Best all-time match-ups.

[Paul Murphy]

List your favourite all-time match-ups and if you feel energetic say why they are.

1) Lendl v McEnroe - plenty of feeling between these two - and the classic duel between a superb serve-volleyer and a killer from the baseline.

2) Connors v McEnroe - disliked each other a lot of the time -there was always a decent chance of an explosion. Connor's return versus Mc's serve.

3) Borg v McEnroe - Wimbledon epic - changing of the guard.

4) Federer v Djokovic - a work in progress but Fed troubles Djok - I just wish the great man was a couple of years younger.

[jayoub95]

Agassi v Sampras - worlds best returner against worlds best server

[Nadal_Power]

Always Lendl vs McEnroe

[gavna]

Borg-Connors
Borg-McEnroe
McEnroe-Lendl (these two guys REALLY hated each other)
Borg - Vilas on RED CLAY!!!!!! bring drinks and food and enjoy the afternoon.
Vilas or Borg - Gerulaitis.....always good

[kiki]

Any match between

Hoad/Laver/Gorgo/Muscless

any match between

Borg/Lendl/Mac/Connors

Becker vs Edberg

Gerulaitis vs Lendl

Connors vs Tanner

Nasty vs Laver

Newcombe vs Roche

Ashe vs Laver

Sampras vs Agassi

cash vs Wilander/Lendl

[kiki]

...Lend vs Becker and some Lendl vs Wilander or Lendl vs Edberg, too

[vive le beau jeu !]

rafter vs agassi gave some nice matches...

[Limpinhitter]

No brainer: The Rocket vs. Muscles! Nothing else comes close!

[kiki]

Originally Posted by Limpinhitter

No brainer: The Rocket vs. Muscles! Nothing else comes close!

Ali vs Frazier ? Magic vs Larry ? Nicklaus vs Player ?...Nixon vs Keneddy?

USSR VS USA¡¡¡

[robow7]

Connors vs. Lendl, showed unusual animosity toward one another and at the time, probably the biggest groundstrokes on both sides of the net.

[kiki]

Panatta vs Connors, while often overlooked, provided very exciting matches.Stockholm,RG,USO.Their 1978 encounter at Flushing is a classic of the event.

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by Limpinhitter

No brainer: The Rocket vs. Muscles! Nothing else comes close!

The greatest matchup and the greatest tennis, without a doubt:
Gonzales vs. Hoad, 1958 and 1959
The two greatest players ever, going at it for 136 matches over 24 months.
The only qualification for this awesome display is that Hoad's back hindered his play for about 25 of the matches, which more than accounts for the difference in the final tally (74 to 62 for Gonzales, although Hoad held an edge in tournament meetings against Gonzales, especially at Forest Hills (2 to 1 for Hoad), Roland Garros (1 to 0 for Hoad), Kooyong (1 and 1). Years later, they met at Wimbledon in a three-set marathon, reviving the old glory.
These two players usually were inspired to their best tennis against each other.

[kiki]

Originally Posted by Dan Lobb

The greatest matchup and the greatest tennis, without a doubt:
Gonzales vs. Hoad, 1958 and 1959
The two greatest players ever, going at it for 136 matches over 24 months.
The only qualification for this awesome display is that Hoad's back hindered his play for about 25 of the matches, which more than accounts for the difference in the final tally (74 to 62 for Gonzales, although Hoad held an edge in tournament meetings against Gonzales, especially at Forest Hills (2 to 1 for Hoad), Roland Garros (1 to 0 for Hoad), Kooyong (1 and 1). Years later, they met at Wimbledon in a three-set marathon, reviving the old glory.
These two players usually were inspired to their best tennis against each other.

This is definitely the match up I am missing the most not to have seen it...did you see them around 1959 or 1960?

Other great matches I missed seeing from the far past:

Tilden vs Cochet
Kramer vs Gonzales
Vines vs Crawford
Budge vs Perry
Sedgman vs Kramer/Gonzales

each would be worthy a lot of bucks...did you see any of´em?

