros
1991 — Michael Stich — Wimbledon
1995 — Thomas Muster — Roland Garros
1996 — Richard Krajicek — Wimbledon
1998 — Carlos Moya — Roland Garros
1998 — Petr Korda — Australian Open
2002 — Albert Costa — Roland Garros
2002 — Thomas Johansson — Australian Open
2003 — Juan Carlos Ferrero — Roland Garros
2004 — Gaston Gaudio — Roland Garros
2009 — Juan Martin del Potro — US Open

Now the following are the same players ranked descending according to their career Grand Slam match winning %:

Rank — Year — Player — Grand Slam Event — Career GS winning %
1 — 1977 — Roscoe Tanner — Australian Open (Jan) — 73.17%
2 — 1975 — Manuel Orantes — US Open — 71.88%
3 — 1991 — Michael Stich — Wimbledon — 71.56%
4 — 1972 — Andres Gimeno — Roland Garros — 70.83%
5 — 1983 — Yannick Noah — Roland Garros — 70.83%
6 — 1996 — Richard Krajicek — Wimbledon — 70.08%
7 — 2003 — Juan Carlos Ferrero — Roland Garros — 70.00%
8 — 1977 — Vitas Gerulaitis — Australian Open (Dec) — 69.67%
9 — 2009 — Juan Martin del Potro — US Open — 68.42%
10 — 1989 — Michael Chang — Roland Garros — 68.18%
11 — 1987 — Pat Cash — Wimbledon — 67.33%
12 — 1976 — Adriano Panatta — Roland Garros — 67.03%
13 — 1995 — Thomas Muster — Roland Garros — 66.96%
14 — 1990 — Andres Gomez — Roland Garros — 66.30%
15 — 1998 — Carlos Moya — Roland Garros — 62.90%
16 — 1998 — Petr Korda — Australian Open — 61.22%
17 — 2002 — Albert Costa — Roland Garros — 58.62%
18 — 1980 — Brian Teacher — Australian Open — 57.69%
19 — 2002 — Thomas Johansson — Australian Open — 56.73%
20 — 2004 — Gaston Gaudio — Roland Garros — 53.73%
21 — 1976 — Mark Edmondson — Australian Open — 53.09%

So the "worst" player ever to win a Grand Slam title is:

Mark Edmonson

 

[jamesblakefan#1]

Seems about right, though I'd put Johansson below Gaudio as 2nd worse. Gaudio was at least a very good CCer and finished top 10 2 straight years.

 

[HotRoll]

Seems about right, though I'd put Johansson below Gaudio as 2nd worse. Gaudio was at least a very good CCer and finished top 10 2 straight years.

I commence my post:

But The Johansson defeated the GOAT Marat Safin in the finals to take his slam so that itself puts him ahead of all the others.

I conclude my post:

 

[money_ball]

Out of the 21 Open Era Grand Slam "one-hit wonders", the breakdown by event and by decade is as follows:

Australian Open: 6 "one-hit wonders"
Roland Garros: 10 "one-hit wonders"
Wimbledon: 3 "one-hit wonders"
US Open: 2 "one-hit wonders"

1970's: 6 "one-hit wonders"
1980's: 4 "one-hit wonders"
1990's: 6 "one-hit wonders"
2000's: 5 "one-hit wonders"

 

[HotRoll]

I commence my post:

Where is Andy Roddick in this list? Is he too terrible a player to be credited with that single slam?

I conclude my post:

 

[wilkinru]

Roddick is not even on this list, which tells me your list is not complete.

This makes me question all of your numbers.

 

[money_ball]

I commence my post:

But The Johansson defeated the GOAT Marat Safin in the finals to take his slam so that itself puts him ahead of all the others.

I conclude my post:

As must as I think Safin is a badass, I have to be unbiased. Safin's career winning % in Grand Slam matches is: 71.4%

If you were to rank Safin on this list based solely on this metric, he would be ranked at #4, right behind Michael Stich.

 

[HotRoll]

As must as I think Safin is a badass, I have to be unbiased. Safin's career winning % in Grand Slam matches is: 71.4%

If you were to rank Safin on this list based solely on this metric, he would be ranked at #4, right behind Michael Stich.

I commence my post:

Yes, but that would only be if he had only one slam. However, he has 17.

I conclude my post:

 

[money_ball]

Roddick is not even on this list, which tells me your list is not complete.

This makes me question all of your numbers.

