Top 5 underdog triumphs at Wimbledon

The world of sports has always given us thrills and nail biting finishes. It has provided us a lot of entertainment through some unexpected twists and turns, ups and downs which has kept us involved in the game even till the last minute, be it tennis, cricket, football, hockey.

Every major team or star studded player has been defeated by an underdog team or a relatively new player in their careers. Without any doubt, every game has provided some big upsets in the past few decades but I would like to talk particularly about the greatest upsets in the history of tennis played in Wimbledon till date. It has proved to be a stage for several underdogs of the game who have in-acted upsets and impressed one and all with their victories performances.

Roger Federer losing to Sergiy Stakhovsky, 2nd Round, 2013

The current edition of the Wimbledon Championship was a topsy-turvy ride not only for the viewers but also for the players. Some of the biggest names of the game were defeated by mere newcomers. But with Roger Federer’s shocking defeat to Stokhovsky, Wimbledon 2013 grabbed eyeballs very quickly.

Federer’s “17 titles” record and most importantly his 36 consecutive grand slam quarter finals appearance came to an abrupt halt with this loss. His opponent played the game of his life to send the Swiss maestro out of the tournament and secure his first ever third round match.

Stokhovsy stated after the match, ” I’m still somewhere lost. I till now feel nothing. Maybe tomorrow will turn out to be better.” He was too shocked after achieving this feat against an extra-ordinary player. On the other hand, Federer accepted defeat and felt bad for his supporters and hinted that it was an ‘end of his era’.

Jill Craybus over Serena Williams, Third Round, 2005

Jill Craybus, at that time, was not a renowned player. But the way she played that game surely gives us an idea about her skills and style of play. She had been defeated by Serena Williams in their previous meeting by 6-1, 6-0 but her fightback in this match was recommending.

She went on to win the game 6-3,7-6 and register a famous win in that year’s Wimbledon. Ironically, the Williams family had the last laugh against her, as it was Venus Williams who later on defeated her to knock her out of the tournament. But her win over Serena was memorable.

George Bastl defeats Pete Sampras, 2nd Round, 2002

Pete Sampras’s rule over the Wimbledon title had come to an end in the previous year when he was defeated by the hotshot young lad named Roger Federer, but nonetheless, his 6th seeding in this tournament at least meant that his fans would see him in the top eight.

But this was not the case in 2002. George Bastl, who was given a lifeline when Felix Mantilla withdrew, played the best game of his career to defeat Pete Sampras and cause a famous upset. Though, Bastl never won another match in the Wimbledon, but with this defeat Pete Sampras never came back to play on his favourite turf.

The match was a memorable one as it turned to be a close game and went down till the last set. Bastl had the last laugh and won with a score of 6-3,6-2,4-6,3-6,-4. Though it looked like the American was going to register a famous comeback after jumping back and winning the third and forth sets, but eventually Bastl held his nerves to snatch victory from the legendary player.

A dejected Sampras stated after the match that he was in no mood to consider retiring from the game and said “what I have done today and what I have done to the game is always going to stick no matter what happens in the next few years.”

Steve Darcis over Rafeal Nadal, 1st Round, 2013

Rafael Nadal has not been new to ‘upsets’ in his career. He had been previously defeated by Lukas Rosol in the 2nd round of 2012 but his loss to Steve Darcis was unbelievable. He lost to Darcis in straight sets and the Belgian lad announced his arrival by defeating the Spaniard in style by 6-4,7-5,7-5 in this year’s recently concluded Wimbledon Championship.

After the match, an elated Darcis said “I will try to get the DVD of the match and keep it at home” after claiming one of his greatest wins by beating two-time champion Rafeal Nadal.

Nadal was quick to accept his defeat and denied blaming his ‘knee injury’ as a reason for his loss.

He said “I don’t want to talk about my knee. Everything I say today about my knee will be an excuse and I don’t like to put any excuse when I’m losing a match like I lost today. At the end, it is only a tragedy. It is a sport after all.”

Lori McNeil over Steffi Graff, 1st Round, 1994

One of the best games of Wimbledon was played between Lori McNeil and the future Mrs Agassi in the 1st round of 1994 Wimbledon. McNeil was 30 and had not appeared in any grand slam final before. But in 1994, she overcame all her weaknesses to cause one of the greatest upsets in the history of the tournament and registered a historic win.

Steffi Graff came into this match as one of the strong contenders to win the title having put together a dream run of 36 consecutive wins and 54 consecutive sets in the early part of the year. But her incredible run came to a sudden end with a 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) loss to McNeil in this match.

In any walk of life, there are underdogs and there are legends. But those underdogs who are brave hearted, are the giant killers. They work hard for the big moment and their sixth sense tells them that their moment has arrived.

That is the time they take the big step and take on legends. Their victories in such moments fuels them to cross new milestones and establish themselves as leaders in their respective discipline and over a period of time become legends too. Ironically, when a leader establishes himself as invincible, that is the time an underdog is born.