BIGGEST GRAND SLAM UPSETS OF 2014

(Courtesy of ATP and Original Link: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/12/50/Biggest-Grand-Slam-Upsets.aspx )

 

5. Roberto Bautista Agut d. Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, Australian Open second round

It did not take long for Roberto Bautista Agut to begin his Most Improved Player of the Year campaign in 2014. The Spaniard, who crashed onto the ATP World Tour scene with a surprise run to the season-opening Aircel Chennai Open final a year prior, did not waste time in making his presence felt once again.

 

Bautista Agut opened the season with a semi-final result at the Heineken Open and entered the first major of the year high on confidence. The 26-year-old’s two previous trips Down Under had yielded Grand Slam firsts. In 2012, he snapped a skid of seven straight failed qualifying endeavors at the major level and in 2013 he would go one step further, winning his first Grand Slam match in five sets over Fabio Fognini.

 

This year, after relinquishing just four games in a first round defeat of Tim Smyczek at Melbourne Park, Bautista Agut found himself in the crosshairs of World No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro. The 62nd-ranked Spaniard would step up to the challenge, striking 72 winners for a stunning 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 comeback victory. The match lasted three hours and 53 minutes and ended at 1:20 a.m. local time after a day of match delays due to extreme heat and thunderstorms.

 

Bautista Agut, who overcame 28 aces from the Argentine, saved 13 of 17 break points. It was his first win over a Top 5 opponent and he would streak into his first major Round of 16, before succumbing to Grigor Dimitrov in four sets. The beginning of his banner year on the ATP World Tour, Bautista Agut would finish with 45 match wins and two titles in three finals, triumphing at the Topshelf Open and MercedesCup.

“I feel comfortable on these courts. These courts are good for my game,” said Bautista Agut. “I’m serving and returning very well. That helps me a lot. Today I could return a lot of serves from Del Potro. This was the key to win the fourth and fifth sets.”

 

Del Potro, who was troubled by a wrist injury that would eventually sideline him for the majority of the 2014 season, lauded his opponent: “In every moment, he played unbelievable shots. During break point down, he served well. He made winners with forehands and backhands, and he played close to the lines very often during the match.”

 

4. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez d. Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0, Roland Garros first round

Spaniards and Grand Slam upsets proved to be synonymous in 2014, as Guillermo Garcia-Lopez turned in the stunner of the fortnight at Roland Garros.

 

Stan Wawrinka entered the second major of the year with burgeoning confidence, having surged past Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to win his maiden title at the Australian Open and overcoming Roger Federer in Monte-Carlo to claim his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown. The Swiss soared to World No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and was looking to extend a 4-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head edge over Garcia-Lopez, as the pair stepped on Court Philippe Chatrier for a first round clash.

 

The Spaniard was not intimidated. Garcia-Lopez would win 75 per cent of first serve points, breaking Wawrinka on eight of 12 chances to complete the four-set stunner in two hours and 23 minutes.

 

Garcia-Lopez, who had won his third ATP World Tour title on the clay of Casablanca and reached the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters quarter-finals (l. to Djokovic) a month prior, recorded his fifth victory over a Top 5

opponent. He would streak to his first Grand Slam fourth round in what was his 39th main draw appearance, falling to home favourite Gael Monfils.

 

“This match is very illustrative of the season I just had,” Garcia-Lopez said. “I’m very relaxed, and matches go very well. I think I’m not as overwhelmed by emotions as I used to be, and that’s the way I would talk about my season so far. I play my game at my level. I fight on every point.”

 

Wawrinka was the first Australian Open champion to lose in the first round of the subsequent Roland Garros since Petr Korda in 1998. He also became the first first-time men’s Grand Slam winner to lose in the first round of their next major since Lleyton Hewitt at the 2002 Australian Open.

 

3. Andrey Kuznetsov d. David Ferrer 6-7(5), 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, Wimbledon second round

Only six players have reached at least 10 straight Grand Slam quarter-finals in the Open Era: Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Ivan Lendl, Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras and David Ferrer.

 

Ferrer saw his streak come to an end this year in the Wimbledon second round, after being upended by Andrey Kuznetsov in five sets. The Russian entered the encounter at No. 118 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, having won just three tour-level matches on grass and having never beaten a Top 10 player. The 2009 Wimbledon boys’ champion had not won a Grand Slam match in a year, since ousting Albert Montanes in his opener at the All England Club in 2013.