Thanks for catching my oversight. Here is the list with Roddick included:

Year — Player — Grand Slam Event
1972 — Andres Gimeno — Roland Garros
1975 — Manuel Orantes — US Open
1976 — Adriano Panatta — Roland Garros
1976 — Mark Edmondson — Australian Open
1977 — Roscoe Tanner — Australian Open (Jan)
1977 — Vitas Gerulaitis — Australian Open (Dec)
1980 — Brian Teacher — Australian Open
1983 — Yannick Noah — Roland Garros
1987 — Pat Cash — Wimbledon
1989 — Michael Chang — Roland Garros
1990 — Andres Gomez — Roland Garros
1991 — Michael Stich — Wimbledon
1995 — Thomas Muster — Roland Garros
1996 — Richard Krajicek — Wimbledon
1998 — Carlos Moya — Roland Garros
1998 — Petr Korda — Australian Open
2002 — Albert Costa — Roland Garros
2002 — Thomas Johansson — Australian Open
2003 — Juan Carlos Ferrero — Roland Garros
2003 — Andy Roddick — US Open
2004 — Gaston Gaudio — Roland Garros
2009 — Juan Martin del Potro — US Open

Rank — Year — Player — Grand Slam Event — Career GS winning %
1 — 2003 — Andy Roddick — US Open — 75.03%
2 — 1977 — Roscoe Tanner — Australian Open (Jan) — 73.17%
3 — 1975 — Manuel Orantes — US Open — 71.88%
4 — 1991 — Michael Stich — Wimbledon — 71.56%
5 — 1972 — Andres Gimeno — Roland Garros — 70.83%
6 — 1983 — Yannick Noah — Roland Garros — 70.83%
7 — 1996 — Richard Krajicek — Wimbledon — 70.08%
8 — 2003 — Juan Carlos Ferrero — Roland Garros — 70.00%
9 — 1977 — Vitas Gerulaitis — Australian Open (Dec) — 69.67%
10 — 2009 — Juan Martin del Potro — US Open — 68.42%
11 — 1989 — Michael Chang — Roland Garros — 68.18%
12 — 1987 — Pat Cash — Wimbledon — 67.33%
13 — 1976 — Adriano Panatta — Roland Garros — 67.03%
14 — 1995 — Thomas Muster — Roland Garros — 66.96%
15 — 1990 — Andres Gomez — Roland Garros — 66.30%
16 — 1998 — Carlos Moya — Roland Garros — 62.90%
17 — 1998 — Petr Korda — Australian Open — 61.22%
18 — 2002 — Albert Costa — Roland Garros — 58.62%
19 — 1980 — Brian Teacher — Australian Open — 57.69%
20 — 2002 — Thomas Johansson — Australian Open — 56.73%
21 — 2004 — Gaston Gaudio — Roland Garros — 53.73%
22 — 1976 — Mark Edmondson — Australian Open — 53.09%

 

[falkenburg]

Out of the 21 Open Era Grand Slam "one-hit wonders", the breakdown by event and by decade is as follows:

Australian Open: 6 "one-hit wonders"
Roland Garros: 10 "one-hit wonders"
Wimbledon: 3 "one-hit wonders"
US Open: 2 "one-hit wonders"

1970's: 6 "one-hit wonders"
1980's: 4 "one-hit wonders"
1990's: 6 "one-hit wonders"
2000's: 5 "one-hit wonders"

I remember looking at results from about 1976 onwards, the French Open had the most number of players who never won any Slams, as is shown, but the fewest number of repeat winners for any Slam, as well, if memory serves. It also was, by far, the poorest indicator of the World's Number One player for that year, i.e., the winner of the tournament being the top ranked player for that year-the US Open was the best. If I said I was surprised, I'd be lying, gotta reward players who don't have the skills to hit winners, but DO have the skills to "construct a point," lol....

 

[oberyn]

You're missing:

Goran Ivanisevic (2001 Wimbledon) 68.75%

 

[money_ball]

Out of the 21 Open Era Grand Slam "one-hit wonders", the breakdown by event and by decade is as follows:

Australian Open: 6 "one-hit wonders"
Roland Garros: 10 "one-hit wonders"
Wimbledon: 3 "one-hit wonders"
US Open: 2 "one-hit wonders"

1970's: 6 "one-hit wonders"
1980's: 4 "one-hit wonders"
1990's: 6 "one-hit wonders"
2000's: 5 "one-hit wonders"

Because I left out Roddick, the numbers are wrong. Here are the revised numbers:

Australian Open: 6 "one-hit wonders"
Roland Garros: 10 "one-hit wonders"
Wimbledon: 3 "one-hit wonders"
US Open: 3 "one-hit wonders"

1970's: 6 "one-hit wonders"
1980's: 4 "one-hit wonders"
1990's: 6 "one-hit wonders"
2000's: 6 "one-hit wonders"

 

[HotRoll]

Roddick is not even on this list, which tells me your list is not complete.

