Top 10 Wimbledon Collapses or Upsets
Over the years, Wimbledon has left some people holding their heads high in victory and others bowing their heads in agonizing defeat.
Wimbledon has been a host to many great matches. Nadal beating Federer in 2008, in an epic five setter. Agassi vs. Ivanisevic. The list goes on.
While there have been great matches, there also have been some big disappointments, upsets, and collapses. Here is a list of the biggest upsets and collapses at Wimbledon.
Notable mention: Hingis losing to 87th ranked Virginia Ruano Pascal in the first round, in 2001.
10. Jimmy Connors vs. John McEnroe, 1984
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In 1984, Jimmy Connors faced John McEnroe in the Wimbledon final. It was a highly anticipated match because that year Connors was ranked number one and McEnroe was climbing to being one of the best players of all-time.
The final didn’t live up to the hype. McEnroe crushed Connors in a speedy 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 rout. It turned out to be the last grand slam final Connors would play.
9. Roger Federer vs. Alejandro Falla/ Roger Federer vs. Tomas Berdych, 2010
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It seemed like the world was ending last year at Wimbledon.
Arguably the best grass court player was down two-sets to none against Falla. Those two sets were probably the worst tennis ever played by Federer. He wasn’t moving his feet and his forehand was going all over the place. He finally won the last set 6-0.
In the Quarterfinals Federer played Tomas Berdych, a player against whom Federer currently holds an 8-3 edge. Berdych just outplayed Federer, showing how good Berdych can be if he is on his game.
8. Steffi Graf vs. Lori McNeil, 1994
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The number one seed lost to Lori McNeil in straight sets after winning Wimbledon the year before. Graf has won Wimbledon seven times. After she lost to McNeil, she won Wimbledon the next two years in 1995 and 96.
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7. Lleyton Hewitt vs. Ivo Karlovic 2003
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The year before he lost to Karlovic, Hewitt had been ranked No. 1 twice and had won Wimbledon, beating David Nalbandian in straight sets.
High hopes were set for Hewitt in 2003, but his dreams of repeating a Wimbledon championship were smashed in the first round against Ivo Karlovic.
Karlovic was not known at this point. He was actually a qualifier when he played Hewitt. Even though Karlovic may strike some people as a good player, Hewitt is known for his return game and being able to pass opponents at net. This should have been an easy victory.
6. Andy Roddick Vs.Yen Hsun Lu, 2010
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The 82nd player in the world at the time, Lu, defeated Roddick in a marathon five-set match in the fourth round last year.
This should not have come as a shock considering Roddick had struggled in the first three rounds, dropping a set to Philipp Kohlschreiber and Michael Llodra.
Unfortunately, Roddick’s career has been on the downside ever since the 2010 Wimbledon. He lost to Janko Tipsarevic in the second round of U.S. Open in 2010, was pummeled by Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2011 Austrailian Open, losing in straight sets, and he did not play in the French Open this year.
5. Peter Doohan vs. Boris Becker, 1987
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Becker was just coming off a Wimbledon win in 1986 and was favored to win again against Doohan.
It wasn’t much of a struggle for the 70th ranked, 26 year-old Doohan. He won in four sets 7-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
4. Ana Ivanovic vs. Zie Zheng, 2008
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After showing a lot of promise in the previous grand slams that year, Ivanovic fell apart at Wimbledon.
She made it to the Austrailian Open finals and won the French Open, but her loss to 133rd ranked Zie Zheng 6-1, 6-4 showed that Ivanovic wasn’t cut out for the big stage.
After the Zheng match, it was all downhill for Ivanovic. Ivanovic is now ranked 18th. She was ranked number five when she lost the match to Zie.
3. Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer, 2008
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This game can be considered one of the best matches of all-time.
Rafael Nadal was trying to wipe away his reputation as strictly a clay-court specialist, and there was no better way to do that than by beating Federer on grass.
Federer was going for his sixth consecutive Wimbledon Championship.
Both fought hard and by the end of the rain-delayed match the players could barely see the ball because of darkness. The final score was 6-4, 6-4, 6-7,6-7-6,9-7 in favor of Nadal.
The reason why the match is listed as a collapse is that Federer was expected to win. He was the dominant player in men's tennis, and the loss to Nadal signaled a changing of the guard.
2. Nick Brown vs. Goran Ivanisevic, 1991
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After losing to Agassi in a thrilling five-set match in the Wimbledon final the previous year, Ivanisevic was looking for revenge. All paths looked golden but Nick Brown stood in his way in the second round.
The 591st ranked player, Brown was 27 years old and had taken a five year break from tennis. Brown took it to Ivanisevic, winning in four sets. Ten years later, Ivanisevic eventually made his way back to finals and won Wimbledon in 2001.
1.Steffi Graf vs. Jana Novotna, 1993
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Probably one of the most heartbreaking matches in all of tennis.
Tennis players know one of the hardest things to do is to close out a match. Jana Novotna was up 4-1, 40-15, in third set, but blew the lead losing in three sets, 7-6, 1-6, 6-4. The match may haunt Novotna the rest of her life, but she did pull out a Wimbledon championship victory in 1998.
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