List of players who came back from two sets down to win Grand Slam finals

Carlos Alcaraz joins the list after winning the French Open 2025.

Since the Open Era got underway in 1968, very few individuals on the ATP Tour have managed to overcome a two-set deficit to win the title. Turning the odds in their favour under pressure, these players have scripted sporting history by orchestrating seemingly impossible victories. Grand Slam matches will be talked about long after these players retire from the game.

Only on nine occasions at the Grand Slam Finals has the tennis world witnessed a comeback from two sets down. Each of these matches deserves the tag of an eternal classic, as victory was forged when the result appeared to be a foregone conclusion. 

Bjorn Borg vs Manuel Orantes – 1974 French Open

Bjorn Borg was known for his calm temperament on the court, an attribute that earned him the nickname “Ice Man.” The Swede was just 18 when he became the youngest winner at Roland Garros. Down two sets to love in the final, he held his ground to defeat Spain’s Manuel Orantes in five sets.

The 2-6, 6-7(4), 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Orantes was the first of Borg’s six titles at the French Open. His 1974 title run made him the first Swede in the history of the tournament to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires. 

Ivan Lendl vs John McEnroe – 1984 French Open

A decade after Borg won his first French Open title, Ivan Lendl arrived in Paris, having lost all four Grand Slam Finals he contested. The 1984 French Open final was contested between Lendl and John McEnroe, the top two seeds at the event. McEnroe, the World No. 1 and top seed, was playing his first Roland Garros final. It was the second French Open final for Lendl after his loss to Bjorn Borg in 1981.

Few would have expected Lendl to win, as he was trailing McEnroe 4-0 in their head-to-head that year. McEnroe was cruising to a fifth straight win over Lendl with a two-set-to-love lead. It was their first meeting at a Grand Slam level. The Czech had other plans as he fought back to win 3–6, 2–6, 6–4, 7–5, 7–5. It was the first of Lendl’s eight Grand Slam wins. 

Andre Agassi vs Andrei Medvedev – 1999 French Open

Andre Agassi got lucky on his third visit to the finals of the French Open. In 1991, the showman from Las Vegas finally lifted the men’s singles trophy after back-to-back defeats in 1990 and 1991 to complete the career Grand Slam. The title run in Paris made him the first since Rod Laver to complete a career Grand Slam.

Andrei Medvedev had taken the first two sets for the loss of just three games and looked on the verge of claiming his maiden Grand Slam title. However, Agassi decided he would not be denied the title a third time, and the American rallied to claim a 1–6, 2–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–4 victory. It was a milestone win as Agassi became the first player to win each of the four Grand Slam titles on all four surfaces. 

Gaston Gaudio vs Guillermo Coria – 2004 French Open

The 2004 French Open final marked the first time that two Argentine players contested a Grand Slam title match. Unseeded Gaston Gaudio was to take on his compatriot and the No. 3 seed Guillermo Coria. Gaudio got into his maiden Grand Slam final by defeating countryman David Nalbandian in straight sets.

Coria survived being bageled in the opening set to carve out the 0–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–1, 8–6 for his first and only major title. The Argentine became just the fourth man in tournament history to win the trophy on his first trip to the finals in Paris.

Bjorn Borg in 1974, Mats Wilander in 1982, and Gustavo Kuerten in 1997 are the others to have accomplished the feat.  Gaudio earned himself a slice of history by becoming the first Argentine since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to win Roland Garros.

Dominic Thiem vs Alexander Zverev – 2020 US Open

The 2020 US Open Final bore witness to two firsts in its chequered history. Dominic Thiem became the first Austrian to win the US Open title. It was also the first US Open final to be decided by a fifth-set tie-break. Zverev, his German opponent, was in his first Grand Slam final.  

Thiem, staring at a two-set deficit and 5-3 down in the third, scripted a comeback to defeat Alexander Zverev 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(6) for his first Grand Slam title. The Austrian, 27, was playing his fourth major final. Thiem set up the title round appearance by defeating the 2019 finalist, Daniil Medvedev, in the last four.

Thiem’s victory marked the first time in New York and in the Open Era that a player won from two sets down in a US Open Final.

Novak Djokovic vs Stefanos Tsitsipas – 2021 French Open

Stefanos Tsitsipas became the first player from Greece to play in the finals at Roland Garros in 2021 when he crossed paths with Novak Djokovic in the title round. Tsitsipas missed his chance to become a Grand Slam champion when he squandered a two-set-to-love lead against the Serb. 

Djokovic was aiming for his second French Open title. After the Greeks’ strong opening, it looked like the Serb would have to be content with the runner-up trophy. Instead, the Belgrade native conspired to deny Tsitsipas the title when he fought back to beat the Greek 6–7(8), 2–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–4 and win his 19th Slam.

The victory at Roland Garros elevated Djokovic to new heights, and thanks to the triumph, he became the first man in the Open Era to win each of the four Grand Slam titles at least twice.

Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev – 2022 Australian Open

When Rafael Nadal won the 2022 Australian Open, it was just his second championship win Down Under. His first had come 13 years earlier when he defeated Roger Federer in the 2009 edition. The win over Medvedev in 2022 gave the Spaniard a record 21st Grand Slam men’s title when he fought back from two sets down to prevail 2-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-4 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena.

Medvedev had won the US Open the previous season and was looking for his second major title in a row. Medvedev, 25, took the wheel before Nadal’s famed fighting spirit came to the forefront. Nadal, the sixth seed, scuttled second-seed Medvedev’s aspirations of becoming the first Russian to win in Melbourne since Marat Safin in 2005

Jannik Sinner vs Daniil Medvedev – 2024 Australian Open

It was deja vu for Daniil Medvedev at the 2024 Australian Open Final. He was up two sets when he lost to 22-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner in the championship round. Sinner dug his heels in to register a 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 triumph against Medvedev and lift his maiden major trophy at the Australian Open.  

Sinner neutralised Medvedev’s red-hot start inside Rod Laver Arena and clinched the win in three hours and 44 minutes over the Russian. The victory at Melbourne Park meant Sinner became the first Italian to take home the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. Sinner also became the first Italian since Adriano Panatta in 1976 to win a Grand Slam title. The Italian extended his head-to-head lead over Medvedev to 4-0 after the win.   

Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner – 2025 French Open

At the 2025 edition of Roland Garros, it turned out to be Jannik Sinner’s turn to be at the receiving end of a comeback win. The Italian took an early lead and was cruising at two sets to love against Carlos Alcaraz in the finals. Alcaraz had lost two closely contested sets and was down 3-5 and three match points down in the fourth. Alcaraz looked set to lose his first Grand Slam final.  

History was in favour of and against Alcaraz at this point. He had never lost a five-setter to Sinner but was yet to win a match from two sets down. The 22-year-old pulled off the impossible to claim the 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2) triumph. Alcaraz became the first man in the Open Era to save three championship points to win a Grand Slam. The five-hour, 29-minute match was the longest Roland Garros final in history. 

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