This makes me question all of your numbers.

I commence my post:

Give the guy/gal some credit; he did it in about five minutes and he realized that Roddick was too horrible a player to be on his list.

I conclude my post:

 

[money_ball]

You're missing:

Goran Ivanisevic (2001 Wimbledon) 68.75%

Thanks for catching that! I hope he's the last one I missed! Here are the revised lists:

Year — Player — Grand Slam Event
1972 — Andres Gimeno — Roland Garros
1975 — Manuel Orantes — US Open
1976 — Adriano Panatta — Roland Garros
1976 — Mark Edmondson — Australian Open
1977 — Roscoe Tanner — Australian Open (Jan)
1977 — Vitas Gerulaitis — Australian Open (Dec)
1980 — Brian Teacher — Australian Open
1983 — Yannick Noah — Roland Garros
1987 — Pat Cash — Wimbledon
1989 — Michael Chang — Roland Garros
1990 — Andres Gomez — Roland Garros
1991 — Michael Stich — Wimbledon
1995 — Thomas Muster — Roland Garros
1996 — Richard Krajicek — Wimbledon
1998 — Carlos Moya — Roland Garros
1998 — Petr Korda — Australian Open
2001 — Goran Ivanisevic — Wimbledon
2002 — Albert Costa — Roland Garros
2002 — Thomas Johansson — Australian Open
2003 — Andy Roddick — US Open
2003 — Juan Carlos Ferrero — Roland Garros
2004 — Gaston Gaudio — Roland Garros
2009 — Juan Martin del Potro — US Open

Rank — Year — Player — Grand Slam Event — Career GS winning %
1 — 2003 — Andy Roddick — US Open — 75.03%
2 — 1977 — Roscoe Tanner — Australian Open (Jan) — 73.17%
3 — 1975 — Manuel Orantes — US Open — 71.88%
4 — 1991 — Michael Stich — Wimbledon — 71.56%
5 — 1972 — Andres Gimeno — Roland Garros — 70.83%
6 — 1983 — Yannick Noah — Roland Garros — 70.83%
7 — 1996 — Richard Krajicek — Wimbledon — 70.08%
8 — 2003 — Juan Carlos Ferrero — Roland Garros — 70.00%
9 — 1977 — Vitas Gerulaitis — Australian Open (Dec) — 69.67%
10 — 2001 — Goran Ivanisevic — Wimbledon 68.75%
11 — 2009 — Juan Martin del Potro — US Open — 68.42%
12 — 1989 — Michael Chang — Roland Garros — 68.18%
13 — 1987 — Pat Cash — Wimbledon — 67.33%
14 — 1976 — Adriano Panatta — Roland Garros — 67.03%
15 — 1995 — Thomas Muster — Roland Garros — 66.96%
16 — 1990 — Andres Gomez — Roland Garros — 66.30%
17 — 1998 — Carlos Moya — Roland Garros — 62.90%
18 — 1998 — Petr Korda — Australian Open — 61.22%
19 — 2002 — Albert Costa — Roland Garros — 58.62%
20 — 1980 — Brian Teacher — Australian Open — 57.69%
21 — 2002 — Thomas Johansson — Australian Open — 56.73%
22 — 2004 — Gaston Gaudio — Roland Garros — 53.73%
23 — 1976 — Mark Edmondson — Australian Open — 53.09%

 

[money_ball]

Because I left out Roddick, the numbers are wrong. Here are the revised numbers:

Australian Open: 6 "one-hit wonders"
Roland Garros: 10 "one-hit wonders"
Wimbledon: 3 "one-hit wonders"
US Open: 3 "one-hit wonders"

1970's: 6 "one-hit wonders"
1980's: 4 "one-hit wonders"
1990's: 6 "one-hit wonders"
2000's: 6 "one-hit wonders"

I also left out Ivanisevic; DOH! Okay, here are the revised numbers. Hopefully this is the last time!

