Sports is an interesting field. It takes you on a journey of a fairy tale which sees athletes conquer their life long dreams in a moment. Yet it is closer to reality than fairy tales and miracles. To achieve those dreams, athletes are taken on a journey similar to life itself filled with dedication, hard work, heartbreak, success, failure. Tennis as a sport is brutal yet satisfying, fair yet unfair, gives you instant gratification and yet capable of breaking your heart like no other sport. What makes tennis matches so great is that it is all down to the players on the court.
The match is on their rackets and the ball is in their court. Below is the list of the five greatest tennis matches of all time which have defined the sport and yet transcended it:
5. Novak Djokovic V Rafael Nadal - 2012 Australian Open Final:
Novak Djokovic Won: 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5
The longest Grand Slam Final in tennis history and the best Australian Open tennis final ever. Novak Djokovic had won 3 Grand Slam titles in 2011 and had just beaten an in-form Andy Murray in the semi-final. Nadal was also playing some of his best tennis. Nadal won the first set 7-5, it lasted 80 minutes as each player fought for every point. Djokovic bounced back and won the next two sets 6-4 and 6-2. Although the score sounded one sided it could have gone either way at the time. In the fourth set, Djokovic was leading 4-3 and 40-0 up on Nadal’s serve in the eighth game. Rafa did what he does best, he fought with everything he had and unleashed his forehand twice, with winners that won him the game and eventually the set. Fourth set tiebreak performance of Rafa might just be the best example of his fighting spirit and heart. Nadal broke early to take a 4-2 lead in the fifth set, however this time it was Djokovic who showed his fighting resilience by breaking back. Eventually, in the 11th game, Djokovic was once again able to break Nadal’s serve and hold his own to once again, lift his favorite trophy. The match lasted 5 hours and 53 minutes. Every point was brilliant.
Also Read | Novak Djokovic Net Worth
4. Roger Federer v Rafael Nadal – 2017 Australian Open Final
Roger Federer won: 6-4, 3-6, 6-1,3-6,6-3
This is one of the two matches of these two greats on the list. This might just be the most significant matchup between the rivals as both of them were coming from long injury breaks and their peak tennis behind them. Roger was coming from a six month break due to knee injury and Rafa had an injury riddled 2016 which saw him withdraw from his beloved French Open third round. Coming into the final, they had both played nail biting five setters against Wawrinka and Dimitrov respectively in the semis. Federer was seeded 17th and Rafa was seeded 9th. Nadal was leading their head to head 23-10 going into the match. In each set, one or the other dominated. The first set, Roger Federer took with an easy 6-4 win while Rafael Nadal responded with his own 6-3 set. In the third set, Federer took it 6-1 while Nadal did the same 6-3. But in the fifth set, Federer showed why he was considered to be the best of all time by many around the world. Even though Roger Federer was down 1-3, he played the most clutch tennis of his whole career. He let loose on his groundstrokes, barely hitting any slices. He hit the backhand hard and big into the Rafa forehand and overturned the deficit to win 6-3 in the end. This was his 18th major at the time for Federer. In the trophy presentation, Roger fitting said, “Tennis is a cruel sport, there are no draws here but if there were I’ll be happy to share it with Rafa today”.
3. Novak Djokovic V Roger Federer- Wimbledon 2019 Final
Novak Djokovic won: 7-6,6-1,7-6,6-4,13-12.
Ouch, this one is hard. For every Roger fan around the world, if they were going to see their idol lift a trophy one more time, this was it. Just a few weeks’ shy of his 38th birthday, Federer was proving why he’s the GOAT. His game was an art form that took him all the way to the final to play Djokovic. Roger did everything right in this match, led in every department, the match was on his racket the whole time, had two match points at 8-7 ,40-15 but he could not finish the match. Novak was resilient, consistent, clutch and sometimes lucky. All the factors needed to win the trophy. Roger played some incredible tennis and he eventually set up two match points, but Novak saved them both and went on to win the match after 4 hours and 53 minutes in a 5th set tie-break. The rules of Wimbledon had recently changed and at 12 all in the final set, it went to a tie-break. This was the very first year of this rule change.
Special mention:
Goran Ivanisevic v Pat Rafter - 2001 Wimbledon Final
Goran Ivanisevic Won: 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 9–7.
If ever there was a fairy tale story about tennis this would surely be the script. By the summer of 2001, Ivanišević was ranked the world No. 125. This ranking was too low to be in the main draw, but as he previously reached 3 Wimbledon Finals (losing all three times to Agassi & Sampras) he was awarded a wildcard entry. He defeated former and future world No. 1 players Carlos Moya, Andy Roddick and Marat Safin and in the semi-finals beat home favorite Tim Henman in a five set, rain-affected semi-final, setting up a match with the previous year's runner-up and former US Open champion Patrick Rafter. It was Ivanisevic’s first singles final since 1998. In a match lasting just over three hours, Ivanisevic defeated Rafter 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 9–7. Ivanisevic became the lowest-ranked player and the first wildcard entry to win Wimbledon. The big left-handed serve brought him his only Grand Slam title.
Also Read | Roger Federer Net Worth
2. Bjorn Borg v John McEnroe - 1980 Wimbledon Final
Bjorn Borg Won: 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (16-18), 8-6
There are many who would have this as number one on their list, and they would not be wrong. It saw Bjorn Bjorg, who was probably the coolest person to ever play the game against John McEnroe, the American hothead who brought all the drama. Another legendary tennis rivalry. Having lost the opening set to an all-out McEnroe assault, Borg took the next two and had two championship points at 5–4 in the fourth. However, McEnroe averted disaster and went on to level the match in Wimbledon's most memorable 34-point tiebreaker, which he won 18–16. In the fourth-set tiebreak, McEnroe saved five match points, and Borg six set points, before McEnroe won the set. Björn served first to begin the 5th set and fell behind 15–40. Borg then won 19 straight points on serve in the deciding set and prevailed after 3 hours, 53 minutes. It was Borg’s fifth straight Wimbledon title. It was also his last.
1.Roger Federer V Rafael Nadal - 2008 Wimbledon Final
Rafael Nadal Won: 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (6-8), 9-7.
Federer had won the previous five Wimbledon titles in a row, beating Nadal in 2006 and 2007. Between them they had won 14 of the previous 16 Grand Slam titles. This however, was to be the greatest tennis match of all time. Nadal was the King of Clay, Federer was the King of Grass, so everyone thought Federer had one hand on the title already. Despite Nadal being the underdog he won the first two sets 6-4 6-4. The next two sets were among the highest-quality tennis that was ever played in the history of the sport. In the fourth set, Nadal was up 5-2 at one point and even had championship points, but Federer held on and went on to win the fourth set. The fifth set was epic, with both players taking the lead, coming close to winning only for it to go on and on. Eventually Nadal got the break to win 9-7. Nadal’s fighting spirit got him through it. Amazingly he saved 12 of the 13 break points he faced. On the most famous court in the world, they played four hours and 48 minutes of classic grass court tennis, the longest final in Wimbledon history at that time. The final points finished in under a darkening London sky.
Also Read | Rafael Nadal Net Worth
