- Ask Steven
Three out of four isn't bad
How many tennis players have completed three legs of the Grand Slam but lost in the final of the fourth one? asked Ken Ballard
Three men have won three of the Grand Slam singles titles in the same year but lost in the final of the other one.
The first was Australia's Jack Crawford, who won the Australian, French and Wimbledon titles in 1933 but lost (to Fred Perry) in the final of the American championships.
Another Australian, Lew Hoad, did the same in 1956 - he won the first three but lost to his compatriot Ken Rosewall in the final at Forest Hills.
And in 2006 and 2007 Roger Federer won the Australian, Wimbledon and US Open titles - but lost to Rafael Nadal in the final at Roland Garros both times.
This has happened five times in the women's game. In 1965 Margaret Smith (later Mrs Court) lost in the French final but won the other three, a feat repeated by Steffi Graf in 1989 (the year after she did win all four, and the Olympics).
In 1992 Monica Seles won in Australia, France and America but lost in the final at Wimbledon; the previous year she'd missed Wimbledon through injury but won the other three.
In 1993 Graf lost in the final in Australia, but won the next three. And in 1997 Martina Hingis was upset in the French Open final by Iva Majoli, but won the other three Grand Slam singles titles.
