3 multiple Grand-Slam winners who failed to win the Wimbledon
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The Wimbledon, also known as the Big W, is the most prestigious tournament in tennis. Since its inception in 1877, the annual tournament held in the All England Club of London has been the premier tennis event in the world.
It has a glorious tradition and remains the most elusive of all Grand Slams. It is the 3rd Grand Slam in a calendar year and usually held in the month of July. Also, it is held on the faster grass-court and suits the players with big serves and good volleys.
Most of the greats of the game have been able to win the big W. Roger Federer has won it 8 times, the most by any player. Pete Sampras won 7 Wimbledon titles and Bjorn Borg managed to win 5. Other players like Novak Djokovic and Boris Becker have won 3 or more Wimbledon titles.
Even a clay-court specialist like Rafael Nadal has managed to win the Wimbledon. But there have been some greats of the game, who have won multiple Grand Slams but failed to win the Wimbledon. The failure to win the biggest prize in tennis remains the only blot in their otherwise fabulous career.
We would like to discuss 3 such players in this article:
#1 Ivan Lendl
Lendl is most definitely the most successful player who has failed to win the Wimbledon. He won 8 Grand Slam titles and 94 singles titles overall in his brilliant career and was the World No. 1 for 270 weeks. He was a typical baseliner, had a great return and a fabulous single-handed backhand and was also known for his athleticism and court-coverage.
However, he lacked a great serve and was not very comfortable going to the net. Moreover, his career coincided with those of great grass-court players like Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg. As a result, he could not manage to win the elusive title even once in his career.
The closest Lendl went to the title were in 1986 and 1987, when he lost to Becker and Pat Cash respectively in the finals. He managed to make the semifinal again in 1989 but lost to eventual champion Becker. Lendl was very comfortable on the red clay of Roland Garros or the hard courts of Flushing Meadows and Melbourne, but somehow could not cut it in the Wimbledon.