The Baseline Top 5: summer-to-fall winning streaks

For a while there, it seemed as if Bianca Andreescu was never going to lose again. The Toronto and US Open champion carried a double-digit winning streak into Beijing last week, but had her run stopped in the quarterfinals by Naomi Osaka, last year’s US Open winner who’s currently in the midst of feeling invincible herself as she’s taken two tournaments on the trot.

Maintaining a long winning streak during the later stages of a long tennis season can be quite the test. Here’s a look at five players—among the greatest of all time—who’ve seen their streaks extend past the summer’s biggest event, the US Open, and into the fall months. (All photos from Getty Images.)

1

Stefan Edberg, 1991

As the top seed at the 1990 US Open, Edberg was shockingly sent out of the tournament in the first round, adding to the notion that the New York-based major just didn’t mesh with his personality. A year later, though, the Swede bounced back to capture the event for the first time: persevering through some matches while completely dominant in others. After that, he moved on to the Sydney Indoor in Australia, where he claimed the crown, then picked up another title in Tokyo. His quest for four straight titles on four different continents came to an end in the final of his home tournament in Stockholm, where Boris Becker halted his longtime rival’s win streak at 21.

2

Lleyton Hewitt, 2001

Only 20 years old, No. 4 seed Lleyton Hewitt won the title at the 2001 US Open, defeating none other than four-time champion Pete Sampras in the final. Having ascended rapidly up the rankings in his still-young career, the Australian would solidify his place among the game’s best in the weeks to come. After that Open win, he helped lead his home country into the Davis Cup final with two singles victories in the semis, then claimed his first Japan Open title. Earlier in the summer, Hewitt won two titles in a row on grass before Wimbledon, demonstrating a knack for going on streaks early.

3

Serena Williams, 2002

After a couple of seasons of dominance on the WTA tour by her older sister Venus, Serena finally added another Grand Slam singles title to her 1999 US Open crown at the 2002 French Open. She then followed that up with her first Wimbledon title, defeating Venus in both finals. In her first tournament of the summer hard-court stretch, Williams’ winning streak was ended by her countrywoman Chanda Rubin in the quarterfinals in Los Angeles. Shaking off that defeat, the American won her next event, the US Open, as she once again topped Venus in a major final. She then added two more titles in Asia and Europe, before returning to the U.S. for the tour championships. Williams won her first four matches there before Kim Clijsters stopped her in the final.

4

Roger Federer, 2006

In what was arguably the best season of his still-burgeoning career, Federer went on multiple winning streaks throughout the year. After dropping three finals on clay to his main rival, Rafael Nadal, the Swiss won his next three tournaments on grass and hard courts before the young Scot Andy Murray defeated him in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters. That would be Federer’s last loss for the year as he rebounded from that to win the US Open, two Davis Cup singles and four more events, the last one being the ATP Tour championships.

5

Justine Henin, 2007

Throughout her career, Wimbledon remained the tournament that got away for Henin. In 2007, the Belgian, seeded first at the prestigious event, suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of 18th-seeded Marion Bartoli in the semifinals. That evidently lit a fire under her because afterward, Henin seemingly refused to lose as she captured her last five tournaments of the year, including the US Open and WTA Championships.

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