[yazetaw]

After Kim Clijsters removed herself from the One-Slam Wonder category by winning the US Open, there are really only three players who can make a serious claim as the best female one-slam wonder: Gabriela Sabatini, Jana Novotna, & Conchita Martinez. But who was the best from this group?. Here are some stats to help you decide:

Singles Titles: Conchita (33) Sabatini (27) Jana (24)

Doubles Titles: Jana (76) Sabatini (14) Conchita (13)

Grand Slam Singles Finals: Jana (4) Sabatini (3) Conchita (3)

Grand Slam Wins: Jana (1) Sabatini (1) Conchita (1)

Highest Singles Ranking: #2 Conchita #2 Jana #3 Sabatini


As you can see, all three are very close in career stats. However, for me Jana gets the top spot over Sabatini and Conchita as she accumulated 76 doubles titles, which is very impressive. Also, Jana reached 4 Slam Finals, Sabatini and Conchita only reached 3. Between Sabatini and Conchita, I have to give Conchita the #2 slot since Conchita's 33 singles titles trumps Sabatini's 27. It appears to me, Conchita and Jana outperformed Sabatini for their careers. There is no denying Sabatini was good, but Jana and Conchita appear to have been just a little better. So I would rank them as follows:

1. Jana (Very talented & underrated)
2. Conchita (Overshadowed by Sabatini, but Conchita was more successful)
3. Sabatini (A terrible choker & underachiever. Sabatini was mentallly frail, and her career pales in comparison to Jana's or Conchita's)

So that is how I rank these 3 One-Slam Wonders. How do you rank them?.

[CarmenSanches]

Even though I was never a fan, I think Conchita is, by a slim margin, the top of the three. Her game bored me to tears, but it was so effective. She competed at a top level for many years, her Slam was on grass, but she also got to a hardcourt (AO) and a clay Slam final.

If you factor in doubles, I would go with Novotna.

[payporanymn]

I think you have to factor in:
-who they lost to in the grand slam finals and to a lesser degree, the score
-YEC won
-years spent in the top ten
-olympics

For Sabatini she lost both finals to Graf:
USO: 3-6 6-3 1-6
Wimby: 4-6 6-3 6-8
Her one GS title (USO) came after beating Graf in straights.

Won 2 YECS and 2 RU

10 years as Top 10 (consecutive)

Silver medal Seoul '88

Novotna:
Lost GS finals to:
AO to Seles: 7-5 3-6 1-6
Wimby to Graf: 6-7 6-1 4-6
Wimby to Hingis: 6-2 3-6 3-6
Her one GS title (Wimby): beat Tauziat in straights.

Won 1 YEC

Bronze medal Atlanta '96

Finished in the Top 10 7 years (not consecutive)

Martinez:
Lost GS finals:
AO to Hingis: 3-6 3-6
RG to Pierce: 2-6 5-7
Won Wimby against Navratilova in 3 sets.

Never won YEC
No Singles Olympic medals

Finished 9 years in Top 10 (not consecutively)

[enurneAcourdy]

Too easy!

[enurneAcourdy]

When I think of one slam wonders, I think singles only. If we are including doubles, they are not all one slam wonders.

If we include doubles, it's easily Jana.

[KLhdfskja]

I find this thread to be completely disrespectful!!!
Totally!!!
C'mon, guys. Iva Majoli.
IVA MAJOLIIIIIII!!!!!!!!

[Peretool]

Also, Sabatini by far had the best H2H record against Graf, who was the dominant player of the era.

I would rank her first, followed by Jana and Conchita.

[enurneAcourdy]

Nobody may speak ill of Iva without my permission.

[Ephedrine]

Nobody may speak ill of Iva without my permission.

Seconded.

[attackDoold]

Are we all forgetting about Myskina?

[cigattIcTot]

I gotta go with Jana because of the massive amount of doubles talent she had. I loved Sabatini but her inability to win Grand Slam SF's looks really bad (and she made it to a TON of Grand Slam SFs. She was 3-15.) . Conchita...I dunno, I was never very impressed with her game. Definitely Jana. I think she also had a lot more flair on the court than the other 2, which helps her cause in my book.

