The Great Matches Thread

[britbox]

I'll begin:

Federer / Safin, 2005 Australian Open SF.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPmjKraXr34

 

 

[Moxie]

That is one of my favorite matches of all time, if only because Safin held his head together, for once, and played the tennis he was capable of.  Against a very top Fed.

I still think that the Wimbledon final 2008 is the best of them all, as it had everything.

But I'll add Djokovic d. DelPotro, SF Wimbledon 2013.  Great match, and it reminds us why we miss Juan Martin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di71p-O_mTI

 

 

[Billie]

Nole - Roger US Open 2011:

https://youtu.be/3DKyNtRPGyQ

 

 

[shawnbm]

The 1984 Super Saturday midnight special between Connors and McEnroe.  Ended around midnight.  Don't know if is out there, but that was bodacious.  The New York crowd was well into the booze and the best of the three great matches under the lights that splendid day and evening.

 

[britbox]

The 1984 Super Saturday midnight special between Connors and McEnroe. Ended around midnight. Don’t know if is out there, but that was bodacious. The New York crowd was well into the booze and the best of the three great matches under the lights that splendid day and evening.

Here you go buddy.... a record crowd at Forest Hills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcDF08fg21A

 

[MashaFan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n37U4YYso80

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srjaas8C18s

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Masha Fan, Sharapova's 2008 AO title to me personally,was her best GS win.Sharapova was dominant from start to finish,especially with her win against Henin on route to the final,Henin simply had no answer at all.Thanks for posting the highlights of that match.

 

[MashaFan]

@Margaret McAleer

Thanks   and welcome to discuss.tennis

 

[mikecase]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZKliLyWBV4

 

[shawnbm]

Over the Veterans Day holiday I watched two classics--Seles v. Graf in 1993 in Melbourne and then last night the Nadal-Federer five set thriller from Melbourne in 2009.  My Lord what level of play in the latter match--wow!  I only saw it one (and then only part of it) once, so the two of them through the first three sets were just unbelievable.  Those three sets were higher quality than the 2008 Wimbledon final to my mind.  I then had to go to bed since it was almost midnight for me.  Roger really ought to have won the third set, but Rafa showed why he was top dog at that time.  His BH was superlative and Roger was shanking a lot less back then--he won a lot of the longer points in those first three sets and his net approaches yielded a 68% point victory rate through the first three sets.  I think Rafa had won only one point more than Roger through those three sets.  Great stuff!

 

Seeing Seles and Steffi battle brought back great memories.  I liked both of them, even though Monica was an earlier version of Maria Sharapova and others with the grunting.  Steffi had beaten her the prior major final they played at SW19 in 1992 and comprehensively--2 and 1, if memory serves.  Monica would reverse it in three hard fought sets this time around.  Two months later, she would be attacked in Hamburg and pull out of the game for two years.  She would return in 1995 and win her very first event without losing a set and ultimately lose the USO final to Steffi in three sets that year, before winning her final major in Melbourne in 1996.  Interestingly, I do believe the WTA allowed her to return co-No. 1 with Graf when she came back.  In winning the 1996 AO, she actually won that major three consecutive times (that she played in), which may still be a record.

 

[britbox]

Not the greatest match, but maybe one of the greatest comebacks.

Former Champion Jimmy Connors v Mikael Pernfors at Wimbledon.

Connors was 1-6 1-6 1-4 down... and found a way to win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLF72pyrpI0

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TrTdiRbmUA