Stefan Koubek v Cyril Saulnier
Australian Open 1st Round, 2002
Saulnier leads 6-0, 6-1, 4-1, 40-15
Koubeck wins 0-6, 1-6, 7-6, 6-4, 8-6
We start with possibly the most spectacular choke in grand slam history. For all the talk of Coria in 2004 and Roddick in 2009, they were not in such total control of a match as the frenchman Cyril Saulnier was in his first round match in the 2002 Australian Open. At 6-0, 6-1, 4-1 up, Saulnier held two break points on Koubeks serve and victory seemed assured. Quite what happened at this stage is very difficult to pin down, but it seems Koubek fought back to hold serve and trail a mere 4-2 in the third. A further break back later and it was a tiebreak. Koubek won 8-6 in the tiebreak and went on to win the match.
Specific details about this match are almost impossible to find. What is odd about it however is that while Saulnier was in total control before losing, the final three sets were very competitive. Saulnier did not simply throw in the towel and disappear without a fight. Clearly the game went from being absurdly one sided, to a very close battle between two players that Koubek eventually won. However it happened, it is fair to say Koubek had secured one of the most improbable comebacks of all time. He eventually went on to reach the quarter finals, which suggests he just hadn't turned up for two and 3/4 sets of the first round before getting his act together.
Rory McIlroys Verdict:
Stefan Koubek v Augustin Calleri
Sopot 1st Round, 2007
Calleri leads 6-0, 4-0
Koubek wins 0-6, 7-6, 7-5
Stefan Koubek is clearly somebody that needs a shock to get him playing. He features twice as a comeback merchant in what was a very extensive search for tennis collapses. The venue for this comeback was a mere a 250 tournament held in Sopot, Poland. In what was a fairly competent field, Calleri was seeded 5th and must have thought victory was assured as he raced through the first ten games. Indeed, he actually led 5-1 in the second set before failing to serve out the match twice. He then goes on to lose the tiebreak and against all odds, the games goes into a third set.
What makes this even more impressive is that Calleri knuckled down after that shock and quickly established a 5-2 lead in the third set. At that stage a second round of choking began, 4 Match Points came and went and Koubek went through 7-5 in the third. Interestingly between this match and his previous match, Koubek lost 21 consecutive games. I think its safe to say he is the most inconsistent player ever on tour.
Rory McIlroys verdict:
Mario Ancic v Ivo Minar
Ostrava Challenger, Round 1 2010
Ancic Leads 6-4, 4-6, 5-0, 40-0
Minar wins 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
Mario Ancic was once one of the most promising young players in tennis, reaching the semi finals at Wimbledon in 2004 and the quarter finals at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2006. He lost to Roger Federer each time. In 2007 he suffered mono and fell from the top 10 to outside the top 100. He never really recovered and by 2010 was reduced to playing on the challenger circuit. This particular challenger was played on clay in the Czech Republic against a player who was just working his way back up the rankings after a doping suspension.
After a close first two sets, Ancic raced through the third and was 5-0, 40-0 up. Perhaps he was already dreaming of the second round and an increase on the €440 prize money he would receive for a first round exit. Perhaps he suddenly realised how far his career had fallen, through no fault of his own. Whatever it was, he lost the next 5 points and then a further 6 games in a row. Ancic would only play 15 more matches before retiring to become a lawyer.
Rory McIlroy verdict:
Paul Capdeville v Giovanni Lapentti
Guayaquil Challenger Quarter Final 2010
Lapentti leads 6-0, 4-0
Capdeville wins 0-6, 7-5, 6-4
Gio Lapentti is most famous in Britain for starting a decade of Davis Cup misery by defeating Arvind Parmar from two sets down in the World Group Play-off at 17. Despite the match being played in Britain and on a surface Lapentti had never played on before. Parmar was never seen of or heard of again.
Gio never went on to had the career that people predicted at that stage, and at 28 was playing a challenger event in his home country. Gio breezed into an almost unassailable lead, but as Calleri showed before you can not rest on your laurels. Capdeville got onto the scoresheet but it was still 5-1. Some MPs came and went before Capdeville got into the game, took the second and set and won a close third. Its interesting that in all these examples the final sets remain quite close, avoiding the common WTA scoreline of 0-6, 7-5, 6-0.
Rory McIlroy verdict:
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