What makes a tennis match great? Is it the longevity, the drama, an endless amount of momentum swings? Does a prestigious title have to be on the line? Is a long-standing record about to be shattered?
Maybe all of the above?
The following eight matches are, in my opinion, the greatest men’s tennis matches the world has witnessed within the last ten years. Each match is different from the others in terms of the stakes and scoreline, but they were all dramatic and thrilling to watch. Here are the first four of those matches:
8. John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut (6-4, 3-6, 6-7(3), 70-68), Wimbledon 2010, First Round
Nope, that’s not a typo. In an unprecedented battle between American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut that lasted over 11 hours and spanned three days, Isner prevailed in what was (and probably will forever remain) the longest tennis match of all time.
Naturally, the quality of tennis deep in the fifth set dropped significantly as the players fought constant exhaustion, but the mental toughness of both players to keep going and fight through the ever-increasing pressure extremely admirable, and is therefore worthy of a mention on this list; indeed, a mental battle of such proportions will probably never be seen again on a tennis court.
7. Andre Agassi vs Marcos Baghdatis (6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 7-5), U.S. Open, Second Round
The stakes couldn’t have been higher for legendary American player Andre Agassi. At 36, Agassi was playing in the final tournament of his career, and he was up against one of the rising stars of the game, 21-year-old Marcos Baghdatis of Cyrpus.
The match was an instant classic as the players found themselves at 4-4 in the fifth set, with Agassi serving but barely able to walk, and Baghdatis cramping from stress. The crowd went ballistic as the score fluctuated from deuce to break point Baghdatis, then back to deuce, again and again; ultimately, there were eight deuces and four break points in the game, with Agassi eventually holding serve and going on to win the match.
Although he would lose his next match and subsequently retire from tennis, Agassi proved to the tennis world by winning this marathon of a match that he still had the game and mind of champion.
6. Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic (6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9-7), French Open, Semifinal, 2013
World number one Novak Djokovic from Serbia was seeking his first French Open crown as he battled to topple reigning champion Rafael Nadal. This was no small order: Nadal, a native of Mallorca, had won a total of seven French Opens, losing the clay-court tournament only once before in his life. The only momentum going in Djokovic’s favor was that Nadal had been injured the last several months and was attempting to make a comeback.
The match was a seesaw as both players fought to gain control; Nadal got broken serving for the match in the fourth set, but Djokovic failed to capitalize on a 4-2 lead in the fifth set. The match came to a head at 4-3 when Djokovic, serving at deuce, ran into the net after putting away an easy ball from Nadal, which automatically gave Nadal the point.
The momentum seemed to swing away from Djokovic after that, and it was ultimately Nadal that prevailed after four and a half hours of high quality tennis. Surely one of the better semifinals in history, this match had all of the ingredients that make up a classic, and continues to be viewed as a defining match in the Nadal-Djokovic rivalry.
5. Roger Federer vs Juan Martin Del-Potro (3-6, 7-6(5), 19-17), Olympic Semifinal, 2012
Swiss legend and then-number one Roger Federer had won just about every tennis accolade imaginable - except for the Olympic singles gold medal. Fortunately, the 2012 Olympics were being played at the Wimbledon courts, where Federer had just won the major title a few weeks prior. By winning this match, Federer would book a spot in the Olympic finals and finally earn another chance to contend for the elusive medal. Standing in his way, however, was Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro, a player notorious for pulling dramatic upsets against top players.
It was del Potro who looked the stronger of the two after taking the first set 6-3. but Federer came roaring back, winning a dramatic tiebreaker in the second set and pushing the match to a deciding third set. Neither player showed any sign of slowing down as the pressure gradually rose with the scoreline and the crowd became more and more hysterical. The match became a war of mental strength as the score went to 13-13, then 14-14.
Federer finally managed to break del Potro’s serve to go up 18-17 and serve for the match, but del Potro wasn’t about to go down quietly. After fighting from 15-30 to win a match point, Federer netted a sitting volley and brought the score to deuce. The next two points went Federer’s way, however, and he closed out the longest best of three match in tennis history after four hours and 26 minutes.
Although Federer would lose the gold medal match to Andy Murray, the semifinal he played against del Potro remains one of the greatest tennis matches to have been played at the Olympics, and certainly one of the greatest in all of tennis history.