Australian Open: 6 "one-hit wonders"
Roland Garros: 10 "one-hit wonders"
Wimbledon: 4 "one-hit wonders"
US Open: 3 "one-hit wonders"

1970's: 6 "one-hit wonders"
1980's: 4 "one-hit wonders"
1990's: 6 "one-hit wonders"
2000's: 7 "one-hit wonders"

Del Potro better win another GS title, otherwise the 2000's has the most "one-hit wonders"!

 

[HotRoll]

I commence my post:

You should post 82 times somewhere and then use the edit feature.

I conclude my post:

 

[money_ball]

I commence my post:

You should post 82 times somewhere and then use the edit feature.

I conclude my post:

I am brand new to these forums, and for some reason editing my posts are disabled by the forum administrator for my account. Very frustrating.

 

[kishnabe]

1972 — Andres Gimeno — Roland Garros A great Clay courter, had his troubles but finally got that elusive French.
1976 — Adriano Panatta — Roland GarrosLOL, the guy beat Borg twice on clay and is an avid clay courter.
1977 — Roscoe Tanner — Australian Open (Jan) Huge serve, deserves it since he has the game to win a major. Reached a wimbledon final
1977 — Vitas Gerulaitis — Australian Open (Dec)Reached US and French Final. Also reached two wimbledon semis. Doesn't deserve to be on the list.
1983 — Yannick Noah — Roland GarrosHad the game to win many more majors if it weren't for the weed. Athletic guy deserves to his major.
1987 — Pat Cash — Wimbledon Reached two Aussie finals. Also played a US Open semi. Guy is one of the most talented volleyers.
1989 — Michael Chang — Roland Garros Reached 3 other gs finals. Too bad didn't beat Sampras,Muster and Becker.
1990 — Andres Gomez — Roland Garros I head from here that he is good, and had problems with lendl.
1991 — Michael Stich — Wimbledon Beat Edberg at his best and Becker at his worst. Also reached US and RG final.
1995 — Thomas Muster — Roland Garros One of the best clay courters of all time in terms of playing ability.
1996 — Richard Krajicek — Wimbledon Real good player should have reached the 1998 Wimbledon final.
2003 — Juan Carlos Ferrero — Roland Garros Reached 4 RG semis and winning a title and final appearance in them. Also US OPen final.
2009 — Juan Martin del Potro — US Open Time will tell


These guys aren't the worst..Stats means nothing....since players ability changes over time. The approach only works if Humans were machines and they aren't!

 

[HotRoll]

I am brand new to these forums, and for some reason editing my posts are disabled by the forum administrator for my account. Very frustrating.

I commence my post:

I think that you will be able to do it after you have scored a posting century.

I conclude my post:

 

[HotRoll]

1972 — Andres Gimeno — Roland Garros A great Clay courter, had his troubles but finally got that elusive French.
1976 — Adriano Panatta — Roland GarrosLOL, the guy beat Borg twice on clay and is an avid clay courter.
1977 — Roscoe Tanner — Australian Open (Jan) Huge serve, deserves it since he has the game to win a major. Reached a wimbledon final
1977 — Vitas Gerulaitis — Australian Open (Dec)Reached US and French Final. Also reached two wimbledon semis. Doesn't deserve to be on the list.
1983 — Yannick Noah — Roland GarrosHad the game to win many more majors if it weren't for the weed. Athletic guy deserves to his major.
1987 — Pat Cash — Wimbledon Reached two Aussie finals. Also played a US Open semi. Guy is one of the most talented volleyers.
1989 — Michael Chang — Roland Garros Reached 3 other gs finals. Too bad didn't beat Sampras,Muster and Becker.
1990 — Andres Gomez — Roland Garros I head from here that he is good, and had problems with lendl.
1991 — Michael Stich — Wimbledon Beat Edberg at his best and Becker at his worst. Also reached US and RG final.
1995 — Thomas Muster — Roland Garros One of the best clay courters of all time in terms of playing ability.
1996 — Richard Krajicek — Wimbledon Real good player should have reached the 1998 Wimbledon final.
2003 — Juan Carlos Ferrero — Roland Garros Reached 4 RG semis and winning a title and final appearance in them. Also US OPen final.
2009 — Juan Martin del Potro — US Open Time will tell


These guys aren't the worst..Stats means nothing....since players ability changes over time. The approach only works if Humans were machines and they aren't!

