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There is not a soul in the world that doesn't love a good underdog story, especially when it's from a sport they love and connect with. In tennis, it's a special feeling if your favourite player wins a Grand Slam. But the feeling is on a different level altogether, kind of like an uplifting experience, when an underdog win their first. There have been many such instances all throughout the rich history of the sport.
Today we will focus on players who have won a Major title only once. Here is the top 5 countdown of players who won their maiden Grand Slam title unseeded:
5. Jelena Ostapenko - French Open 2017
Jelena Ostapenko caused a bit of an uproar when she lifted the Roland Garros trophy more than a year ago. More than the fact that she was a mere 20-year-old, her powerful winners were what that caught the eye. At the start of the tournament, she was ranked 44th in the world.
In the 2nd round of the 2017 French Open, Ostapenko defeated reigning Olympic champion Puig. The experienced Stosur was the victim in the 4th round. She also ousted 11th seeded Wozniacki in the quarters and removed another seed, Bacsinszky to reach the final.
Playing against Halep in the summit clash seemed to affect the Latvian's game. She lost the first set and was facing a break point at 0-3 in the second. It looked like history was going to repeat itself as no woman had won a French Open final after losing a set. But, she proved that was just an initial stutter, winning 6 out of the next 7 games to take the match into a decider.
The youngster held her nerve in the 3rd set to win the final 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. With that, Jelena Ostapenko became the first Latvian Grand Slam winner.
4. Gastón Gaudio - French Open 2004
The French Open had just seen 2 players win their maiden Grand Slam in the previous 2 editions when the 2004 championships started. All semi-finalists in that year too didn't win a Grand Slam before, including Gastón Gaudio
The Argentine had the toughest possible start, having to play 10 sets in the first 2 rounds. After entering the quarters 2 matches later, he showed no fatigue in breezing past the 12th seeded Hewitt in straight sets. He continued the streak as the 8th seeded Nalbandian went down in similar fashion in the semis.
The final against fellow countryman Coria was the toughest contest for Gaudio. After winning the first 2 sets effortlessly, he lost the 3rd and was destroyed in the 4th. The 5th set was a long one where the South American had to save match points twice. A player hadn't won a Grand Slam final after facing a match point in the Open Era, but he broke the odds and won the final 6-0, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 8-6. By winning the French Open, Gastón Gaudio became the first Argentine in 25 years to win a Grand Slam.
3. Goran Ivanisevic - Wimbledon 2001
Goran Ivanisevic didn't have a great career but he'll always cherish the Wimbledon victory. He had lost in the finals of the tournament thrice in the '90s (1992, '94, '98). In 2001 he had slipped outside the top 100 in the rankings, but was given a wild card entry to the All England Club.
The Croat went past Carlos Moya in the second round on his way to the quarter-final match against Marat Safin. He beat the 4th seeded Russian in 4 sets. In the semis, Goran was 2-1 down against Tim Henman, losing the 3rd set 6-0.
But he made a great comeback to reach his 4th Wimbledon final. In a monumental 5-set finale, he outlasted his 3rd seeded opponent Pat Rafter to win the contest 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7. Goran Ivanisevic at last got his hands on the Wimbledon Trophy which eluded him for so long.
2. Sloane Stephens - US Open 2017
Sloane Stephens burst into the scene when she reached the 2013 Australian Open semi-finals but faded off soon after. A month before the US Open in 2017, she was ranked 934 due to injuries and poor form. She came into the tournament due to protected ranking, a provision for players who've had a long-term injury.
The American didn't seem like she was returning from a layoff when she got through to the 2nd round and defeated 11th seed Cibulkova. She made it to the quarters and beat another seed -- this time the 16th seeded Sevastova.
In the semi-finals against fellow American Venus Williams, Stephens got the 1st set but gave away the second 6-0. In a tense decider, she won the tie-break to beat the 9th seed and enter the final. She saved the best for the last match, destroying Madison Keys 6-3, 6-0 to win the US Open. With that, Sloane Stephens won her first Grand Slam, inspiring loads of people on the way with such an incredible comeback.
1. Mark Edmondson - Australian Open 1976
Now we come to the only player in the countdown who is from a long gone era. Mark Edmondson was mopping the floors of a hospital when he got the call to play in the Australian Open. Being ranked 212th, he got into the tournament as someone else pulled out and he made full use of it.
Edmondson had to travel an hour from his friend's house for every match as he couldn't afford accommodation. He looked like he meant business when he got past the 1st round in 5 sets. The Australian beat 4 Top 50 opponents, including previous finalists Dick Clearly and Paul Dent, to reach the semis. He defeated the legendary Ken Rosewall, the No.1 seed, in 4 sets to reach the finale.
The defending champion John Newcombe couldn't stop him as he won the final 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, 6-1. Mark Edmondson was the first unseeded player to win a Grand Slam title and is the lowest ranked male Grand Slam winner.
