All the instances when an unseeded player won a Grand Slam Singles title

#3 Mats Wilander, 1982 French Open

Mats Wilander was the first unseeded winner of the French Open

Following the premature retirement of Bjorn Borg, Swedish tennis needed a new torch-bearer and they found one during the 1982 French Open. An unseeded 17-year old named Mats Wilander reached the fourth round and was up against the previous year’s runner-up and second seed Ivan Lendl.

Wilander shocked Lendl in five sets and produced upsets over 5th seed Vitas Gerulaitis and 4th seed Jose Luis Clerc in the quarters and semis respectively. In the latter match, Wilander showed a remarkable display of fair play by requesting a replay of the game because he didn’t want to win thanks to a questionable referee decision.

In the final, Wilander was up against 3rd seed and 1977 French Open winner Guillermo Vilas. The match lasted 4 hours and 42 minutes and Wilander won the match in four sets that included a bagel in the third set. Mats Wilander thus became the youngest male Grand Slam champion.

#4 Boris Becker, 1985 Wimbledon

Becker is the youngest Wimbledon champion

17 years and 227 days! That’s how old Boris Becker was when he entered the 1985 Wimbledon Championships. He was ranked 20th in the world but the Grand Slam seedings back then were limited to 16.

Becker defeated 7th seed Joakim Nystrom in a thrilling five-setter in the third round before defeating 16th seed Tim Mayotte to reach his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final. In the quarter-finals, he beat Henri Leconte before getting the better of 5th seed Anders Jarryd to reach the final.

Becker’s opponent in the final was 8th seed Kevin Curren who had defeated John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors in the quarters and semis respectively. Curren was the favourite but it was Becker who took the first set before the 8th seed won the second set in a tie-break.

The teenager held his nerve and won the third and fourth sets to overtake Mats Wilander as the youngest male Grand Slam champion.