[heathcliff]

edberg vs. krickstein / chang ... always great match-ups

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by kiki

This is definitely the match up I am missing the most not to have seen it...did you see them around 1959 or 1960?

Other great matches I missed seeing from the far past:

Tilden vs Cochet
Kramer vs Gonzales
Vines vs Crawford
Budge vs Perry
Sedgman vs Kramer/Gonzales

each would be worthy a lot of bucks...did you see any of´em?

I was eight or nine years old at the time of the Hoad/Gonzales tours. However, there are clips available on historical DVD's of Hoad and Gonzales. There is a posting of Vines and Crawford from the 1933 Wimbledon final on the internet, from close-up at courtside.
Kramer did not allow television of the major pro tournaments in the late 1950's for fear that it would hurt ticket sales, so the great Forest Hills tournaments were not captured.
However, ABC (Australian Brodcasting Corporation) televised a 1962 Hoad-Rosewall final (won by Hoad), and the 1963 Kooyong matches between Laver and Hoad (a great five-setter won by Hoad) and Laver and Rosewall (Laver won in four sets). These still exist in the ABC archives, and should be released.
The 1967 Wimbledon Pro, including the Hoad-Gonzales match, was televised by BBC, and should still exist in their archives. BBC has recently been releasing many telecasts from the 1960's, including the great 1964 Hamlet, so they do respond to public pressure.

[kiki]

tNAKS

Originally Posted by Dan Lobb

I was eight or none years old at the time. owever, there are clips available on historical DVD's of Hoad and Gonzales. There is a posting of Vines and Crawford from the 1933 Wimbledon final on the internet, from close-up at courtside.
Kramer did not allow television of the major pro tournaments in the late 1950's for fear that it would hurt ticket sales, so the great Forest Hills tournaments were not captured.
However, ABC (Australian Brodcasting Corporation) televised a 1962 Hoad-Rosewall final (won by Hoad), and the 1963 Kooyong matches between Laver and Hoad (a great five-setter won by Hoad) and Laver and Rosewall (Laver won in four sets). These still exist in the ABC archives, and should be released.
The 1967 Wimbledon Pro, including the Hoad-Gonzales match, was televised by BBC, and should still exist in their archives. BBC has recently been releasing many telecasts from the 1960's, including the geat 1964 Hamlet, so they do respond to public pressure.

Thanks.Some of us are glad to find an even older ( but young at hart) tennis seasoned fan.

From the point of view of spectacle, I have few doubts that Hoad is up there with Laver,Mac,Connors,Nastase and Gonzales.

[Xavier G]

Some of the best have been Borg-Connors, Borg-Mac, Mac-Connors, Mac or Connors-Lendl, Mac-Wilander, Lendl-Wilander, Lendl-Becker, Becker-Edberg, Lendl-Edberg, Lendl-Cash (spelling them out helps you remember how good they were), and more recently the matches involving the Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray quartet.
Top three (in any order on a given day!) would be Borg-Connors, Borg-Mac and Mac-Lendl, with Mac-Connors fourth.

[Limpinhitter]

Originally Posted by kiki

Ali vs Frazier ? Magic vs Larry ? Nicklaus vs Player ?...Nixon vs Keneddy?

USSR VS USA¡¡¡

If you're gonna go there:
Green Bay Packers vs. Baltimore Colts
USA vs. USSR
Johnny Valentine vs. Red Bastien

[pc1]

Rosewall-Laver
Borg-Connors
Connors-McEnroe
Tilden-Cochet
Tilden-Lacoste
Budge-von Cramm
Gonzalez-Hoad
Federer-Nadal
Djokovic-Nadal
Nastase-Stan Smith
Rosewall-Hoad
Evert-Navratilova
Wills-Lenglen
BJ King-Goolagong
Evert-Goolagong

[kiki]

Originally Posted by Limpinhitter

If you're gonna go there:
Green Bay Packers vs. Baltimore Colts
USA vs. USSR
Johnny Valentine vs. Red Bastien

Beatles vs Stones
Punks vs Skins
Rockers vs Mods
Chamberlin vs Russell