I commence my post:

Yes, but there is no explanation for Roddick. He should have lost to Nalbandian anyway.

I conclude my post:

 

[Xizel]

Roddick played a tight 09 Wimbledon against the GOAT and one of the grass GOATs with a DEEP tiebreaker at 14-16. He also had one of the biggest serve in tennis history. I'd like to say a big forehand, but he had a sex reassignment.

 

[ledwix]

I commence my post:

Yes, but there is no explanation for Roddick. He should have lost to Nalbandian anyway.

I conclude my post:

Huh, Roddick has played in five grand slam finals and stayed in the top 10 for 10 years.

 

[wy2sl0]

Roddick is the best single slam winner of all time...interesting to know.

 

[DMan]

Would you rather be the "worst" player to win a major? Or the "best" player to have never won one?

Doesn't seem like such a "bad" thing to have won a major!

A lot of men aren't even on the list who have "only" won 1 major!

Mark Edmondson is still the lowest ranked player ever to win a major. He was #212 when he won the 1976 Australian Open. Granted, it was not a strong field. But he did beat Newcombe and Rosewall to win the title.

Winning even 1 major is a big accomplishment!

 

[TopFH]

I commence my post:

But The Johansson defeated the GOAT Marat Safin in the finals to take his slam so that itself puts him ahead of all the others.

I conclude my post:

So this dude was banned after a week? Wow.

 

[psYcon]

You're missing:

Goran Ivanisevic (2001 Wimbledon) 68.75%

That is not fair. Ivanisevic made it to the Wimbledon final 3 times before finally winning on his fourth try. If it weren't for Sampras, he would have 3 Wimbledons easily.

 

[Chenx15]

I commence my post:

Yes, but there is no explanation for Roddick. He should have lost to Nalbandian anyway.

I conclude my post:

agree. roddick's slam is full of asterisk. nalbandian should have won that no questions ask.

 

[falkenburg]

Huh, Roddick has played in five grand slam finals and stayed in the top 10 for 10 years.

That doesn't change the fact that A-Fraud benefited from 1) some very conspicuous home cooking in terms of scheduling that his non-American competitors did not enjoy and 2) an atrocious call against Nalbandian in their match (no challenge system back then) that would've given Pug Belly double match point. Outside of Chang's beating Lendl with underhanded(literally, not figuratively) serves while cramping and after being down two sets, I can hardly think of a luckier Slam win.

 

[850beast]

why did hotroll get banned?

 

[GrassCourtFan]

agree. roddick's slam is full of asterisk. nalbandian should have won that no questions ask.

Disagree.

Look, he spent the better part of 10 years getting to slam semis and finals, year after year. Most of them he lost to Roger Federer, but one he snuck out before Rog started dominating. His 1 slam fits perfectly into his career - 1 win, a bunch of finals, a bunch more semis.

 

[Timbo's hopeless slice]

why did hotroll get banned?

I like to think it was because of that irritating "I commence my post' drivel but ti was probably for another reason...

 

[MichaelNadal]

Roddick is the best single slam winner of all time...interesting to know.

Yep, Federer really tore his career to pieces.

 

[ledwix]

Mark Edmondson is still the lowest ranked player ever to win a major. He was #212 when he won the 1976 Australian Open. Granted, it was not a strong field. But he did beat Newcombe and Rosewall to win the title.

Haha, 212? Hilarious. That'd be like Greg Jones winning a major today. Unimaginable.

 

[Colin]

why did hotroll get banned?

I'd hope it would be for ending a sentence with a colon, but I'm sure there were myriad other reasons. Oh well. Good riddance to bad rubbish, as they say.

It's not surprising Roddick has the highest winning percentage of the one-slam wonders; he should have three or four, and Nalbandian should have one or two, as well. They just came up against Roger at his best.

 

[SoCal10s]

1980 — Brian Teacher — Australian Open... he's the biggest dog by far.. I think the whole tennis world must have protested that tournament that year for him to win..

this guy was a has been before he was a has been..

