Men's singles at the majors are best of five sets under the Grand Slam rulebook, and women's best of three, so this piece covers the men's draw only. We rebuilt every men's singles match at the four majors since 2000, set by set, from the official draws in the ATP Tour results archive. Leaving out retirements, defaults, walkovers and five matches with conflicting records leaves 13,006 completed matches.
How often players come back from two sets down
A two-set lead is close to decisive: the leader went on to win 7,972 of the 8,494 matches, 94 percent. The trailing player's chances grow with each set he takes back. Of the 2,147 who won the third set from two sets down, 522 completed the comeback, 24 percent; of the 937 who also won the fourth to level at two sets all, 522 won the fifth, 56 percent.
Who is trailing matters most. Seeded players who fell two sets behind an unseeded opponent came back 173 times in 853, 20 percent; unseeded players two sets down to a seed came back 93 times in 3,888, 2 percent. Seeds made 234 of the 522 comebacks.
Where it happens matters little. The rate ranged from 5.4 percent at Wimbledon to 6.5 percent at the French Open, and from 6.0 percent in the 2000s and 2010s to 6.7 percent since 2020: gaps no larger than chance alone would produce in samples of this size.
First set winner win percentage, and what each set score is worth
The first set is a strong signal, not a decisive one: the first-set winner won 10,124 of the 13,006 matches, 78 percent. At one set all, the player who took the second set won 52 percent, so the more recent set counts for slightly more. The same holds a set later: up two sets to one after one set all, a player won 80.5 percent of the time; up two sets to one after losing the third set from two sets to love, 75.7 percent.
| Player who | Matches | Won the match | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Won the first set | 13,006 | 10,124 | 77.8% |
| Led two sets to love | 8,494 | 7,972 | 93.9% |
| Won the second set to level at 1-1 | 4,512 | 2,360 | 52.3% |
| Led 2-1 after 1-1 | 4,512 | 3,633 | 80.5% |
| Led 2-1 after leading 2-0 | 2,147 | 1,625 | 75.7% |
| Leveled at 2-2 after trailing 0-2 | 937 | 522 | 55.7% |
| Won the fourth set to force a fifth | 2,532 | 1,401 | 55.3% |
Comebacks from two sets down by round, and in Grand Slam finals
| Round | Matches at two sets to love | Comebacks | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| First round | 4,272 | 283 | 6.6% |
| Second round | 2,140 | 123 | 5.7% |
| Third round | 1,086 | 53 | 4.9% |
| Fourth round | 542 | 34 | 6.3% |
| Quarterfinals | 262 | 17 | 6.5% |
| Semifinals | 131 | 6 | 4.6% |
| Final | 61 | 6 | 9.8% |
| All rounds | 8,494 | 522 | 6.1% |
The first round supplies more than half of all comebacks, 283 of the 522, because it has the most matches; the rate stays between 4.6 and 6.6 percent in every round before the final. Finals are the exception: two-set leads were turned around 6 times in 61, 9.8 percent, and the first-set winner won only 75 of the 107 finals, 70 percent, the lowest of any round.
Most of those six are recent. In the 2010s, 23 finals stood at two sets to love and the leader won all 23; since 2020, five of 16 have been turned around, two of them against Daniil Medvedev, the only man since 2000 to lose two major finals from two sets up. The ATP's list of men who have done it in the Open Era has nine names, six of them since 2000:
- Gaston Gaudio over Guillermo Coria, French Open 2004: 0-6 3-6 6-4 6-1 8-6.
- Dominic Thiem over Alexander Zverev, US Open 2020: 2-6 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6.
- Novak Djokovic over Stefanos Tsitsipas, French Open 2021: 6-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4.
- Rafael Nadal over Medvedev, Australian Open 2022: 2-6 6-7 6-4 6-4 7-5.
- Jannik Sinner over Medvedev, Australian Open 2024: 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3.
- Carlos Alcaraz over Sinner, French Open 2025: 4-6 6-7 6-4 7-6 7-6.
Most comebacks from two sets down
Andy Murray has the most, 10 at the majors, which the Australian Open lists as the record for Grand Slam matches; the last was 4-6 6-7 7-6 6-3 7-5 over Thanasi Kokkinakis at the 2023 Australian Open. He also has the best rate among players who fell two sets behind at least 20 times, 10 in 42, 24 percent. Roger Federer and Fabio Fognini are next with eight.
| Player | Comebacks from 0-2 | Times trailing 0-2 | Record when leading 2-0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Murray | 10 | 42 | 137-1 |
| Fabio Fognini | 8 | 44 | 41-3 |
| Roger Federer | 8 | 38 | 287-3 |
| Marin Cilic | 7 | 40 | 92-3 |
| Novak Djokovic | 7 | 36 | 282-2 |
| Tommy Robredo | 7 | 52 | 57-1 |
| Fernando Verdasco | 6 | 43 | 64-6 |
| Radek Stepanek | 6 | 31 | 36-6 |
| Stan Wawrinka | 6 | 38 | 99-2 |
Two men won three matches from two sets down at one major: Albert Costa at the 2003 French Open, one of them against Tommy Robredo, and Robredo at the 2013 French Open, in three straight rounds. Counting retirements would not change the top: Djokovic, twice a winner when Lorenzo Musetti retired after taking the first two sets, would have nine.
