A number of multiple grand slam winners have been celebrated by the media since tennis went professional in 1968. Names like Boris Becker, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe roll effortless off the tongue. However, over the decades there have also been a number of players who have claimed grand slam titles only to fade rapidly into obscurity.
Here’s our list of the top one hit wonders in tennis:
Andres Gomez
Remember Andres Gomez? If you do, you were probably watching the 1990 French Open in which Gomez claimed his first and last grand slam title by defeating Andre Agassi.
Gomez rose to prominence in the 1980s as a clay court specialist, with his skills on the surface helping him to briefly occupy the number one ranking in 1986. The Ecuadorian had to wait until the twilight of his career before taking his first grand slam title.
The win in Paris proved to be something of a swansong for Gomez, who would win only one more title during the remainder of his career.
Michael Stich
Michael Stich caused a sensation when he beat Boris Becker in the 1991 Wimbledon final. Stich’s achievement was particularly impressive given that he had only one minor hard court title to his name at the time.
Unfortunately, Stich would never again reach the summit of a grand slam tournament. Though he reached the final of the US Open and French Open in later years, he was forced to be satisfied with a string of ATP Tour titles in a career that lasted only 5 years.
Gaston Gaudio
Gaston Gaudio’s win at the 2004 French Open final against Guillermo Coria is recognised as one of the greatest grand slam finals of all time. Gaudio prevailed in an epic 5 set battle to claim what would be his only grand slam title.
Remarkably, the Argentinean never managed to progress beyond the 3rd round of a grand slam at any other point in his career. Gaudio remained active on the ATP tour after winning the French Open, but his career went into steady decline as a string of injuries took their toll on him.
Petr Korda
Petr Korda’s win in the final of the 1998 Australian Open against Marcelo Rios of Chile was the first grand slam victory of his career. It was not, however, the first grand slam final appearance of his career, as he had lost against Jim Courier in the French Open final four years earlier.
Korda’s career ended just as it was peaking. The Czech player tested positive for nandrolone at Wimbledon a few months after taking his French Open title, and was subsequently banned from the sport for one year. He never returned to the ATP tour.
Michael Chang
Big things were expected of America’s Michael Chang after he stormed to victory in the final of the 1989 French Open to become the youngest men’s singles grand slam winner of all time at the tender age of 17.
Incredibly, Chang failed to follow up on an amazing debut in which he won his first career title in a grand slam. The diminutive player would win several Masters’ titles, and reach two more grand slam finals without ever again tasting grand slam success.
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