 

[celoft]

This post is a direct consequence of the discussion from this earlier post:

"Best players never to win a Grand Slam title, a statistical approach":
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=400127

The statistical metric that all of this is based on is:

Career winning % in Grand Slam matches

The following are all of the players who have only won 1 Grand Slam title during the Open Era:

Year — Player — Grand Slam Event
1972 — Andres Gimeno — Roland Garros
1975 — Manuel Orantes — US Open
1976 — Mark Edmondson — Australian Open
1976 — Adriano Panatta — Roland Garros
1977 — Roscoe Tanner — Australian Open (Jan)
1977 — Vitas Gerulaitis — Australian Open (Dec)
1980 — Brian Teacher — Australian Open
1983 — Yannick Noah — Roland Garros
1987 — Pat Cash — Wimbledon
1989 — Michael Chang — Roland Garros
1990 — Andres Gomez — Roland Garros
1991 — Michael Stich — Wimbledon
1995 — Thomas Muster — Roland Garros
1996 — Richard Krajicek — Wimbledon
1998 — Carlos Moya — Roland Garros
1998 — Petr Korda — Australian Open
2002 — Albert Costa — Roland Garros
2002 — Thomas Johansson — Australian Open
2003 — Juan Carlos Ferrero — Roland Garros
2004 — Gaston Gaudio — Roland Garros
2009 — Juan Martin del Potro — US Open

Now the following are the same players ranked descending according to their career Grand Slam match winning %:

Rank — Year — Player — Grand Slam Event — Career GS winning %
1 — 1977 — Roscoe Tanner — Australian Open (Jan) — 73.17%
2 — 1975 — Manuel Orantes — US Open — 71.88%
3 — 1991 — Michael Stich — Wimbledon — 71.56%
4 — 1972 — Andres Gimeno — Roland Garros — 70.83%
5 — 1983 — Yannick Noah — Roland Garros — 70.83%
6 — 1996 — Richard Krajicek — Wimbledon — 70.08%
7 — 2003 — Juan Carlos Ferrero — Roland Garros — 70.00%
8 — 1977 — Vitas Gerulaitis — Australian Open (Dec) — 69.67%
9 — 2009 — Juan Martin del Potro — US Open — 68.42%
10 — 1989 — Michael Chang — Roland Garros — 68.18%
11 — 1987 — Pat Cash — Wimbledon — 67.33%
12 — 1976 — Adriano Panatta — Roland Garros — 67.03%
13 — 1995 — Thomas Muster — Roland Garros — 66.96%
14 — 1990 — Andres Gomez — Roland Garros — 66.30%
15 — 1998 — Carlos Moya — Roland Garros — 62.90%
16 — 1998 — Petr Korda — Australian Open — 61.22%
17 — 2002 — Albert Costa — Roland Garros — 58.62%
18 — 1980 — Brian Teacher — Australian Open — 57.69%
19 — 2002 — Thomas Johansson — Australian Open — 56.73%
20 — 2004 — Gaston Gaudio — Roland Garros — 53.73%
21 — 1976 — Mark Edmondson — Australian Open — 53.09%

So the "worst" player ever to win a Grand Slam title is:

Mark Edmonson

Pretty much.

 

[pc1]

This post is a direct consequence of the discussion from this earlier post:

"Best players never to win a Grand Slam title, a statistical approach":
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=400127

The statistical metric that all of this is based on is:

Career winning % in Grand Slam matches

The following are all of the players who have only won 1 Grand Slam title during the Open Era:

Year — Player — Grand Slam Event
1972 — Andres Gimeno — Roland Garros
1975 — Manuel Orantes — US Open
1976 — Mark Edmondson — Australian Open
1976 — Adriano Panatta — Roland Garros
1977 — Roscoe Tanner — Australian Open (Jan)
1977 — Vitas Gerulaitis — Australian Open (Dec)
1980 — Brian Teacher — Australian Open
1983 — Yannick Noah — Roland Garros
1987 — Pat Cash — Wimbledon
1989 — Michael Chang — Roland Garros
1990 — Andres Gomez — Roland Garros
1991 — Michael Stich — Wimbledon
1995 — Thomas Muster — Roland Garros
1996 — Richard Krajicek — Wimbledon
1998 — Carlos Moya — Roland Garros
1998 — Petr Korda — Australian Open
2002 — Albert Costa — Roland Garros
2002 — Thomas Johansson — Australian Open
2003 — Juan Carlos Ferrero — Roland Garros
2004 — Gaston Gaudio — Roland Garros
2009 — Juan Martin del Potro — US Open

Now the following are the same players ranked descending according to their career Grand Slam match winning %:

