Top 10 winning streaks in men's tennis

A few big names along with the Big 3 appear on the list.

Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the modern world. The Wimbledon, one of the biggest tennis tournaments of the year is in full flow as we enter the quarter-final stages, with two of the most successful players in the game’s history still in contention for the title.

Throughout the years, we have seen a queue of exceptionally skilled players who have looked to dominate the game. These players in their prime looked invincible at times, building up winning streaks that lasted weeks and months. The ongoing Wimbledon saw Iga Swiatek’s 37-match winning streak finally come to an end when she succumbed to Alize Cornet in the third round in the Women’s division. Here is a look at the longest winning streaks in Men’s tennis history.

10. Bjorn Borg - 31 games

This is not the only time Bjorn Borg’s name features on the list. This is the smaller one of the two of the legend’s winning streak. The Swede has won 11 Grand Slams in his career. His 31 games winning streak started in the Roland Garros of 1979 and ended in the quarter-final of the US Open the same year.

9. Rafael Nadal - 32 games

Rafael Nadal is the most successful tennis player in the world in terms of Grand Slams. The Spaniard has won a record 22 Grand Slam titles. He could add one more and win his third Grand Slam title this year as he prepares for his Wimbledon quarter-final clash. A master of the clay court, Nadal is currently ranked World No. 4 in the ATP rankings. His dominance on the clay courts is evident in the fact that out of his 22 Grand Slam title wins, 14 are French Open wins. He had a winning streak of 81 matches in Clay courts tennis, the most by any player on any particular surface.

8. Rod Laver - 32 games

Rod Laver has won 198 singles titles, the most in the history of the game. The Australian was World No. 1 from 1965 to 1969. Laver is also the only player to win a Grand Slam in two different years (1962 and 1969).  Overall he has 11 Grand Slam titles to his name. His winning streak of 32 games started in 1974 and ended in 1975.

7. Ilie Nastase - 33 games

Ilie Nastase is the first person to hold the top position in the ATP rankings after the rankings were computerized. The Romanian also has two Grand Slam titles to his name, one of which he won in the doubles category. His 33 games winning streak started in the Davis Cup of 1972 and ended in that year’s Los Angeles WCT. Ilie Nastase was also the player that ended Guillermo Vilas’ winning streak, a player who will feature later on the list.

6. Thomas Muster - 35 games

Next on the list of greatest winning streaks in men's tennis is Austrian legend Thomas Muster. Muster was the first and until recently, the only Austrian to win a singles Grand Slam title. He won the 1995 French Open titles. Muster was a player who enjoyed playing on the clay courts. And in his days, Thomas Muster was known as the ‘King Of Clay’. The Austrian is also a former World No. 1.  He had a 35-match winning streak in 1995.

5. Pete Sampras - 39 games

Pete Sampras is arguably the most significant American men's tennis player and one of the best to ever grace the game. ‘Pistol Pete’, as he was popularly known for his powerful serves, has won 14 Grand Slam titles. He has the Wimbledon seven times which was a record at that time. He held the World No. 1 position for 283 weeks, the third-highest ever. He also has a 39-game winning streak that started in 1994. Sampras ended his career with a US Open title win. He won the final against one of his major rivals, and legend, Andre Agassi whom he met in his first-ever Grand Slam final.

4. Roger Federer - 42 games

Another one of the greats of contemporary times, Roger Federer needs little introduction. With 20 Grand Slam titles to his name, Federer is joint second on the list of players with the most Grand Slam titles, just behind Rafael Nadal. Federer’s 42 games' winning streak started in 2005 and ended in 2006. The Swiss player has won Wimbledon a record eight times. Along with that Federer has won the US Open five times, the Australian Open six times and the French Open once. Between the period of 2005-2010, he won the US Open and Wimbledon five times in a row.

3. Novak Djokovic - 43 games

Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest of the modern era and arguably the best ever. He has won 20 Grand Slam titles in his career and could add his 21st in the ongoing Wimbledon. The Serbian’s winning streak started in 2010 and ended in the 2011 Roland Garros against Roger Federer. The Serb has the most Australian Open titles in history, having won the title nine times. Djokovic is currently ranked World No. 3 in the ATP rankings.

2. Guillermo Vilas - 46 games

Guillermo Vilas was one of the best tennis players of the 70s. The Argentinean has four Grand Slam titles to his name among other titles. He was one of the most prolific players in the clay courts. He had a 46 games winning streak that ended in a controversial manner by Ilie Nastase in the final of the Raquette d’Or tournament.

1. Bjorn Borg - 53 games

And the record for the longest winning streak in Men’s Tennis is held by one of the greatest of the game, Bjorn Borg. Borg has already featured in this list with a different winning streak. But his 53 games winning streak that started in 1977 and ended with his defeat to Jimmy Connors in the 1978 US open final is the longest ever. Bjorn is the only player to win the Wimbledon and the French Open three times in a row. He created a lot of records, some of them broken, but many of them still stand, his longest winning streak being one of them.

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