Tennis: 5 great players who never won Wimbledon

The Wimbledon Championships are the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world where tradition and custom stand the test of time. Traditionally Wimbledon has always begun on the last Monday of June. However currently to allow players more rest after a grueling clay court season, the tournament has been pushed forward to begin from early July.

It is the only Grand Slam where advertisements from sponsors are banned on the court. Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam which has a full day off without any play on the first Sunday of the tournament. The likes of Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, and Pete Sampras have all utilized the serve-and-volley technique to achieve fantastic dividends at SW19. However, with the surface not as quick as it once was, serve-and-volley is a fading art with many players opting to rather slug it out from the baseline.

Martina Navratilova is the most successful Wimbledon Champion with 9 Wimbledon Singles titles. There is no bigger honor in Tennis than having One's name etched on the Wall of Champions in the tunnel leading up to Centre Court. We take a trip down memory lane and look at 5 great players who deserved to win Wimbledon but unfortunately fell short :

#5 Andy Roddick

If Roger Federer was not in his way, Andy Roddick would have won a lot more Grand Slam titles. The American came up against Federer in four Grand Slam finals, including three at Wimbledon in 2004, 2005 and 2009, and fell short each time.

In 2009, he came agonizingly close, losing 14-16 in the deciding fifth set. Roddick's serve, forehand, and net play were well suited to the lawns of Wimbledon but unfortunately for him, his biggest stumbling block happened to be one of the greatest grass court players of all-time.

#4 Ivan Lendl

Czech-American Ivan Lendl in one of a select group of legends who have enjoyed considerable success as a professional player and a coach. Lendl's hard-hitting forehand topped with heavy topspin greatly influenced the popularity of heavy power-hitting from the baseline which has become the norm today.

Lendl is the only male tennis athlete to have aggregated a win percentage of 90% or above for 5 different years. He won 94 Singles Titles including 8 Grand Slam titles. He was coach of Andy Murray when Murray ascended to the top of the ATP rankings. Lendl is presently coach of Alexander Zverev.

Lendl, who won all 3 Grand Slams multiple times barring Wimbledon, will count himself to be extremely unlucky to have not completed a Career Slam. Twice, he finished as a runner-up at Wimbledon in 1986 and 1987 losing to Boris Becker and Pat Cash in the finals.

#3 Justine Henin

Although Justine Henin's record at Wimbledon is far from being considered bad - she won 27 of the 34 singles matches she played at the All England Club - it is the Grand Slam at which she had the worst winning percentage.

Justine Henin had arguably the best single-handed backhand that the women's game has ever seen. A dominant clay court player, Henin won 4 French Open titles, Australian Open once, and the US Open twice in addition to 2 victories in the WTA Finals and an Olympic Gold Medal.

Henin came agonizingly close to winning Wimbledon in 2001 and 2006 losing in the finals in 3 sets on each occasion to Venus Willams and Amelie Mauresmo respectively. She also made the semi-finals at Wimbledon on 3 different occasions.

#2 Ken Rosewall

Australia has been blessed with many tennis legends like Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, John Newcombe, Pat Cash and Lleyton Hewitt. One such legend was Ken Rosewall who was honored at the 2018 French Open in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of his win there in 1968.

The one thing that he doesn't have in common with the other legends mentioned above is the absence of a Wimbledon title in his trophy cabinet. The winner of 8 Grand Slam Singles titles, he never was ranked outside the Top 20 for 25 years. Although he reached the Wimbledon finals on 4 different occasions, he was extremely unlucky to have finished as runner-up on all those occasions.

#1 Monica Seles

Of Monica Seles' 53 WTA singles titles, only one came on grass. Unfortunately for her, it wasn't on the hallowed lawns of Wimbledon. The 9-time Grand Slam winner would have been a Career Slam holder if it was the case.

Seles made the finals at the All England Club once, losing in straight sets to Steffi Graf in 1992. Her career record at SW19 was 30-9, which pales in comparison to her 43-4 record at the Australian Open, 54-8 record at the French Open, and 53-10 record at the US Open.

Edited by Rajdeep Puri