Players who never lost from two sets up
Carlos Alcaraz has never lost a major match after winning the first two sets, 59 times in 59, and Kei Nishikori is 57 for 57. Among men with at least 50 two-set leads since 2000, only Andre Agassi, 60 for 60 from 2000 on, also has a clean record.
The biggest names came close. Murray lost one two-set lead in 138, to David Nalbandian at Wimbledon in 2005. Djokovic lost two in 284, both at Roland Garros: to Jurgen Melzer in 2010 and Joao Fonseca in 2026. Nadal lost two in 241, to Fognini at the 2015 US Open and Tsitsipas at the 2021 Australian Open, and Federer three in 290, to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Kevin Anderson at Wimbledon in 2011 and 2018 and to Djokovic at the 2011 US Open.
Five-set record at the Grand Slams
About one match in five goes to a fifth set, 2,532 of the 13,006, and the player who won the fourth set to force it won the decider 55 percent of the time. Djokovic has won the most five-setters at the majors since 2000, 38, against 12 losses. Among men who played at least 25, Nishikori has the best record, 26-6, ahead of Djokovic, Nadal at 23-11, Marin Cilic at 27-14 and Murray at 25-13.
Alcaraz, with fewer five-setters, is 15-2. After the 2025 French Open final the ATP had him at 13-1, including 4-0 at Roland Garros, the same as our count.
Comebacks from two sets down in 2026
There were 16 comebacks from two sets down at the 2026 majors, in 296 two-set leads, below the average of 19.6 a season from 2000 to 2025 (leaving out 2020, when only three majors were played). Seven came at the French Open and seven at the US Open, one each at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Paris had the biggest. In the second round the unseeded Juan Manuel Cerundolo beat the top seed, Sinner, and Fonseca, the 28th seed, came back from two sets down in consecutive rounds, the second time against the third seed, Djokovic.
| Major | Round | Winner | Loser | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | Third round | Daniil Medvedev (11) | Fabian Marozsan | 6-7 4-6 7-5 6-0 6-3 |
| French Open | Second round | Juan Manuel Cerundolo | Jannik Sinner (1) | 3-6 2-6 7-5 6-1 6-1 |
| French Open | Second round | Martin Landaluce | Vit Kopriva | 1-6 2-6 6-4 7-5 6-0 |
| French Open | Second round | Joao Fonseca (28) | Dino Prizmic | 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-1 6-2 |
| French Open | Third round | Frances Tiafoe (19) | Jaime Faria (Q) | 4-6 6-7 7-6 6-1 6-2 |
| French Open | Third round | Casper Ruud (15) | Tommy Paul (24) | 4-6 6-7 6-4 7-6 7-5 |
| French Open | Third round | Joao Fonseca (28) | Novak Djokovic (3) | 4-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-5 |
| French Open | Fourth round | Rafael Jodar (27) | Pablo Carreno Busta | 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-2 6-2 |
| Wimbledon | First round | Jacob Fearnley (WC) | Alex Michelsen | 3-6 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-2 |
| US Open | First round | Flavio Cobolli (5) | Francisco Comesana | 3-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 |
| US Open | First round | Jaume Munar | Terence Atmane | 6-7 3-6 6-1 7-6 7-5 |
| US Open | First round | Andrey Rublev (23) | Otto Virtanen (LL) | 6-7 6-7 6-0 6-2 7-6 |
| US Open | First round | Adrian Mannarino | Thiago Agustin Tirante | 4-6 3-6 6-3 6-3 6-3 |
| US Open | Third round | Francisco Cerundolo (24) | Taylor Fritz (9) | 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 |
| US Open | Fourth round | Botic van de Zandschulp | Arthur Gea (LL) | 3-6 6-7 7-6 7-6 6-4 |
| US Open | Quarterfinals | Frances Tiafoe (11) | Alex Michelsen | 5-7 3-6 7-5 6-3 7-6 |
The deepest came in the US Open quarterfinals, where Frances Tiafoe, the 11th seed, beat Alex Michelsen in a fifth-set tiebreak, his second comeback of the season; Michelsen had also lost a two-set lead at Wimbledon. None came in a semifinal or final. Scores from the tournaments in play are on the Vertize tennis scores page, the rest of the tour is in the tennis section, and how often the No. 1 seed wins a major is a separate piece.
Comebacks from two sets down: frequently asked questions
How often do players come back from two sets down? In men's Grand Slam singles since 2000, the player trailing two sets to love won 522 of 8,494 completed matches, 6.1 percent, about one in 16.
Who has the most comebacks from two sets down? Andy Murray, with 10 at the majors, the record according to the Australian Open. Roger Federer and Fabio Fognini have eight each since 2000.
How often does the first set winner win the match? In 78 percent of completed men's Grand Slam matches since 2000, and in 94 percent after winning the first two sets.
Who has come back from two sets down in a Grand Slam final? Six men since 2000: Gaston Gaudio, Dominic Thiem, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the last five in 2020 or later.
How this was built: every men's singles match at the four majors from the 2000 Australian Open to the 2026 US Open, 13,589 in 107 draws (Wimbledon was not played in 2020), taken set by set from the ATP Tour results archive. A comeback is a completed match won by the player who lost the first two sets; 532 retirements and defaults and 46 walkovers are left out. Every match was checked against the Wikipedia draw pages: 25 differ only in games, and five from 2001 and 2002 that disagree on the sets or on how the match ended are left out, leaving 13,006. Seeds are as printed in the official draw; see also our methodology. Data collected September 28, 2026.