Top 7 World No. 1 male tennis players who have not completed a Career Slam
Being World No.1 in any sport is a dream come true for any sportsperson. In tennis, there have been a number of eminent players who have been ranked World No.1 since the introduction of the ATP and WTA rankings. Many of these successful players have achieved the rare feat of a Career Slam by winning all four Grand Slam tournaments.
However, there have been a number of players who, despite being one of the best of their generation, have not been able to achieve this coveted feat. Here’s a list of seven Men’s players who haven’t been able to achieve the Career Grand Slam.
#7. Mats Wilander
The 1970s and 1980s was a golden age for tennis in Sweden as three players, Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg were among the premier dominants of World Tennis. Wilander was one of the finest players of his generation and held the World No.1 position for a total of 20 weeks and won a total of 33 titles including seven Grand Slam titles that included three Australian Open titles in 1983, 1984 and 1988, three French Open titles in 1982, 1985 and 1988, and US Open 1988.
He was the youngest player to win four Grand Slam titles and even though two of his Australian Open titles came when the tournament was held on grass courts, he was never able to clinch a single Wimbledon with his performances at the coveted event was relatively subdued with his best performances being consecutive quarter-final appearances from 1987-1989.
In his first quarter-final appearance in 1987, he was up against 22-year old eleventh seeded Australian Pat Cash who beat him in straight sets. Cash eventually went on to surprisingly win the title by beating Ivan Lendl in the final.
The following year, Wilander was one of the favorites to win the title as he had won the Australian and French Opens earlier. In the quarter-finals he was up against future Olympic champion Miroslav Mecir.
The ninth-seeded Czech thrashed the second-seeded Wilander 6-3, 6-1, 6-3. In 1989, he faced fifth seeded John McEnroe who beat him in four sets; this being the only Wimbledon quarter-final where Wilander won a set.
Wilander might be one of the most highly regarded players of his time but he was never able to lay his hands on the prestigious Wimbledon trophy.