In his loss to Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open, Jannik Sinner joined an exclusive club of three in a statistic he’ll most likely want to forget about.
Sinner, who was up two sets to one and five games to three in the fourth set, had three championship points when up 40-0.
Alcaraz went on to complete the comeback, defeating the Italian in a five-set classic that lasted five hours and 29 minutes.
The now two-time Roland Garros champion joined Gaston Gaudio and Novak Djokovic as the only players in the Open Era to win a major final after saving a match point.
Unfortunately for Sinner, on the other hand, he joined two others as one of the only players in history to lose a Grand Slam final after having one hand on the trophy.
Roger Federer
Roger Federer‘s last Grand Slam final was at Wimbledon 2019, where he was in pursuit of a 21st major title, and a ninth crown at the All England Club.
His opponent came in the form of Djokovic, the defending champion who defeated Kevin Anderson the year before to hoist the title on Centre Court for a fourth time.
The London crowd was largely in favour of the Swiss legend, who came agonisingly close, but ultimately, the Serb’s mental strength saw him over the line.
| Year | Australian Open | French Open | Wimbledon | US Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | – | Fourth Round | Quarter-Final | – |
| 2020 | Semi-Final | – | – | – |
| 2019 | Fourth Round | Semi-Final | Final | Quarter-Final |
After the final, Federer only competed in four more Grand Slam events, including the US Open that year, where he made the quarter-final.
He made the semi-final of the Australian Open in 2020, reached the fourth round at Roland Garros the year after, and played his final major tournament at Wimbledon in 2021, bowing out to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-final.
Federer retired at the Laver Cup in 2022 and played his last match alongside his long-time rival, Rafael Nadal, in a doubles match at the O2 Arena in London.
Guillermo Coria
Guillermo Coria was the first man in the Open Era to lose a Grand Slam final after having a championship point.
Coria was closing in on a maiden major title at Roland Garros in 2004, when he was two sets to the good against Argentinian compatriot Gaston Gaudio.
Gaudio fought back to force a fifth set, in which his opponent would find himself one point away from winning it all, when up 6-5 with advantage on his serve.
| Year | Australian Open | French Open | Wimbledon | US Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | – | First Round | – | – |
| 2007 | – | – | – | – |
| 2006 | Third Round | – | – | First Round |
| 2005 | Fourth Round | Fourth Round | Fourth Round | Quarter-Final |
| 2004 | First Round | Final | Second Round | – |
After his countryman won the final set 8-6, Coria would be the only man with his name attached to the statistic he would share with Federer and Sinner for 15 years.
Following his defeat, the former world number three didn’t return to the final of a Grand Slam for the rest of his career, with his best finish at a major post-Roland Garros 2004 being a quarter-final finish at the US Open in 2005.
Coria retired in 2007 at the age of just 27, saying he “didn’t feel like competing anymore.”
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