Top 5 best Wimbledon matches ever played

Wimbledon will start on June 27th, with the doubles matches starting on June 29th. 

With a tournament having a history of well over a century, it is very difficult to pinpoint the best matches played of all time. Nonetheless, here is a compilation five of the best matches played at the All England Club:

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1. Roger Federer v Rafael Nadal – 2008 Wimbledon Final

Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final, winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (8-10), and 9-7. The event also had two rain delays and a dusky conclusion. Both the players were at the peak of their power and they had collectively won 14 of the 16 previous Grand Slams.

Here’s how it went. Nadal started off well, taking both sets 6-4. Federer had fought back to take a 4-5 lead when the third set was put on hold. The reigning champion won the third and fourth sets 6-7 after play began more than an hour later. In the fourth set tiebreak, Federer averted two Championship points.

In the fifth set, which ended with a 7-7 score with Nadal serving for the title, there was little room for error between the participants. Federer swiftly stopped him and continued the match . The Swiss was two points away from winning his sixth consecutive Wimbledon Championship following another brief rain delay, but as luck would have it, that was not to be. Seven hours after the match began, Nadal broke Federer’s serve and won the decisive set 9-7 in a display of unparalleled endurance.

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This match is often compared with Borg v Monroe 1980 classic. Many consider this as the greatest tennis match of all time, with final dubbed ‘the most memorable in the Open Era’ by ESPN.

2. John Isner v Nicolas Mahut – 2008 Wimbledon First Round

Rarely does a ranking of the greatest Wimbledon matches ever include a first-round tennis match… yet it’s unusual for this particular match to be left off the list! Neither of the players is by any means regarded as a great at the game, but because it felt like it would go on forever, this game gained worldwide attention.

With a final score of 6-4,3-6,6-7(7-9),7-6(7-3),70-68 for a total of 183 games, the match required 11 hours, 5 minutes of play across three days. Both in terms of time and games played, it continues to be by far the longest tennis match in history. The last set alone broke the previous mark for the longest game. At the end Isner came out on top.

The encounter, known as “the endless match,” saw both players break a number of Wimbledon and tennis records, including both serving over 100 aces.

3. Björn Borg v John McEnroe – 1980 Wimbledon Final

John McEnroe v Björn Bjorg must be included on any ranking of the best Wimbledon matches. Bjorn Borg, the top-ranked player, was up against John McEnroe, the second-ranked player. The Borg-McEnroe matchup was very popular outside of the tennis community because of the contrasting style of personalities.

When the fourth-set tiebreaker rolled around, McEnroe had already saved five championship points and had sent Borg, who was the crowd favourite, to a fifth set. The 1981 final’s 18-16 fourth-set tiebreaker may have been the sport’s most exciting 22 minutes ever. Eventually Borg came out on top of McEnroe.

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4.Roger Federer v Novak Djokovic-2019 Wimbledon Final

July 14th 2019, Sunday is perhaps one of the most memorable days in sports. As the battle of titans, Roger v Djokovic was raging on in the Centre Court of Wimbledon, not far away, the ICC ODI cricket world cup final between England and New Zealand was going on.

In a thrilling five-set match at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3) to win his 16th Grand Slam championship. This was the first time a tournament final had ever been decided by a fifth-set tiebreaker. The epic match was the longest Wimbledon final in history, lasting four hours and 57 minutes. Federer and Djokovic squared off in the Wimbledon Championships final, and a see-saw struggle broke out between the two legends.

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5. Andy Murray vs. Novak Djokovic – 2013 Wimbledon Final

The lack of British male Wimbledon singles champions since 1936 infuriated British tennis fans. The greatest British hope in a long time, Andy Murray of Scotland, had fallen to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final of 2012. When Murray faced Novak Djokovic in the 2013 Wimbledon final round, expectation from his home nation to win the tournament was growing.

If you were to look at the scorecard—a 6-4 7-5 6-4 victory over world No. 1 Novak Djokovic—you might assume that he had an easy time of it. However, it was a grueling test of nerve, skill, and physical fortitude.

David Cameron, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson the present prime minister if the United Kingdom(then mayor of London), Alex Salmond(the then first minister of Scotland), and even the Queen were among those who paid respect to the Scot.