7 Unfinished: These tennis stars are missing the Wimbledon title!
They were very close, but in the end they were mown by Boris Becker , Jimmy Connors or Steffi Graf. We look back on seven all-time greats in tennis, for whom Wimbledon was unfortunately not a big victory.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Jul 04, 2020, 11:34 am
Ken Rosewall
The Australian had one of the best backhand slice strokes ever, and a simple explanation of why he didn't play a topspin backhand: "Because I've never needed one." Would she have helped him for a Wimbledon title? Rosewall won four times at the Australian Open and two times at Roland Garros and at the US Open - only in Wimbledon it didn't work out. Four finals (1954, 1956, 1970, 1974) represent the Australian in statistics, absurdly with 20 years difference, 1974 in the final against Jimmy Connors was Rosewall was already 39 years old! Perhaps the saddest reason why the "Aussie" did not win at Wimbledon: In 1957 he had already switched to the professionals who were not allowed to take part in Grand Slam tournaments until 1968. He therefore lacked eleven (!) Opportunities to have participated in Wimbledon at all.
Guillermo Vilas
The Argentine is considered one of the best clay court players of all time and once put on a series of 53 matches without defeat on the red ash (this was only broken by Rafael Nadal in 2006). In 1977 he won in Paris and at the US Open (then on sand). But he also "could" turf, won at the Australian Open in 1978 and 1979 (which was then played on grass). In Wimbledon, however, great heroic deeds were never enough, two quarter-finals (1975, 1976) were the greatest feelings for the "Leftie".
Hana Mandlikova
The Czechoslovak is happy to be embezzled when it came to great tennis in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the duel between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova was too big. In between, Mandlikova liked to strike at the Australian Open (1980, 1987), the French Open (1981) and the US Open (1985). At Wimbledon, however, she missed the double strike against Evert / Navratilova: in 1981 she was in the final after a semi-final victory over Navratilova and lost to Evert. In 1986 she beat Evert in the semifinals and lost to Navratilova in the final. Mandlikova celebrated the title on the holy lawn indirectly and belatedly: in 1998 as trainer of Jana Novotna.
Mats Wilander
"Game, Set and Mats" was the title for the great Swede in the 1980s, he won seven Grand Slam titles in total, in Australia (1983, 1984 on grass, 1988 on hard court), Paris (1982, 1985 and 1988) and at the US Open (1988). With a Wimbledon title in 1988, the baseline expert would even have done the Grand Slam in retrospect, together with Steffi Graf. Miroslav Mecir, however, thwarted him in the quarterfinals. Like the later winner Pat Cash in 1987 and in 1989 John McEnroe.
Ivan Lendl
Perhaps the most famous player without a Wimbledon win. Lendl won eight Grand Slam titles (and was nine more in a major final), only Wimbledon remained unfulfilled, despite two finals (he lost to Boris Becker in 1986, Pat Cash in 1987) and another five semi-finals. "Ivan the Terrible" did everything for a victory on Church Road, including having his own lawn in the garden. And waived the French Open in 1990 and 1991 to prepare for Wimbledon. Without success.
Monica Seles
It goes down in tennis history as the greatest "what if". What if she hadn't been stabbed in the back by a crazy Steffi Graf fan in 1993 with a knife, at the level of her creativity? Seles had already won eight Grand Slam titles at the time, at just 19 (!) Years old. Only Wimbledon was not Seles, with her two-handed forehand and backhand, and the slice of her then rival Steffi Graf bit a little more than usual on the holy lawn. In 1992 Seles was the only time in the final where she, handicapped by a groan Prohibition, lost to Steffi Graf with 2: 6, 1: 6. How many chances would she have had if not ..?
Justine Henin
The Belgian collected seven majors, in Wimbledon in 2001 and 2006 it was "only" enough for the final. The first time Venus Williams was too strong, five years later it was Amelie Mauresmo. Henin also has three more semi-finals, which (from the game) (fine slice, good net game) have a flair for grass, but were often left behind in terms of power. Henin resigned from professional tennis for the first time in 2008 and made a comeback in 2010, partly because of the Wimbledon dream. However, their last attempt ended in the round of 16 against compatriot Kim Clijsters.