He was ranked outside the top 90 in the world rankings but made it all the way to the Wimbledon final 

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John McEnroe stopped this ATP player from producing one of the biggest shocks in history at Wimbledon in 1983.

McEnroe lost his second Wimbledon final in 1982 to Jimmy Connors, and was looking to reclaim the title a year later.

The American reached the championship match at SW19 again, with McEnroe dropping just one set in the process.

However, perhaps the biggest story was that of the player he was facing in the final, who was ranked outside the top 90 at the time.

Chris Lewis: The world number 91 who reached the Wimbledon final in 1983

McEnroe’s opponent in the 1983 Wimbledon was that of Chris Lewis, the New Zealander who was ranked as the world number 91 at the time.

Lewis had never surpassed the third round of a Grand Slam before, and had actually lost in the first round of the French Open at his last major before Wimbledon.

However, something seemed different at Wimbledon for Lewis, who knocked out ninth seed Steve Denton in the first round.

This was one of three five-set matches Lewis played en route to reaching the Wimbledon final, including a three hour and 45 minute classic semifinal against Kevin Curren.

As a result, Lewis became the second player from New Zealand to reach a Grand Slam final after Onny Parun at the 1973 Australian Open.

Lewis would face his biggest test yet in the final against McEnroe, who had beaten him in their two previous meetings, including the final of the Cincinnati Open in 1981.

McEnroe would end Lewis’ dream run in the final, beating him in straight sets to win his second Wimbledon title.

Despite being unable to win the Wimbledon title, this run propelled Lewis on to reaching a career-high ranking of world number 19 the following year.

What Chris Lewis said when asked if he thought he could actually beat John McEnroe

Lewis was never able to surpass the second round of a Grand Slam after reaching the Wimbledon final in 1983, but he did reflect on his run 40 years later in an interview with BBC Sport in 2023.

In this interview, Lewis admitted that although he was the heavy underdog he still felt as though he could beat McEnroe in the final.

“People always ask me, ‘Did you think you had a chance of winning?’ and the answer is unequivocally ‘yes’,” Lewis said.

“The reason is you’ve just won six matches against the best tennis players in the world – there’s almost a feeling of invincibility walking out on to the court. Unfortunately, John was feeling the same way and he was playing the best tennis of his career.”

However, Lewis did admit that he knew if he beat McEnroe then it would have been one of the biggest upsets in tennis history.

“To put it into context, had I beaten John, it probably would have been one of the greatest upsets in the history of the game,” added Lewis. “I look back on it with pride because I gave it everything. It was the culmination of what was 15 years of dedication and relentless hard work.”