In the 207 Grand Slam tournaments in the Open Era, 54 different players have lifted a Grand Slam title. Roger Federer (20), Rafael Nadal (19) and Novak Djokovic (16) lead a group of 30 players to have won multiple Grand Slam titles.
24 other players have won one Grand Slam title apiece, the last of them being Marin Cilic at the 2014 US Open - who also happens to be the latest player to win a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.
The five-year period encompassing 20 Grand Slam tournaments (2015 to 2019) without a new Grand Slam champion is the longest in the history of the Open Era, surpassing the three-year period between Juan Martin del Potro (2009 US Open) and Andy Murray (2012 US Open) making their respective Grand Slam breakthroughs.
Most of the Open Era Grand Slam titles, 164 (of 207) to be exact, have been won by a player in their 20s. Only 14 players aged 30 and above have won a Grand Slam title.
At the other end of the spectrum, the number gets smaller still. Let’s meet the exclusive group of 7 players who have lifted a Grand Slam title as a teenager.
#7 Stefan Edberg: 19 years 323 days (1985 Australian Open)
Stefan Edberg arrived at the 1985 Australian Open fresh off winning the gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
In his third appearance at the Australian Open, and 8th overall at a Grand Slam tournament, Edberg overcame John Lloyd in straight sets in the quarterfinals. The 19-year-old Swede then recovered from a two sets to one deficit against Ivan Lendl to triumph 9-7 in the fifth set en route to booking a title showdown with two-time defending champion and fellow countryman Mats Wilander.
Riding on a break apiece in the first two sets, Edberg was in cruise control against his more illustrious compatriot, moving to within a set of a maiden Grand Slam title breakthrough. There would be no relenting from Edberg in the third.
Courtesy two more breaks of the Wilander serve, Edberg ended the two-year Australian Open reign of his compatriot and became the newest champion to hoist aloft the trophy.
In the process, Edberg became only the second teenager in the Open Era to triumph at the Australian Open, and the third teenager to triumph at a Grand Slam tournament.
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#6 Pete Sampras: 19 years 111 days (1990 US Open)
One of only two players (Rafael Nadal being the other) to win a Grand Slam tournament in his teens, 20s and 30s, Pete Sampras made his Major breakthrough at the 1990 US Open with a win over countryman Andre Agassi in the final.
Making his 8th appearance in a Grand Slam tournament, then World No. 12 Sampras arrived at the 1990 US Open on the back of an 11-match winning run. The winning momentum helped Sampras negotiate the early rounds at Flushing Meadows for the loss of just one set before he reached his first Major quarterfinal.
Against three-time champion Ivan Lendl, Sampras took the first two sets before the then World No. 3 fought back with the next two to force a fifth. Sampras regained his ascendancy in the decider, riding on two breaks of the Lendl serve to book a last-four meeting with four-time champion and countryman John McEnroe.
Once again, Sampras made the faster start against a former winner, opening a two-set lead before McEnroe claimed the third. Sampras made sure he didn’t have to go the distance for the second consecutive match as he downed his illustrious countryman 6-3 in the fourth to set up a title clash with another countryman.
Agassi had lost in the Roland Garros final earlier in the season to Andreas Gomez, but this was uncharted territory for Sampras playing his first Major final. Sampras served like a dream and volleyed superbly to keep Agassi pinned to the baseline, as the younger of the two Americans completed a straight-sets win in one hour and 42 minutes to become the 28th different Grand Slam champion in the Open Era.
Sampras remains the youngest champion at the US Open, and the only teenager in the Open Era to triumph at the last Grand Slam tournament on the tennis calendar.
#5 Rafael Nadal: 19 years 2 days (2005 French Open)
Rafael Nadal made his much awaited Roland Garros debut in 2005 after missing the 2004 edition of the tournament owing to a stress fracture. The Spaniard would live up to his pre-tournament billing.
Having ascended from No. 56 to No. 4 in the world rankings, Nadal did not drop a set against Lars Burgsmuller, Xavier Malisse and Richard Gasquet in the first three rounds, before going past Sebastian Grosjean in four sets to reach the quarterfinals.
Following a straight-sets win over compatriot David Ferrer, Nadal booked a first Grand Slam meeting with Roger Federer in the semifinals. The left-hander won the opening set against the world’s No.1 player before Federer took the second. Nadal then assumed control of the match by taking the next two sets for the loss of just seven games to reach his first Major final.
In the first all-lefty Grand Slam final since Petr Korda defeated Marcelo Rios at the 1998 Australian Open, Nadal took on little known Argentine Mariano Puerta. After Puerta took the opener on a tiebreak, the younger left-hander reeled off the next three sets to become the youngest Grand Slam winner in 25 years.
In the process, Nadal became the third teenager to win the French Open and the first to do so on his tournament debut since Mats Wilander in 1982.
Since Nadal’s triumph in 2005, no other teenager has won a Grand Slam tournament in men’s tennis.
