5 ATP greats who never lifted the Australian Open title: ft Andy Murray, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe

L-R: Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, and Andy Murray.
Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, and Andy Murray.

Winning the Australian Open remains one of the most difficult achievements in tennis, and a few ATP greats have missed out on lifting the title.

Here, we look at five of the best ATP players who never quite got their hands on the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.

This is not an exhaustive list and does not include players such as Carlos Alcaraz, who is in active contention for the title.

Bjorn Borg

Best Result: R3 1974

Borg remains one of the most iconic figures in tennis history and was a dominant force across the late 1970s and early 1980s, though only ever made one Australian Open appearance.

That came back at the 1974 Australian Open, during which the Swede was only 17 years old and the fourth seed – with several of the game’s biggest stars choosing to skip action Down Under.

Borg beat Thies Roepcke in round one and then received a walkover in round two, before being beaten by eventual finalist Phil Dent.

He would later win six French Open and five Wimbledon titles, and reach four US Open finals, though never again played in Melbourne.

John McEnroe

Best Result: SF 1983

Similarly to Borg, seven-time Grand Slam singles champion McEnroe often skipped the Australian Open and his best result at the tournament came in his debut appearance in 1983.

The American, the winner of three Wimbledon and four US Open titles, was the second seed and made it to the semi-final, where he was beaten in four sets by eventual champion Mats Wilander.

McEnroe made just four more appearances at the Australian Open, reaching the quarter-final in 1985, 1989, and 1992.

His most famous – or infamous – moment Down Under was when he was defaulted in the fourth round in 1990.

Andy Murray

Best Result: RU 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016

No player in the Open Era – male or female – has reached as many finals at an individual Slam without lifting the title as Murray has in Melbourne, with five runner-up finishes to his name.

The former world No 1 reached his first Australian Open final in 2010 and was beaten in straight sets by Roger Federer, before losing to Novak Djokovic in his second final a year later.

That was the first of four losses in the final to Djokovic, who also defeated the Brit in the 2013, 2015, and 2016 finals.

Murray won 51 matches at the Australian Open and only won more matches at Wimbledon, where he was a two-time champion; he also won the US Open in 2012.

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Lleyton Hewitt

Best Result: RU 2005

Hewitt lifted the US Open title in 2001 and the Wimbledon title in 2002, and the closest he ever came to winning a third major title was his run to the final of his home major in 2005.

The former world No 1 had never made it past the fourth round of the Australian Open previously but, seeded third, beat an unseeded Rafael Nadal to reach the quarter-final for the first time.

That victory was followed by wins over David Nalbandian and Andy Roddick to reach the final, though he was beaten in four sets by fellow former No 1 Marat Safin.

It was Hewitt’s fourth and last Grand Slam final, though he would play the Australian Open every year until 2016.

Andy Roddick

Best Result: SF 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009

Few have come as close to reaching the final without quite making it as Roddick, who was beaten in four Australian Open semi-finals across the mid-to-late 2000s.

The US star reached the last four for the first time in 2003, where he was beaten in four sets by surprise package Rainer Schuttler, and two years later fell to home favourite Hewitt in four sets.

Roddick returned to the semi-finals in 2007 and lost in straight sets to Roger Federer, while he was again beaten by his long-term nemesis in his last semi-final in 2009.

Former world No 1 Roddick is best remembered for his 2003 US Open triumph, while he was also a three-time Wimbledon runner-up.

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