Longest Winning Streak

At the top stands Bjorn Borg, whose legendary runs of 49 and 48 consecutive wins still represent one of the highest standards of consistency ever reached in men's tennis. His 49-match run began at the Davis Cup Europe zone playoff against Ireland on 17 March 1978, when he beat Michael Hickey; it also included a walkover, and the last win came against Vitas Gerulaitis in the 1978 US Open semi-final, before the streak ended in the final against Jimmy Connors. His 48-match run began at the Davis Cup Europe final against Czechoslovakia on 14 September 1979, when he beat Ivan Lendl; it also included a walkover, and the last win came against Gene Mayer at the 1980 Nations Cup, before the streak ended in the semi-final against Guillermo Vilas.

Just behind him is Guillermo Vilas, whose 46-match winning streak in 1977 began at Kitzbuhel on 11 July 1977 against Alvin Gardiner; the last win came against Eric Deblicker at Aix-en-Provence, and the streak ended in the final against Ilie Nastase. Then come other giants of the game: Ivan Lendl, with 44 straight wins between 1981 and 1982, starting in Madrid on 29 September 1981 against Juan Avendano; the last win came against Raul Ramirez in La Quinta, and the streak ended in the final against Yannick Noah. Novak Djokovic's 43-match streak from late 2010 to the 2011 French Open began in Davis Cup against Gilles Simon on 3 December 2010; the last win came against Richard Gasquet, and the streak ended in the Roland Garros semi-final against Roger Federer.

John McEnroe followed with 42 consecutive victories during his almost untouchable 1984 season, starting at the Masters on 10 January 1984 against Johan Kriek; the last win came against Jimmy Connors at Roland Garros, and the streak ended in the final against Ivan Lendl. Roger Federer put together a 41-match winning streak between 2006 and 2007, beginning at the US Open on 28 August 2006 against Jimmy Wang; the last win came in the Dubai final against Mikhail Youzhny, and the streak ended at Indian Wells against Guillermo Canas.

Each of these streaks tells a different story. Borg’s dominance stretched across clay and grass. Vilas turned 1977 into a monumental campaign. Lendl became a machine of consistency. Djokovic’s 2011 run redefined modern dominance. McEnroe played months of almost unplayable tennis. Federer combined elegance, efficiency and control at a level few players have ever matched.