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#4 Bjorn Borg: 18 years 10 days (1974 French Open)
Playing his fifth Grand Slam tournament at the 1974 French Open, the much touted Bjorn Borg made his breakthrough as the first teenager in the Open Era to win a Major.
A year on after losing to Adriano Panatta in the fourth round on his Grand Slam debut at this very tournament, Borg returned to the fourth round for the loss of just one set. In his first stern test, the 17-year-old prodigious Swede lost the opening set without winning a game before overcoming American Erik van Dillen in five sets.
The going would only get tougher for the teenager as he would need to claw back from a two sets to one deficit to down Mexico’s Raul Ramirez, before requiring four sets against Harold Solomon in the semifinals.
Borg’s toughest test came in the final against Spain’s Manuel Orantes, who seemingly had a stranglehold of the contest by taking a two set lead. But one set away from his first Major title, the Spaniard would spectacularly fall apart as Borg conceded only two games in three sets to become the first teenager in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam title.
Borg would return the next year to successfully defend his title, becoming the first teenager to win multiple Grand Slam titles, and one of only three players in the Open Era to accomplish the feat.
#3 Mats Wilander: 17 years 288 days (1982 French Open)
Making his third Grand Slam main draw appearance, and first at the French Open in 1982, Mats Wilander carried forward the rich Swedish legacy by becoming the first player from his country after Bjorn Borg to win the claycourt Major.
Beset by the seemingly untimely retirement of four-time champion Borg and the withdrawal of World No. 1 John McEnroe, Wilander provided the spark the tournament craved for.
The 17-year-old Swede dropped a set in his first three rounds before being stretched to five by second seed Ivan Lendl in the fourth round. Wilander then took out the fifth, fourth, and third seeds in Vitas Gerulaitis, Jose Luis Clerc and Guillermo Vilas respectively, all for the loss of a set apiece, to land his first career singles title.
In the final against Vilas, Wilander won just one game in the opening set before drawing parity by taking the second set on a tiebreaker. Thereafter, Wilander asserted his dominance against the left-handed Vilas, dropping four games over the next two sets to become the first player in the Open Era to win Roland Garros on debut.
In the process, Wilander became the youngest player to lift the title at the claycourt Major and the first teenager to do so since Borg’s triumph in 1974.
Wilander’s triumph at the 1983 Australian Open made the Swede the second player in the Open era, and the second from the Scandinavian nation to win multiple Grand Slam titles as a teenager.
#2 Boris Becker: 17 years 227 days (1985 Wimbledon)
The 17-year-old blonde German created history in the glorious summer of 1985 by beating Kevin Curren in the final to become the youngest player to win Wimbledon.
The historic triumph almost didn’t happen, as Becker would reminisce in an interview three decades later. The death of Becker’s grandfather on the eve of the tournament was not disclosed to him by his parents, so as not to distract the teenager.
In the third round, Joakim Nystrom twice failed to serve out the match, before Becker triumphed 9-7 in the fifth. A round later, an injured Becker almost walked to the net to retire from his match against Tim Mayotte, before his quick-thinking team shouted to the teenager to take a medical timeout instead. What followed next was history.
Mayotte was taken out, followed by Henri Laconte in the quarterfinals, and Anders Jarryd in a four-set semifinal. Becker booked a title clash with Kevin Curren, who had beaten two former American champions at the tournament - John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors - in straight sets.
In the final against the South African Becker drew first blood by grabbing the early break, and never looked back. Although Curren drew parity by taking the second set on a tiebreak, Becker regained a set lead by taking the third set tiebreak.
Two double faults while serving for the title notwithstanding, Becker made good on his second championship point on serve to seal a memorable triumph.
With the title, Becker became the then youngest player to win a Grand Slam title in the Open Era - a mark that would stand for four years - and the first German to triumph at Wimbledon. Since Becker’s win at the grasscourt Major in 1985, and a successful title defence a year later, no other teenage player has won the title at SW19.
#1 Michael Chang: 17 years 109 days (1989 French Open)
Making his fifth Grand Slam appearance at the 1989 French Open, Michael Chang dropped a set in his opening round against Eduardo Masso. Respective straight-sets wins over future World No. 1 Pete Sampras and Spanish qualifier Francisco Roig then propelled the American to the second week of the tournament.
The inspired run of the 17-year-old seemed set to end when Chang fell behind two sets against top-seed and three-time champion Ivan Lendl. But Chang was made of sterner stuff.
The teenager reeled off the next three sets for the loss of three games apiece to upset the world’s top-ranked player, before dropping a set against Ronald Agenor in the quarterfinals.
In the last-four, Chang conquered defending champion Mats Wilander’s conqueror Andrei Chesnokov in four sets to set up a title clash with third seed Stefan Edberg. Chang took the opener against the Swede in the final before falling behind two sets to one.
A set away from winning the French Open, Edberg faltered as a tiring Chang threw down an underarm serve. The American eventually triumphed in five sets to become the youngest winner of a Grand Slam title in the Open Era.
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