[yazetaw]

Also, Sabatini by far had the best H2H record against Graf, who was the dominant player of the era.

I would rank her first, followed by Jana and Conchita.

I wouldn't get too carried away with Sabatini's H2H against Steffi (11-29). Sabatini's 11 wins might look like a big number, but Steffi dominated their rivalry for the most part. I agree, Jana and Conchita had far less success against Steffi then Sabatini did. But I wouldn't rank Sabatini the best simply based on her limited success against Steffi. If your going to do that, you should consider Jana's success against Monica Seles. In their 8 H2H matches, Jana beat Monica 4 times. When you compare Monica's H2H against Sabatini, we find Monica beat Sabatini 11 of 14 matches. So, you can clearly see, Jana had much more success against Monica then Sabatini did. And, in my book, Monica was one of the greatest to ever step on court. Just some food for thought.

[KLhdfskja]

Just wondering: is it too early to put Ivanovic in the conversation?
I mean, she did get to number one...
Made two other GS finals...
Even better looking than Gaby....
I mean, still too early?...

[Automobill]

I am too young for Sabatini, but Conchita was super boring and Jana was truly effective only on grass...

[yazetaw]

I am too young for Sabatini, but Conchita was super boring and Jana was truly effective only on grass...

Sabatini's game, although at times exciting, was mostly glitter & glamour without the results. Conchita's game, which could be boring, was much more effective then Sabatini's. As for Jana, I think your selling her just a little short. Yes, her grass court results speak for themselves, but Jana's results on other surfaces are better then you might think. After all, Jana did reach the 1991 Aussie Open Final, beating Steffi along the way. Of course, the Aussie Open is played on a hard-court surface. Just something for you to consider.

[Automobill]

Sabatini's game, although at times exciting, was mostly glitter & glamour without the results. Conchita's game, which could be boring, was much more effective then Sabatini's. As for Jana, I think your selling her just a little short. Yes, her grass court results speak for themselves, but Jana's results on other surfaces are better then you might think. After all, Jana did reach the 1991 Aussie Open Final, beating Steffi along the way. Of course, the Aussie Open is played on a hard-court surface. Just something for you to consider.

1991 is too early for me to remember and I didn't bother looking it up, but I did look up Martinez-Sabatini H2H and it stands at at 9-6 in favor if Gabi (3-1 in GS and 6 in a row during her best years). Hardly and effective argument in favor of Martinez game...

[enurneAcourdy]

1991 is too early for me to remember and I didn't bother looking it up, but I did look up Martinez-Sabatini H2H and it stands at at 9-6 in favor if Gabi (3-1 in GS and 6 in a row during her best years). Hardly and effective argument in favor of Martinez game...

Never mind the Sabatini-Novotna head to head.

[enurneAcourdy]

I would pretty much break it down this way:

Most talent: Novotna, then Sabatini, then Martinez

Best results, singles and doubles: Novotna, then Sabatini, then Martinez.

Best results, singles only: Sabatini, then Novotna, then Martinez (although 2 and 3 are VERY close).

Sabatini reached at least the semis of all four majors at least four times, each. It took the games greats to take her out - Navratilova, Graf, Seles. And when she did win, she beat Graf, the greatest singles player of all time. The fact she and Graf played so many times is a testament to Sabatini's results - she was so often in the last two rounds of every event she played. Plus, her H2H is strong against Novotna (10-3), and good against Martinez (9-6).

I'd place Conchita 3rd in all three categories. Sabatini could play an aggressive net game, but chose only to do it for a short time in her career. But, the ability was there. So, she is second in talent. As far as doubles, Sabatini is just slightly ahead of Conchita because of the doubles major.

[Automobill]

Ranking by talent is highly subjective, don't you think?

At the end of the day only results count...

[enurneAcourdy]

Ranking by talent is highly subjective, don't you think?

At the end of the day only results count...

I only mentioned it because Jana seems to be getting some extra credit for all that "Navratilova-type" talent.