The 6 men with the most Wimbledon singles titles in the Open Era
Wimbledon is just days away, with another legendary champion set to be crowned at the All England Club.
Several all-time greats of the men’s game have triumphed at the tournament across the years, with some finding huge success on the hallowed turf of Centre Court.
Here, we look at the six players to have won the most Wimbledon men’s singles titles in the Open Era.
=5) Boris Becker – Three titles
The youngest Wimbledon men’s singles champion of the Open Era, tennis legend Becker won three of his six Grand Slam titles at the All England Club.
The German was just 17 when he triumphed for the first time in 1985, beating Kevin Curren in four sets, and defended his title in 1986 with a straight-sets victory in 1986.
Becker would claim his third and final title in 1989, beating Stefan Edberg in straight sets, though he reached a further four finals at the tournament.
=5) John McEnroe – Three titles
One of the most famous champions in Wimbledon history, McEnroe won the title three times in the space of four years in the early 1980s.
The American beat leading rival Bjorn Borg in four sets to lift his first title in 1981, the year after losing the final to the Swede.
McEnroe then lost to Jimmy Connors in the 1982 final but thrashed surprise finalist Chris Lewis to regain his title in 1983, before breezing past Connors for his final title in 1984.
4) Bjorn Borg – Five titles
One of the most dominant champions in Wimbledon history, tennis icon Borg won five straight SW19 titles at the peak of his powers.
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The Swede downed Ilie Nastase in straight sets to win his first title in 1976, before beating Connors in both the 1977 and 1978 finals.
Borg then saw off Roscoe Tanner in five sets to triumph in 1979, before his legendary five-set triumph over McEnroe in 1980, one of the greatest finals ever seen at the All England Club.
=2) Pete Sampras – Seven titles
Another dominant Wimbledon champion, former world No 1 Sampras lifted the title seven times in the space of eight years at the peak of his powers.
The American triumphed for the first time in 1993, beating Jim Courier in four sets, and successfully defended his title with a straight sets win over Goran Ivanisevic in 1994.
Sampras beat former champion Becker in four sets to claim his third title in 1995 and, after missing out in 1996, regained his title in 1997 thanks to a straight-sets victory over Cedric Pioline.
‘Pistol Pete’ again beat Ivanisevic, this time in five sets, to triumph in 1998, before victories over Andre Agassi in 1999 and Pat Rafter in 2000.
=2) Novak Djokovic – Seven titles
Wimbledon is the second-most successful major of Djokovic’s career, with the Serbian winning seven of his 24 Grand Slam titles inside the All England Club.
Djokovic beat Nadal in four sets to triumph in 2011 and, after a defeat to Andy Murray in 2013, regained his title in 2014 with a thrilling five-set victory over Roger Federer.
The Serbian again beat Federer as he defended his title in 2015, and returned to the final in 2018, beating Kevin Anderson – before a third victory over Federer in the 2019 final.
Djokovic claimed his sixth title with a four-set triumph over Matteo Berrettini in 2021, before winning in four sets versus Nick Kyrgios in 2022; he has since lost the 2023 and 2024 finals to Carlos Alcaraz.
1) Roger Federer – Eight titles
To date, no one has been able to emulate Federer’s record of eight men’s singles titles in the Open Era.
The Swiss defeated Mark Philippoussis in straight sets to win his first title in 2003, and then beat Andy Roddick in both the 2004 and 2005 finals at the All England Club.
Federer then beat Rafael Nadal in the 2006 and 2007 finals to match Borg’s milestone of five consecutive victories, though his run was snapped by Nadal in 2008.
He would win the title for a sixth time in 2009, beating Roddick in a five-set epic, before winning his seventh title in 2012 with a four-set triumph over Andy Murray.
After falling to Djokovic in 2014 and 2015, Federer sealed his eighth and final title in 2017 with a straight-sets win over Marin Cilic; he reached his last final in 2019, falling to Djokovic.
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