2012 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles final to avoid being the first male player since his coach Ivan Lendl to lose his first four finals. The 2012 Wimbledon Men's Singles final was the third Grand Slam final that Federer and Murray had contested. Federer had won both previous finals, at the 2008 US Open and the 2010 Australian Open. Since Federer's victory at the 2010 Australian Open, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic had combined to win nine consecutive major tournaments, and had competed head-to-head in the last four consecutive finals. Nadal, however, had suffered a second round defeat to world no. 100 Lukas Rosol. Federer, on the
1996 US Open – Men's Singles 1996 US Open – Men's Singles Pete Sampras was the defending champion, and successfully defended his title, defeating Michael Chang 6–1, 6–4, 7–6 in the final to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1996 US Open. Sampras' run was highlighted by a memorable quarterfinal match against unseeded Alex Corretja. Sampras had a stomach bug and actually threw up in the fifth set, prompting a warning from the referees for delaying the match. Corretja nearly pulled the upset, but Sampras won 9-7 in the fifth set tiebreak. In the draw for the tournament, there were accusations of American favouritism