Three things tennis fans love: an upset, a comeback, and a debut. When they happen in the first round at Wimbledon, we love them even more, and remember them longer. We look back at a particularly memorable example of each.

Lori McNeil vs Steffi Graf

Steffi Graf set plenty of records she’s happy to recall. She won a Golden Slam; she won all four majors at least four times; she was ranked No.1 for 377 weeks. But on June 21, 1994, Graf set a record she would rather forget: She became the first defending Wimbledon women’s champion to exit in the opening round, at the hands of 30-year-old American Lori McNeil.

Considering that Graf had lost just once at Wimbledon in six years, this would seem to be a shocker for the ages. But Graf knew that the hard-charging Texan would be a difficult proposition on grass.

“It’s not that big of an upset who I lost to,” Graf said.

Graf had won eight of their nine meetings, but McNeil had broken through in their most recent match. Unlike most opponents who tried to rally with Graf, McNeil rushed the net. This put pressure on Graf to come up with passing shots and allowed McNeil to pick on the German’s backhand.

“It was a big part of my strategy to make her pass me off the backhand side,” McNeil said. “I was making the right choices, the right decisions.”

She didn’t stop. McNeil would reach her only Wimbledon semi-final, where she lost 10-8 in the third set to eventual champion Conchita Martinez.

As for Graf, she moved on quickly. “I’m not going to kill myself over it,” she said. Far from it: she wouldn’t lose at Wimbledon again until 1998.

Final result: 7-5, 7-6(5) (1994)

Magdalena Grzybowska vs Venus Williams

Venus Williams’ Wimbledon debut was always going to be a scene. She was 17 and ranked No.59, but everyone was sure that second number was going to get smaller. Especially Venus, who said she was already looking forward to playing Grand Slam finals against her sister Serena. 

The fact that Williams’ first round match was rained out for four days only fed London’s Venusmania - photographers couldn’t get enough of her beads. At first, Williams seemed unaffected as she raced to an early lead against No.91-ranked Magdalena Grzybowska. With her sister up 6-4, 2-0, Serena pulled out a copy of A Tale of Two Cities and started reading.

If the first 12 games were the best of times, the rest of the match was the worst. A determined Grzybowska found a rhythm on her backhand side. Inexplicably, Williams kept hitting the ball there.

“I don’t know why she was playing like that,” Grzybowska said. “My backhand is my best shot.”

“Venus Has Tumbled Back to Earth!” local headlines cried. Williams, naturally, wasn’t fazed.

“It’s my first Wimbledon,” she said. “There will be many more.”

Two months later, she reached the US Open final. Three years after that, she won the first of her five Wimbledon titles.

Final result: 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 (1997)

Roger Federer vs. Alejandro Falla

Is there a more intimidating place for a journeyman to be than across the net from the defending Wimbledon champion at 1pm on opening day? Is there a more intimidating man to have to face in that match than Roger Federer?

Alejandro Falla was hit with that double whammy in 2010, and there was little reason to think he would survive it. He was ranked No.65, he had lost to Federer twice that season, and he was a clay courter. In other words, he was cannon fodder for Federer.

Except that for two sets, Federer couldn’t get a shot off. Instead of powering the ball past Falla and robbing him of hope, Federer allowed the left-handed Colombian to manoeuvre him around the court and make him stretch for backhands. Falla showed no sign of nerves as he took a two-set lead.

But as they say in boxing, if you’re going to beat the champ, you need to knock him out. Falla staggered Federer, but couldn’t land the lethal blow. After levelling at two sets all, Federer felt free again, and the winners flowed.  

“I got very lucky out there,” Federer said. “You just hope your spiritual strength pushes you through.”

Federer was strong enough to push past Falla, but not to defend his title; he lost to Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals. Still, over the next 10 years there would be many more comebacks where this one came from.

Final result: 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(1), 6-0 (2010)

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