It remains one of the greatest quips the game has heard.
“And let that be a lesson to you all. No-one beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row.”
Gerulaitis’ acerbic assessment came in 1980 when the American finally beat Jimmy Connors after losing their previous 16 meetings.
British number two Cameron Norrie has also turned to drollness as he prepares to face another opponent who has a 100% winning record over him.
Norrie, Britain’s final hope in the Australian Open singles, faces Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the third round on Friday, having lost all six of their previous meetings.
Asked what he can use as a positive, 30-year-old Norrie joked: “I think I beat him in juniors once.”
Lopsided head-to-head records are not unusual at the highest level but some are considerably more dominant than others.
France’s Gael Monfils has lost all 20 of his meetings with 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic – the worst head-to-head record in ATP Tour history.
Other flawed records include Richard Gasquet’s 18-0 against Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer’s 17-0 against Roger Federer.
Being bounced by the all-time greats is not surprising, but there are some anomalies among the statistics.
Reigning Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek, for example, has lost all of her six meetings with Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko.
After losing to Ostapenko in Stuttgart last season, Swiatek disputed she had a mental block, saying her head “was much more clear” than previous matches.
But two-time major champion Coco Gauff, who lost her first seven matches to Swiatek, said finally beating the Pole allowed her to “play free” when they met.
American Gauff is now on a four-match winning streak against Swiatek, although she still trails 11-5 overall.
“It’s still a big gap in the head-to-head, [but] I just erase it from my mind. I can’t change the past, but I learned from it,” Gauff said.
“I don’t know how it will be at the end of our careers, but at least I know in future matches I won’t be starting with the mental deficit.”
Norrie is not a player who seems fazed by the player across the net.
But joking or not, harking back to beating Zverev when they played as teenagers over a decade ago might provide an additional boost.
“Since then he’s got me every single time. He’ll know that,” 26th seed Norrie said.
“But it’s nice being the underdog again. To go and play him, nothing to lose.”
There is no doubt 28-year-old Zverev has more damaging weapons than the Briton, but it remains a match-up that Norrie relishes.
Going toe-to-toe with the three-time Grand Slam finalist in a Melbourne five-set thriller two years ago provides optimism.
“It’s a match I feel quite comfortable with – especially in the rally I’m going to get rhythm,” said Norrie, who was ranked as high as eighth in the world in 2022.
“I’m going to have to really to push him and make him uncomfortable for four hours to have a chance.
“He’s a very complete player and he looks like he’s playing well. I’m looking forward to it.”
Originally published at BBC Sport
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