TENNISGOAT

Upsets & giant-killers

Measured by pre-match Elo gap, so "upset" means the ratings truly disagreed — not just seedings. Players with fewer than 20 career matches at the time are excluded (their ratings are still provisional).

Biggest upsets

#WinnerElo BeatGapMatchScore
1 🇦🇺 Charlie Fancutt 1487 🇺🇸 Ivan Lendl (2336) 849 Wimbledon 1981 R128 Grass 4-6 6-3 6-4 1-6 6-3
2 Roger Smith 1655 🇺🇸 Ivan Lendl (2466) 811 Stratton Mountain 1988 R32 Hard 6-2 6-3
3 🇨🇿 Jiri Vesely 1779 🇷🇸 Novak Djokovic (2570) 791 Monte Carlo Masters 2016 R32 Clay 6-4 2-6 6-4
4 🇦🇺 Chris Kachel 1385 🇺🇸 Arthur Ashe (2161) 776 Sydney-2 1976 R64 Grass 7-5 7-6
5 🇺🇸 Bruce Manson 1726 🇸🇪 Bjorn Borg (2495) 769 Rancho Mirage 1979 R64 Hard 6-7 7-5 6-2
6 🇩🇪 Alexander Waske 1580 🇪🇸 Rafael Nadal (2348) 768 Halle 2005 R32 Grass 4-6 7-5 6-3
7 🇫🇷 Edouard Roger-Vasselin 1622 🇦🇷 Juan Martin del Potro (2373) 751 Tokyo 2009 R32 Hard 6-4 6-4
8 🇨🇱 Alvaro Fillol 1634 🇺🇸 Jimmy Connors (2383) 749 Bogota 1980 R16 Clay 0-6 4-5 RET
9 🇺🇸 Luke Jensen 1610 🇺🇸 Andre Agassi (2351) 741 Memphis 1996 R32 Hard 6-2 6-4
10 🇯🇵 Taro Daniel 1675 🇷🇸 Novak Djokovic (2416) 741 Indian Wells Masters 2018 R64 Hard 7-6(3) 4-6 6-1
11 🇦🇷 Juan Manuel Cerundolo 1763 🇮🇹 Jannik Sinner (2487) 724 Roland Garros 2026 R64 Clay 3-6 2-6 7-5 6-1 6-1
12 🇺🇸 Doug Flach 1590 🇺🇸 Andre Agassi (2308) 718 Wimbledon 1996 R128 Grass 2-6 7-6(1) 6-4 7-6(6)
13 🇺🇿 Denis Istomin 1794 🇷🇸 Novak Djokovic (2512) 718 Australian Open 2017 R64 Hard 7-6(8) 5-7 2-6 7-6(5) 6-4
14 🇺🇸 Frances Tiafoe 1564 🇩🇪 Alexander Zverev (2270) 706 Cincinnati Masters 2017 R32 Hard 4-6 6-3 6-4
15 🇫🇷 Jean-Francois Caujolle 1740 🇺🇸 Jimmy Connors (2444) 704 Monte-Carlo WCT 1980 R16 Clay 7-6 6-2
16 🇸🇪 Thomas Hogstedt 1687 🇸🇪 Bjorn Borg (2391) 704 Washington 1992 R64 Hard 6-4 7-6(5)
17 🇺🇸 Keith Richardson 1501 🇺🇸 Eddie Dibbs (2203) 702 Stockholm 1977 R64 Hard 7-6 3-6 7-5
18 🇷🇺 Evgeny Donskoy 1678 🇨🇭 Roger Federer (2378) 700 Dubai 2017 R16 Hard 3-6 7-6(7) 7-6(5)
19 🇸🇪 Hans Simonsson 1620 🇦🇷 Guillermo Vilas (2316) 696 Indianapolis 1982 R32 Clay 6-4 6-1
20 🇺🇸 Erik Van Dillen 1676 🇺🇸 John McEnroe (2371) 695 Toronto 1980 R32 Hard 3-4 RET
21 🇺🇸 William Brown 1489 🇷🇴 Ilie Nastase (2177) 688 Toronto-2 1974 R64 Clay 6-1 6-1
22 🇻🇪 Jorge Andrew 1331 🇺🇸 Brian Gottfried (2017) 686 Caracas 1974 RR Hard 6-4 6-4
23 🇫🇷 Jean-Baptiste Chanfreau 1525 🇺🇸 Arthur Ashe (2203) 678 Milan WCT 1973 R32 Carpet 4-6 6-4 6-2
24 🇺🇸 Sherwood Stewart 1765 🇸🇪 Bjorn Borg (2441) 676 Oviedo 1977 R16 Carpet 6-1 7-6
25 🇨🇿 Pavel Slozil 1802 🇺🇸 Ivan Lendl (2478) 676 Delray Beach WCT 1983 R32 Clay 3-6 7-6 7-5
26 🇩🇪 Michael Berrer 1717 🇪🇸 Rafael Nadal (2390) 673 Doha 2015 R32 Hard 1-6 6-3 6-4
27 🇲🇦 Karim Alami 1650 🇺🇸 Pete Sampras (2315) 665 Doha 1994 R32 Hard 3-6 6-2 6-4
28 🇺🇸 MaliVai Washington 1777 🇺🇸 Ivan Lendl (2440) 663 New Haven 1990 R32 Hard 6-2 6-3
29 🇦🇷 Horacio Zeballos 1751 🇪🇸 Rafael Nadal (2408) 657 Vina del Mar 2013 F Clay 6-7(2) 7-6(6) 6-4
30 Dustin Brown 1809 🇪🇸 Rafael Nadal (2465) 656 Halle 2014 R16 Grass 6-4 6-1
31 🇨🇦 Chris Pridham 1721 🇸🇪 Bjorn Borg (2374) 653 Los Angeles 1992 R32 Hard 6-4 6-2
32 🇮🇳 Vijay Amritraj 1881 🇺🇸 John McEnroe (2533) 652 Cincinnati 1984 R64 Hard 6-7 6-2 6-3
33 🇺🇸 John Whitlinger 1764 🇺🇸 Jimmy Connors (2414) 650 Boca Raton 1976 QF Clay 2-6 RET
34 🇫🇷 Thierry Guardiola 1558 🇺🇸 Jim Courier (2208) 650 Rome Masters 1995 R64 Clay 3-6 6-3 7-6(3)
35 🇺🇸 Sam Querrey 1920 🇷🇸 Novak Djokovic (2567) 647 Wimbledon 2016 R32 Grass 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 7-6(5)
36 🇨🇿 Jiri Vesely 1745 🇷🇸 Novak Djokovic (2392) 647 Dubai 2022 QF Hard 6-4 7-6(4)
37 🇧🇷 Thiago Seyboth Wild 1649 🇷🇺 Daniil Medvedev (2296) 647 Roland Garros 2023 R128 Clay 7-6(5) 6-7(6) 2-6 6-3 6-4
38 🇷🇺 Andrei Olhovskiy 1711 🇺🇸 Jim Courier (2355) 644 Wimbledon 1992 R32 Grass 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-4
39 🇬🇧 Colin Dowdeswell 1740 🇦🇷 Guillermo Vilas (2383) 643 Johannesburg-1 1978 SF Hard 6-1 6-7 6-4
40 🇵🇹 Joao Cunha-Silva 1652 🇸🇪 Bjorn Borg (2294) 642 Zaragoza 1993 R32 Carpet 6-1 5-7 7-5

