The Top 5...Missing Achievements from Legendary Players
Another year, another ATP Finals miss for Rafael Nadal. But he's not the only all-time great who's come up short at a big event.
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As Rafael Nadal showed this week at the ATP Finals, even the greats of the game can’t win ’em all—even though he’s come pretty close.
The Spaniard has collected 22 Grand Slam titles—including a double career Slam—an Olympic gold medal and five Davis Cup championships over the course of his illustrious career. But whether it’s due to health or the playing conditions at the season-ending championships, he’s never been able lift the year’s final trophy. Nadal’s resume hardly suffers from the omission, but it’s noteworthy nonetheless.
But it’s not just Rafa who’s fallen short on one significant prize. Here’s a look at some of his legendary peers, and the dangling carrots they’ve chased.
Ivan Lendl at Wimbledon
Among all the great champions that built Hall of Fame-worthy careers during the 1980s, one man was clearly the leader of the pack: Lendl. After he won his first major title at the 1984 French Open, it was off to the races, as he won Roland Garros and the US Open on multiple occasions, then claimed his first Australian Open in 1989. Despite his best efforts, which included skipping Paris in his later years, he was unable to match the natural grass-court prowess of some of his peers and went without a title at Wimbledon, the most prestigious tournament of them all. Lendl did manage to make the final in 1986 and ’87, losing to Boris Becker and Pat Cash, respectively.
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer at the Olympics
Since the 2004 Summer Games, the top seed of the quadrennial competition has either been Federer or Djokovic. The gold medal tally between them? Zero. The 20- and 21-time Grand Slam champions and longtime No. 1s suffered early-round losses, bronze-medal defeats and championship upsets as they chased a place atop the podium. Federer did finish his career with a gold medal in doubles, while Djokovic will have to wait until 2024 for what might be a final attempt at the one top prize to escape his grasp.
Bjorn Borg at the US Open
Sometimes a tournament can perfectly suit a player’s personality, like the cool and calm atmosphere of Wimbledon with Borg. And in other instances, it can be the complete opposite, such as the hustle and bustle of the US Open...with Borg. The Swede won 11 titles between Roland Garros and Wimbledon, but was unable to add to his title haul in New York. Despite his dominance on the red clay, he dropped a title match to Jimmy Connors on a similar surface (in 1976, during a three-year stretch on clay at Forest Hills), then fell in three other finals on hard courts to Connors and John McEnroe.
A Fantastic Foursome—Except at the French
When Andre Agassi won at Roland Garros in 1999, he became the first man in three decades to complete the career Grand Slam. Four players he battled since the early days of his career had a chance, though, to beat him to the punch. Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, Jimmy Connors and Stefan Edberg all won the other three majors, but couldn’t overcome the challenges the clay made on their respective games. Edberg made the final in 1989, while the other three fell short in the semifinals on different occasions.
Ken Rosewall at Wimbledon
Before Lendl’s seemingly quixotic quest at Wimbledon, a legendary player with even greater results found himself falling short on the singles front at the tournament. Rosewall, one of Australia’s premier athletes, won every other Grand Slam, and was a force in doubles as well, sweeping all four majors over the course of his career. Lifting the winner’s trophy at Wimbledon on his own, though, was a feat that eluded him. He finished second on four occasions. As a testament to his ability, he reached finals 20 years apart: his first in 1954 and last one in 1974, when he lost to a young Connors.