The 10 men with the most Grand Slam final defeats in Open Era: Novak Djokovic at No 1
Novak Djokovic has won a record 24 Grand Slams and played in 37 major finals – also a record – and, unsurprisingly, he also holds the record for most Slam finals lost.
Tennis great Djokovic is one of three players to have lost double digit Grand Slam finals while Daniil Medvedev is the only other active player currently in the top 10.
The likes of Ken Rosewall (8), Rod Laver and Fred Stolle (both 6) miss out as some or all of their final losses were achieved before tennis turned professional in 1968.
Here is a look at the 10 men with the most Grand Slam final runners-up trophies in the Open Era:
=8. Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg and Daniil Medvedev – 5
The great Bjorn Borg was the first man to win 11 Grand Slams in the Open Era with six of those coming at Roland Garros. But he also lost five major finals with four coming at the US Open and one at Wimbledon in 1981.
Borg’s fellow Swede Stefan Edberg won two Australian Open titles, two Wimbledon titles and two US Open titles, but he also finished runner-up three times in Australia, once at Roland Garros and once at Wimbledon.
Daniil Medvedev won the 2021 US Open, but that is his only Grand Slam success in six finals as he finished runner-up three times at the Australian Open and twice at Flushing Meadows. He led by two sets to love in two of his Australian Open finals before losing in five sets against Rafael Nadal in 2021 and three years later against Jannik Sinner.
=6. Jimmy Connors and Andre Agassi – 7
American greats Jimmy Connors and Andre Agassi have the same Grand Slam final record as they won eight of the 15 matches they played in (53.3%).
After winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open in 1974, Connors finished runner-up at the same events in 1975. He would finish runner-up at three more Wimbledon events and another US Open tournament.
Agassi, of course, lost his first three Grand Slam finals, but he would go on to claim a career Grand Slam. He finished runner-up four times at the US Open, twice at Roland Garros and once at Wimbledon.
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The 14 men with a 100% win rate in Grand Slam finals: ft. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
=4. Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal – 8
Two modern-day legends tied on eight Grand Slam finals lost and while Rafael Nadal is spread across three tournaments, Andy Murray has an infamous record at the Australian Open.
Murray lost five out of five finals at Melbourne Park – four of them against Novak Djokovic – while he also lost the 2008 US Open final, 2012 Wimbledon final and 2016 French Open final. His three Grand Slam trophies came at Wimbledon (2) and the US Open.
Nadal lost his first two Wimbledon finals then won the next two before losing a third one in 2011. He also lost four times at the Australian Open and once at the US Open.
Unsurprisingly, Nadal was 14-0 in Roland Garros finals.
=2. Ivan Lendl and Roger Federer – 11
Ivan Lendl was 0-4 in his first four Grand Slam finals and also 2-6 after eight finals. He lost his first three US Open finals from 1982 to 1985 then won the next three and then lost the next two. He also finished runner-up twice at the Australian Open, twice at Roland Garros and twice at Wimbledon.
Roger Federer lost 11 of his 30 Grand Slam finals and Nadal denied him in six finals. The Swiss great was runner-up to Nadal at the French Open on four occasions, once at the Australian Open and once at Wimbledon. Djokovic beat him three times at Wimbledon and once at the US Open while Juan Martin del Potro also got the better of Federer at Flushing Meadows.
1. Novak Djokovic – 13
Novak Djokovic has a 64.9% winning record in Grand Slam finals as he won 24 of his title matches.
He has lost six of his 10 US Open finals, four at Roland Garros – three of them against Nadal – and three at Wimbledon with his two most recent defeats at SW19 coming against Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic, though, has an unblemished record at the Australian Open as he has won 10 out of 10 finals.
