September 9, 2010
U.S. Open Tennis 2010: Top 10 Choke Jobs in Past Tourneys
By Hilary Scurlock
It is difficult to define a "choke job" in tennis --- it can be as short as a double fault or as long as several years of consecutive losses. A dropped set can be a choke, but so can half a decade of finals appearances without a win. Even be a champion caught on a bad day, outplayed by an unseeded opponent, can be labeled a choker. Either way, it's a regret, a collapse, a failure.
They certainly are not tennis' finest moments, but they are some of the most well-remembered.
Regardless of whether these players ultimately end up as Hall of Fame champions or in obscurity, here are the top 10 US Open choke jobs in the Open era.
1975: Chris Evert vs. Evonne Goolagong, final
1981: Martina Navratilova vs. Tracy Austin, final
1989: Martina Navratilova vs. Steffi Graf, final
1997: Pete Sampras vs. Petr Korda, fourth round
In 1997, Pete Sampras choked in his fourth round match, if only because he didn't play Sampras-level tennis. Up against Petr Korda, Sampras did not put up his usual fight. Korda also gave Sampras a run for his money in that year's Wimbledon, but this second time Korda prevailed.
The two players split the first four sets in closely contested play, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 3-6. Nevertheless, in the fifth set, it appeared as if Sampras found the champion-level play expected of an 11-time Slam winner, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the fifth set.
However, Sampras couldn't finish the job, and Korda fought back, resulting in a fifth set tiebreak. Sampras never found his game again, double faulting to give Korda a 6-2 lead in the tiebreak and ultimately giving away the match.
The normally unshakable Sampras admitted after the match that he was not his usual aggressive self, noting in more eloquent terms that he choked: "I didn't put the clamps down when I had him down."
1998: Jana Novotna vs. Martina Hingis, semifinal
2008: Venus Williams vs. Serena Williams, quarterfinal
2009: Maria Sharapova vs Melanie Oudin, third round
2009: Vera Zvonareva vs. Flavia Pennetta, fourth round
2009: Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Roger Federer, final