[Joana]

There are some players who really had the opportunity to win their only Slam, where everything seemed to work right for them, where the draw was open for them, and yet they missed it.

Amanda Coetzer, RG '97
Great year for her, beat Steffi 3 times, inluding in the QF of the tournament. She played a very close match against Majoli in the SF, had she beaten her she would have played against injured Hingis in the final, with a big chance of winning.

Chanda Rubin AO '96
Played absolutely great there, beat Sabatini if I remember well, then Arantxa in that epic match, came within 2 points of beating Monica. Huber would surely have been beatable in the final.

Natasha Zvereva, Wimbledon '98
It was her tournament, she beat Steffi and Monica. What the hell happened against Tauzait in the SF??? The final against Jana would have been great, I think she would have had a chance, given Jana's choking.

It's sad that these players never got a second chance to repeat the success. Did they know it was their only opportunity to shine?
Any other examples?

 

[wtn_amanda]

Maybe Kim Vs serena In semsi AO Kim up 5-2 final set she maybe could of beat Venus?

 

[Joana]

Yeah, but Kim still has chances to win a GS, those girls don't.

 

[kyk710]

Hopefully Chanda will have at least one more chance!!!

 

[VeNuS#1LoVa]

Kim wouldn't have beaten Venus, and will never win a GS as long as V And S are around.

 

[wtn_amanda]

VS#1F thats a harsh statment u dont know that for sure

 

[Berlin_Calling]

Wasn't Mary Joe Fernandez really close at RG one year? Forget which year and I think it was against Graf.

 

[antonella]

Wasn't Mary Joe Fernandez really close at RG one year?

That was 1993, she also had two Aus Open finals. I think..

 

[alexusjonesfan]

I've got an example from the men's game. You could use any of Henman's semifinals at wimbledon but the one in particular that I think was his best chance was back in 2001. He was so close to winning that match. The matchup with Rafter would've been a tossup but I'm sure he'd have prefered that to his perennial conqueror Sampras. Now it doesn't seem so certain that he'll reach the semis again.

Another one in my opinion was Sjeng Schalken at last year's wimbledon. If he'd have beated Hewitt in that long 5 setter, I'd have given him good odds to beat Henman in the semis and Nalbandian in the final. I don't know if he'll get such a good opportunity again and his hard and flat game seemed to be finally coming together at the right time with Sampras and Agassi out of the picture and his next opponents being a serve and volleyer without a big serve and a baseline hugger.

 

[Peter M]

I don't think Coetzer would have stood a chance against Hingis. Majoli played an awesome match and played the style that became known as the only way to beat Hingis- unabashed attack. Mandy can't play that way. Hingis would have straight setted her.

I agree with Zvereva although Monica should be named also. Had she defeated Zvereva, she would have likely taken the title, IMO. That was the only time Monica lost to Zvereva and she never lost to Tauziat. Novotna was always tough for Monica and grass would have helped Jana even more, but with it being a final, I would have to think that Monica would have been too much for a choking Jana. Tauziat nearly was.

Had Rubin defeated Monica, she would have won the '96 Oz.

 

[ttaM]

MJF also had an opportunity at OZ in '91 with having a match point against Monica, and Novotna in the final...MJF could've won that tourney too.

I agree with Monica and Wimbledon '98. Monica's best chance of winning Wimbledon. But Nat won the first set 6-1 and got to a second set tie-break against Tauziat. So....

What about Lucic against Graf in Wimbledon '99. Wasn't she up a set and a break in that SF?

What about Monica and OZ '02? Had she won that SF, she probably would've taken the final with the way Jen was playing?

 

[Trish101]

Monica would not have won against Jen @ the AO 02 finals...the heat would have killed her, besides Hingis was better than Monica and STILL lost to Jen.

I dont care, Monica is good, but in 110 degree weather she isnt THAT good...she has to many fat cells to weigh her down!

 

[Aerien]

Kimiko Date in Wimbledon '96.
That semi-final against Steffi.

 

[Robbie.]

I don't think Coetzer would have stood a chance against Hingis. Majoli played an awesome match and played the style that became known as the only way to beat Hingis- unabashed attack. Mandy can't play that way. Hingis would have straight setted her.

I don't think it would have been staright sets. Martina was hampered by fatigue and injury in the final, and Amanda did win the next match that her and Martina played - in the semifinals of Leipzig 1997, on a surface that suited Martina much more than it suited Amanda. Mandy was not making errors at RG 1997 and against a flat and error prone Hingis she would have had some chance IMO.

 

[Hingiswinsthis]

Yep.......it was a pity to see the injured Martina play that 97 FO final.

but I would have to say that the player that had been victimized to not winning a major the most was MARY JOE FERNANDEZ. It's too bad......she had good chances to win the Australian and French in the early 90's. but Monica Seles and Steffi Graf stood in the way for her....

 

[alexusjonesfan]

What about Lucic against Graf in Wimbledon '99. Wasn't she up a set and a break in that SF?

lol, I don't think at that point anybody thought that it was her last chance to make a gs final, but how things change :lol:

 

[tennnisfannn]

I believe serena should be included in this for the AO 2002. Since the canadian open 2001 she only lost to venus and was in blistering form. If she hadn't been injured at the AO she might have actually won the GS which is alot harder to accomplish than a single GS. I don't see her doing it now coz venus, kim and Justine are now troubling her alot more.

 

[Task]

Zvereva springs to mind for me too. She was up 6-1 6-5 in the semifinal against Tauziat.

If only she could replay that 12th game...

 

[spencercarlos]

There are some players who really had the opportunity to win their only Slam, where everything seemed to work right for them, where the draw was open for them, and yet they missed it.

Amanda Coetzer, RG '97
Great year for her, beat Steffi 3 times, inluding in the QF of the tournament. She played a very close match against Majoli in the SF, had she beaten her she would have played against injured Hingis in the final, with a big chance of winning.

Chanda Rubin AO '96
Played absolutely great there, beat Sabatini if I remember well, then Arantxa in that epic match, came within 2 points of beating Monica. Huber would surely have been beatable in the final.

Natasha Zvereva, Wimbledon '98
It was her tournament, she beat Steffi and Monica. What the hell happened against Tauzait in the SF??? The final against Jana would have been great, I think she would have had a chance, given Jana's choking.

It's sad that these players never got a second chance to repeat the success. Did they know it was their only opportunity to shine?
Any other examples?

I don´t think Amanda was that close, yes she beat an ailing Graf (throat infection) at the Australian Open, and a Graf who made 50 unforced errors while losing 6-1 6-4 in Roland Garros. Then she faced Majoli, who was also sick with a flu of her own, and she could not beat her. Hingis was not injured in that event. She played marvelous tennis against Arantxa in the quartefinals and hang in there to beat Seles 6-4 in the third. I doubt Amanda would have won against Hingis, who usually trashed her.

Chanda, for sure she missed that one, she was so close, and played impecable tennis to get 5-2 in the third against Monica.

Natasha also missed her great chance, she was controlling her semifinal against Tauziat and let it slip away, and she had beaten Novotna many times before, i think she should have won. Jana could have won easily in 93

I think Another player we could name is Mary Joe Fernandez, she had that Rg in her hands was controlling 2-0 and BP for 3-0 against Graf and let it slip by.

 

[gopher]

I can think of at least 4 KIM examples...