10 best underdog stories in Grand Slams in the Open Era ft. Emma Raducanu and Venus Williams
Emma Raducanu made history last year by beating Leylah Fernandez in the US Open final to win her maiden Grand Slam title. The teenager became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam in the Open Era and what made her feat all the more impressive was the fact that she did not drop a single set throughout the fortnight.
The Brit was ranked 150th in the world at the time and has since risen to No. 12.
Over the years, a number of unheralded players like Raducanu have punched above their weight and performed exceptionally well in Grand Slams. Some of them have even gone on to win multiple Majors and script records, which are yet to be broken.
So without any further ado, let’s take a look at the top 10 underdog stories in Grand Slams in the Open Era.
#10 Gaston Gaudio - 2004 French Open
The Argentine was ranked 44th in the world when he entered the main draw at Roland Garros in 2004. Gaudio reached the third round after hard-fought wins over compatriot Guillermo Canas and 14th seed Jiri Novak. He beat Thomas Enqvist and Igor Andreev to reach his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Gaudio then eliminated former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt and eighth seed David Nalbandian to make his first Grand Slam final, where he was up against third seed Guillermo Coria, who had won 22 out of 23 matches on clay prior to the final.
Gaudio was bageled in the first set and lost the second 3-6. However, he fought back strongly to win the next three sets 6-4, 6-1, 8-6 to win his only Grand Slam title.
#9 Venus Williams - 1997 US Open
Venus Williams entered the 1997 US Open as a 17-year-old who was ranked 61st in the world.
Williams came back from behind to beat Latvian Larisa Savchenko-Neiland in the first round. She followed this up with straight-sets wins over Gala Leon Garcia, Anke Huber and Joannette Kruger to reach the quarterfinals.
Here, the teenager beat Sandrine Testud 7-5, 7-5 to set up a semifinal clash against Irina Spirea. Williams beat the Romanian 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(7) to reach her maiden Grand Slam final. She thus became the first unseeded woman to reach the US Open final in the Open Era.
Unfortunately for her, she was beaten in the final by World No. 1 Martina Hingis.
#8 Jelena Ostapenko - 2017 French Open
Jelena Ostapenko entered the 2017 French Open as the World No. 47 and was not expected to do particularly well.
The Latvian reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal following wins over Louisa Chirico, then-Olympic champion Monica Puig, Lesia Tsurenko and Sam Stosur.
Ostapenko then came back from a set down to beat Caroline Wozniacki before defeating Timea Bacsinszky to reach her maiden Grand Slam final. Here, she was up against Simona Halep.
The Romanian won the opening set 6-4 but Ostapenko fought back to win the match in three sets and become the first Grand Slam champion from Latvia.
A star is born! ⭐️
Jelena Ostapenko is the 2017 French Open champion! 🏆
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year?
#RG17 https://t.co/HywEzQvLAe
#7 Boris Becker - 1985 Wimbledon
Boris Becker rose to fame in 1985 when he won Wimbledon as a teenager. The German battled into the quarterfinals of the tournament following hard-fought wins over Joakim Nystrom and Tim Mayotte.
He then overcame Henri Leconte and Anders Jarryd to reach his maiden Grand Slam. Here, Becker was up against Kevin Curren. He beat the eighth seed 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-4 to become the first unseeded player to win Wimbledon. Becker was the youngest-ever Grand Slam champion at the time.
1985 🏆
1986 🏆
1989 🏆
Our three-time singles champion @TheBorisBecker turns 51 today 🎂
#Wimbledon https://t.co/D4Fk5nvRMc
#6 Chris O'Neil - 1978 Australian Open
Earlier this year, Ashleigh Barty became the first Australian player to win the Melbourne Major since 1978, when Chris O'Neil triumphed in incredible fashion.
Ranked 81st in the world, the Aussie reached the semifinals, beating third seed Elizabeth Norton along the way. O'Neil defeated compatriot Dianne Evers to reach her maiden Grand Slam singles final, where she trumped Betsy Nagelsen 6-3, 7-6 to win her only Major title.
O'Neil became the first unseeded woman to win the Australian Open in the Open Era.
