Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2021 May 10

= May 10 =

A tennis question
Can you name some players that were close to winning a tennis match but had to retire? Say, being a set and break up and suffering an injury. Splićanin (talk) 18:32, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Not sure this counts, but it adds insult to injury: During the finals of the 1996 Hopman Cup, the Swiss team (Martina Hingis and Marc Rosset) had to forfeit the match after Rosset possibly fractured his hand while punching an advertisement sign in a fit of rage. The Swiss team had had a good chance of winning, but Rosset's impulsive behaviour handed it over to the Croatian team (Iva Majoli and Goran Ivanišević). The Swiss weren't that close, however: the Croatian team was "trailing" 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 5-5, 0-30", according to AP News' "Freak Ending Hands Hopman Cup To Croatia". You can watch a clip here. (Added later): Actually, that is kind of close. Poor Martina. ---Sluzzelin talk  19:14, 10 May 2021 (UTC)


 * Most retirements come because of nagging injuries; in those cases the player guts it out until it's getting clear he or she has no chance to win the match. Sudden injuries that end a match, like the one Sluzzelin described above, are much rarer. I thought maybe Boris Becker at the 1984 Wimbledon Championships - Men's Singles, but it turns out he was down 2 sets to 1 (although ahead in the 4th set) when he was injured and had to retire. Xuxl (talk) 19:55, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
 * There is also the case of the 2006 Australian Open – Women's Singles finals ... but, as Xuxl anticipated ... it's another case of a nagging injury (in this case of stomach cramps resulting from the accidental misuse of anti-inflammatories for a chronic shoulder injury). The patient, Justine Henin, was in no position to win against Amélie Mauresmo at the point of that walkover. ---Sluzzelin talk  21:14, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Venus Williams had match point but succumbed to an opponent twelve years her junior . 95.148.229.85 (talk) 12:08, 12 May 2021 (UTC)
 * But that match was played through to its end, wasn't it? Venus Williams didn't default the match, did she? (In other words: Isn't this more of an example of a comeback than a walkover?) ---Sluzzelin talk  12:35, 12 May 2021 (UTC)