Rank — Year — Player — Grand Slam Event — Career GS winning %
1 — 1977 — Roscoe Tanner — Australian Open (Jan) — 73.17%
2 — 1975 — Manuel Orantes — US Open — 71.88%
3 — 1991 — Michael Stich — Wimbledon — 71.56%
4 — 1972 — Andres Gimeno — Roland Garros — 70.83%
5 — 1983 — Yannick Noah — Roland Garros — 70.83%
6 — 1996 — Richard Krajicek — Wimbledon — 70.08%
7 — 2003 — Juan Carlos Ferrero — Roland Garros — 70.00%
8 — 1977 — Vitas Gerulaitis — Australian Open (Dec) — 69.67%
9 — 2009 — Juan Martin del Potro — US Open — 68.42%
10 — 1989 — Michael Chang — Roland Garros — 68.18%
11 — 1987 — Pat Cash — Wimbledon — 67.33%
12 — 1976 — Adriano Panatta — Roland Garros — 67.03%
13 — 1995 — Thomas Muster — Roland Garros — 66.96%
14 — 1990 — Andres Gomez — Roland Garros — 66.30%
15 — 1998 — Carlos Moya — Roland Garros — 62.90%
16 — 1998 — Petr Korda — Australian Open — 61.22%
17 — 2002 — Albert Costa — Roland Garros — 58.62%
18 — 1980 — Brian Teacher — Australian Open — 57.69%
19 — 2002 — Thomas Johansson — Australian Open — 56.73%
20 — 2004 — Gaston Gaudio — Roland Garros — 53.73%
21 — 1976 — Mark Edmondson — Australian Open — 53.09%

So the "worst" player ever to win a Grand Slam title is:

Mark Edmonson

Gimeno was actually a great player. He was a member of the old Pro Tour that couldn't play majors. Open tennis didn't begin until he was in his thirties. He won his major when he was well into his thirties. When he was younger I am sure he would have won several majors.

For many years he was considered the best player by many in the world after Laver and Rosewall.

 

[oberyn]

That is not fair. Ivanisevic made it to the Wimbledon final 3 times before finally winning on his fourth try. If it weren't for Sampras, he would have 3 Wimbledons easily.

I wasn't knocking Ivanisevic or his accomplishments, just saying that he was missing from the OP's list of one-slam winners.

 

[Rock Strongo]

Speaking of Edmondson, here's him doing the contre-smash in his AO final against Newk! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7WpFa--f98s#t=120s

 

[Timbo's hopeless slice]

You know, all jokes aside, that is some sweet tennis he played to win..

 

[tacou]

That doesn't change the fact that A-Fraud benefited from 1) some very conspicuous home cooking in terms of scheduling that his non-American competitors did not enjoy and 2) an atrocious call against Nalbandian in their match (no challenge system back then) that would've given Pug Belly double match point. Outside of Chang's beating Lendl with underhanded(literally, not figuratively) serves while cramping and after being down two sets, I can hardly think of a luckier Slam win.

what's lucky about underhanded serving?
Nalby was up two sets to 1. maybe you think he should have one, but he didn't. that's on him, not Andy.
besides, Andy still had a whole extra match to play, the final, and he killed it.

 

[adamX012]

OP ya,

can you do another thread--fantanstic players ever to win a Grand Slam title...

 

[falkenburg]

what's lucky about underhanded serving?
Nalby was up two sets to 1. maybe you think he should have one, but he didn't. that's on him, not Andy.
besides, Andy still had a whole extra match to play, the final, and he killed it.

The "lucky" part with respect to Roddick was the outrageously bad call that Nalby got that would've given him double match point had it been called correctly. Thank goodness A-Fraud showed that one Slam was an aberration. The lucky part with the underhand serve was that Lendl was still near the height of his powers, up two sets to none, against a 17 year old who never won another major before or after, and was cramping. It was a courageous performance by Chang, but while he cramped in his legs, Lendl cramped in his brain (the loss of the point on the aforementioned serve was just one example of many) and on match point, Lendl hit a fault, and Chang ambled up to the service line like he was playing a park hacker. Lendl saw the move, was furious, and hit about a 130 mph second serve-into the net. I disliked Lendl intensely, but I'd call that whole match surreal-and lucky. There are some things in sports that are inexplicable, and that was one of them.

 

[OddJack]

Have said this since USO 2009, and will say again if it comes up.

Del Potro will never win another major.

 

[falkenburg]

Have said this since USO 2009, and will say again if it comes up.

Del Potro will never win another major.

Don't agree, but, time will tell, and, if nothing else, he was, until very recently, the only member of a very exclusive club: winning a Slam and beating Fed and Nadal while doing so.