 

A free-swinging Kuznetsov would overcome a two-sets-to-one deficit to prevail 6-2 in the fifth, hammering 77 winners and converting on nine of 21 break points for the victory in three hours and 12 minutes.

 

Ferrer, who picked up a stomach bug at Roland Garros, had not played on grass prior to arriving at the All England Club. He admitted, “I lost because my opponent was better. I think I played a good game, but he surprised to me and… [hit] a lot of winners. In the important moments, he was more aggressive than me.” The Spaniard dropped to a 19-11 record in fifth sets.

 

Kuznetsov would fall to Leonardo Mayer in the third round – his best Grand Slam finish. He would go on to match the result at the US Open two months later, upsetting Fernando Verdasco in another five-setter.

 

2. Ernests Gulbis d. Roger Federer 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, Roland Garros fourth round

Momentum breeds success. For 17 years, Roger Federer has been near untouchable on the Grand Slam stage after winning the first set. The Swiss entered a Round of 16 meeting with Ernests Gulbis at Roland Garros with a 238-11 win-loss record when claiming the opener.

 

Federer would capture the first set 7/5 in a tie-break, but Gulbis had other ideas. Sebastien Grosjean and 2003 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero watched on as a five-set victory for the Latvian ended Federer’s run of Roland Garros quarter-final appearances at nine straight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“It’s the biggest win of my career,” Gulbis said in an on-court interview. “Sorry I had to win. I know how everyone likes Roger. It was a tough match but this is sport. I’ve been playing very well in France. I won tournaments in Marseille and Nice, hopefully Paris is the next one.”

 

Federer had the chance to take a commanding two-set lead over Gulbis, but squandered a 40/15 advantage when serving at 5-3 as Gulbis fought back to level the match. The 18th seed broke Federer twice to take the third set and, after dropping the fourth, would go up an early break in the decider, eventually holding his nerve in the ninth game and serving out the match in three hours and 42 minutes.

 

Gulbis, who was 7/12 on break points, extended his win streak to eight consecutive matches, having come in on the back of victory in Nice the week prior. He would reach his first Grand Slam semi-final (l. to Djokovic) after topping Tomas Berdych in the quarters.

 

 

1. Nick Kyrgios d. Rafael Nadal 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3, Wimbledon fourth round

Every rising star has a first signature win on their résumé that marks their arrival. A 19-year-old Pete Sampras upset Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi at the 1990 US Open en route to the title, 19-year-old Roger Federer beat top seed Sampras at Wimbledon in 2001 and a 19-year-old Rafael Nadal toppled Federer in the 2005 Roland Garros semi-finals.

 

This year, with a Wimbledon quarter-final berth at stake, Nadal found himself on the other end of the upset against a 19 year old. A fearless Greek-Malaysian-Australian named Nick Kyrgios provided the drama, stunning the World No. 1 in four gritty sets.

 

“I think I was in a bit of a zone out there,” Kyrgios told BBC television. “It hasn’t sunk in what just played out out there. I played extraordinary tennis. I was struggling a bit on return, but I worked my way into it. I served at a really good level and I’m really happy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“You’ve got to believe you can win the match from the start and I did. I’m playing unbelievable tennis on the grass. He hit extraordinary shots, but he’s always going to bring that.”

 

Kyrgios was making his Wimbledon main draw debut as a wild card a year after lifting the boys’ doubles trophy with fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis. The Canberra native came into Wimbledon on the back of winning the Nottingham grass-court ATP Challenger Tour title, but had won just one tour-level match during the season. He became the first player to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals on his debut since Florian Mayer in 2004 (l. to Grosjean).

 

Striking 70 winners, including 37 aces, Kyrgios did not blink as he closed out victory over Nadal in two minutes shy of three hours on Centre Court. He was the second player outside the Top 100 to beat a World No. 1 at a Grand Slam. Andrei Olhovskiy had defeated Jim Courier in the 1992 Wimbledon third round.

 

“I just go through my routine and I just play aggressive,” said Kyrgios. “If they play too good on that point, then it’s too good. But I’m going to go after it and give myself the best chance to win the point.

 

“That’s the biggest win of my career obviously, and that’s something I’m never going to forget,” he said. “I’m going to draw so much confidence out of that no matter where I play now. To have that under my belt, it’s massive.”

Topics: Andrey Kuznetsov, David Ferrer, Ernests Gulbis, Federer, Grand Slam upsets, Guillermo Garcia Lopez, Juan Martin Del Potro, Nick Kyrgios, Rafa Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis

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