Most giant-kills

Career wins over opponents rated 100+ Elo higher.

  1. 🇪🇸 Feliciano Lopez 75
  2. 🇫🇷 Fabrice Santoro 72
  3. 🇫🇷 Adrian Mannarino 69
  4. 🇨🇭 Marc Rosset 68
  5. 🇿🇦 Raymond Moore 68
  6. 🇺🇸 Jeff Borowiak 66
  7. 🇮🇹 Andreas Seppi 65
  8. 🇪🇸 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 61
  9. 🇫🇷 Julien Benneteau 59
  10. 🇷🇸 Dusan Lajovic 57
  11. 🇭🇷 Ivo Karlovic 57
  12. 🇪🇬 Ismail El Shafei 57
  13. 🇪🇸 Francisco Clavet 57
  14. 🇮🇹 Gianluca Pozzi 56
  15. 🇮🇹 Fabio Fognini 56

Best underdog record

Win rate when the lower-rated player (min. 80 such matches).

  1. 🇩🇪 Boris Becker 54.7% (47–39)
  2. 🇳🇱 Richard Krajicek 49.6% (65–66)
  3. 🇩🇪 Michael Stich 49.5% (47–48)
  4. 🇷🇺 Yevgeny Kafelnikov 49.4% (79–81)
  5. 🇪🇸 Albert Costa 49.0% (98–102)
  6. 🇨🇦 Felix Auger-Aliassime 48.9% (65–68)
  7. 🇧🇷 Gustavo Kuerten 48.6% (52–55)
  8. 🇸🇰 Miloslav Mecir Sr. 47.6% (40–44)
  9. 🇫🇷 Ugo Humbert 46.2% (67–78)
  10. 🇺🇸 Taylor Fritz 46.1% (82–96)
  11. 🇨🇭 Roger Federer 46.1% (47–55)
  12. 🇫🇷 Arnaud Boetsch 45.6% (72–86)
  13. 🇺🇸 Arthur Ashe 45.6% (57–68)
  14. 🇦🇷 Alberto Mancini 45.6% (41–49)
  15. 🇺🇸 Andre Agassi 45.4% (44–53)
Methodology

An upset is a win by the player with the lower pre-match Elo; the gap is the rating difference at that moment. Matches where either player had fewer than 20 prior career matches are excluded, since early ratings are provisional. Giant-kills count career wins over opponents rated 100+ Elo higher; underdog records count all matches entered as the lower-rated player (minimum 80).