Petzschner's Dubious Grand Slam Mark Men's tennis is experiencing an age of unprecedented record-setting and players who are able to play equally well on all surfaces, making the present into what some are calling a golden age for the sport. While the likely Hall of Famers Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic contend for a Grand Slam, Philipp Petzschner of Germany made his own sort of history at Wimbledon on Wednesday. Petzschner, currently ranked 101st, lost his second-round match to 31st-seeded countryman Florian Mayer despite winning the first two sets, losing by 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6, 4-6. The loss from two sets up at the All-England Club meant that Petzschner had completed the somewhat ignominious feat of having blown two-set leads at all four Grand Slam tournaments, having previously done so at the Australian Open (twice), the French Open and the United States Open. According to the A.T.P."s statistics guru Greg Sharko, Petzschner's five losses from two sets up are the most among all active players. Petzschner first lost from the brink of victory at the 2009 U.S. Open, falling by 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6, 4-6 in the second round to Juan Carlos Ferrero. He then lost by 6-0, 6-2, 4-6,2-6, 2-6 to Mayer in the first round at the 2010 Australian Open. Mayer, whom his most recent collapse against came, shares more with Petzschner than just these two see-saw matches - they were both born in Bayreuth, Germany, a town of just over 72,000. Four months later came a 6-3, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 5-7, 7-9 to the Australian wild card Carsten Ball in the first round of that year's French Open. Since the latter two came in the first round, the three losses came not only in consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, but in consecutive Grand Slam matches. In what could have been the fourth straight at Wimbledon 2010, Petzschner managed to save himself. Having won the first two sets against the 76th-ranked Frenchman Stephane Robert, Petzschner dropped the third and fourth sets before salvaging a 6-4, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 2-6, 6-4 win. Petzschner eventually lost to top-ranked Rafael Nadal in the third round of the tournament. The match went five sets, but Petzschner won the second and third sets not the first and second, thereby squandering only a two-sets-to-one lead. Though his streak was broken, Petzschner made it four collapses in six major tournaments with a 6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 3-6, 4-6 loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the 2011 Australian Open. Though this habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory might be his most unique characteristic, Petzschner is fully capable of winning. At the 2012 Australian Open, Petzschner was only two games away from an elusive "triple bagel," leading the Czech Lukas Rosol by 6-0, 6-0, 4-0 before dropping two games in a 6-2 set. Given his history, his desire to not give Rosol any daylight in the match becomes more understandable. Petzschner has also had considerable success in doubles, winning two Grand Slam titles (Wimbledon2010 and the 2011 U.S. Open) with his Austrian friend Jurgen Melzer. Because of his doubles prowess, Petzschner was only one of the three men selected to represent Germany in tennis at the 2012 Olympics. Petzschner hasn't always been on the wrong side of these epic comebacks. At the 2007 U.S. Open, Petzschner recovered to beat Benjamin Becker 2-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 in his first main draw match at a Grand Slam. Although best-of-five matches in doubles are rare (played only at Wimbledon and Davis Cup), Petzschner recently managed to let a two-set lead slip with a partner as well, falling with Tommy Haas, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 4-6, to the Argentine pair of David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank at a Davis Cup tie in February. At least that time his scoreline misery had some company.