#5 Iga Swiatek - 2020 French Open
Current World No. 1 Iga Swiatek produced one of the most dominant runs ever seen at Roland Garros in 2020. Ranked 54th at the time, the Pole reached the last 16 with straight-sets wins over Marketa Vondrousova, Hsieh Su-wei and Eugenie Bouchard.
Swiatek then beat top seed Simona Halep 6-1, 6-2 to reach her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal. The then-teenager beat qualifiers Martina Trevisan and Nadia Podoroska to reach her maiden Grand Slam final, where she faced then-Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
Swiatek beat the American 6-4, 6-1 to become the first Polish player to win a Grand Slam singles title. She dropped just 28 games throughout the competition.
19-y.o. Iga Swiatek wins 2020 French Open with an incredibly dominant run.
Games lost, by round:
R1 vs Vondrousova: 3
R2 vs Hsieh: 5
R3 vs Bouchard: 5
R4 vs Halep: 3
QF vs Trevisan: 4
SF vs Podoroska: 3
F vs Kenin: 5 (6-4, 6-1)
First Polish Slam singles champ ever, and how.
#4 Mats Wilander- 1982 French Open
Wilander won seven Grand Slam singles titles and the first of these came when he was just 17. The Swede was an unseeded competitor at the French Open in 1982. After beating Alejandro Cortes, Cassio Motta and Fernando Luna, Wilander was up against second seed Ivan Lendl in the last 16.
He stunned the Czech in a thrilling five-setter to seal his place in the quarterfinals. Wilander then defeated Vitas Gerulaitis and Jose Luis Clerc to reach his first-ever Grand Slam final.
The Swede beat claycourt specialist Guillermo Vilas to win his first Grand Slam title.
#3 Goran Ivanisevic - 2001 Wimbledon
Croatian great Goran Ivanisevic reached the Wimbledon final in 1992, 1994 and 1998 but ended up on the losing side. He entered the 2001 tournament as a wildcard and was ranked 125th in the world at the time.
Ivanisevic beat Carlos Moya, Andy Roddick and Greg Rusedski to reach the quarterfinals of the competition. Here, he was up against fourth seed Marat Safin and beat the Russian 7-6(2), 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(3).
The Croat then outlasted Tim Henman in five sets to reach his fourth Wimbledon final. Up against the previous year's runner-up Patrick Rafter, Ivanisevic triumphed 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 9–7 in an enthralling final to finally win the title at the All England Club.
Ivanisevic remains the only man to have won the Big W as a wildcard.
#2 Mark Edmondson - 1976 Australian Open
Mark Edmondson's journey at the Australian Open in 1976 was nothing short of inspirational despite the fact that he won the tournament at a time when several top players did not compete.
Ranked 212th in the world, he reached the quarterfinals after overcoming Peter Feigl, Philip Dent and Brian Fairlie. Edmondson got his first straight-sets win in the competition against Richard Crealy before stunning top seed Ken Rosewall to reach the final.
He then beat John Newcombe in four sets to win the Australian Open. Edmondson remains the lowest-ranked player to win a Grand Slam.
One of the great tennis upsets happened at the 1976 Australian Open when world No.212 Mark Edmondson beat defending champion John Newcombe 6-7 6-3 7-6 6-1 in the all-Australian final. He remains the lowest ranked player to win a Grand Slam singles title https://t.co/NvD7o8gY9m
#1 Emma Raducanu - 2021 US Open
Emma Raducanu shot into the spotlight following her incredible run at the US Open. Aged only 18 at the time, the Brit was ranked 150th in the world and had to qualify for the main draw of the competition.
Raducanu reached her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal with wins over Stefanie Voegele, Zhang Shuai, Sara Sorribes Tormo and Shelby Rogers. She beat Olympic champion Belinda Bencic before triumphing over Maria Sakkari to reach her first Grand Slam final.
Standing between Raducanu and a US Open title was fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez. The Brit won 6-4, 6-3 to script history. Raducanu became the first-ever qualifier to win a Grand Slam in the Open Era. She also became Britain's first Grand Slam champion since Virginia Wade in 1977.
18-year old Emma Raducanu wins the 2021 US Open. She is the first women's or men's qualifier to win a major title in the Open Era (since 1968).
Raducanu is the youngest women's major champion since 17-year-old Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon in 2004. https://t.co/Zl9yWG2Y0x