Wednesday night in Indian Wells, Nick Kyrgios topped Novak Djokovic to snap the Serb’s 19-match winning streak at the BNP Paribas Open. It was an impressive run for the world No. 2, who has swept the two prizes of the spring hard-court season – Indian Wells and Miami – each of the last three years.
Those 19 consecutive wins fall well short of the U.S. Championships/US Open record, however. The overall mark is held by Helen Wills, who won 46 in a row from 1927 to 1933, and the U.S. men’s is owned by Bill Tilden, won from 42 consecutive matches from 1920 to 1926.
The Open era records are held by Roger Federer and Chris Evert, at 40 and 31, respectively. Coincidentally, Federer plays Kyrgios Friday in the quarterfinals.
Here’s a closer look at the U.S. Championships/US Open records for longest winning streaks (Open era records in italics):
MEN
1. Bill Tilden – 42 (1920-26)
2. Roger Federer – 40 (2004-09)
3. Ivan Lendl – 27 (1985-88)
4. John McEnroe – 26 (1979-82)
5. Maurice McLaughlin – 20 (1912-14)
WOMEN
1. Helen Wills – 46 (1927-33)
2. Chris Evert – 31 (1975-79)
3. Helen Jacobs – 28 (1932-36)
4. Serena Williams – 26 (2012-15)
5. Kim Clijsters – 22 (2005, 2009-10, 2012)
