Most significant matches of the decades

I need to think of earlier decades but here goes the last 4 decades:

1970s: Borg v. Connors Wimbledon final 1977. This marked the turning point in the rivalry of the 2 outstanding players of the 70s, and also from this point on Borg probably took over from Connors as the best player in the world (whatever the computer says: Borg was the best player in the world from Wimbledon 77-Wimbledon 81). And the match was so close, it could have easily gone the other way. If Connors had won this Wimbledon the legacies of Borg and Connors looks different with Connors on 3 Wimbledons, and Borg on 4. But I wonder if Borg might have lost confidence playing at Wimbledon. I think he could get very discouraged by defeats.

I don't think the Ashe 75 victory over Connors was as significant. It didn't mark a turn-around in the Ashe-Connors rivalry, being a 1 off upset. And though Ashe may be considered the true no.1 of 75 on the basis of his Wimbledon victory, I still think Connors played the highest quality of tennis that year.

I don't include Riggs v. King because it was an exhibition, though very important.

1981 McEnroe v. Borg Wimbledon final and 1985 Lendl v. McEnroe US Open final
Both matches not only decided who was the year end no.1 but also marked the beginning of lengthy reigns as no.1 and a drastic turnaround in rivalries.

1990s
1995 US Open final Sampras v. Agassi
This match stopped Agassi's momentum in its tracks just as it looked as if he was about to topple Sampras. Agassi took over as no.1 in 99 due to Sampras' injury.

2000s so far
2006 Federer v. Nadal Wimbledon final
Absolutely essential win to prove that he's the true no.1. I don't think the 2001 Federer v. Sampras match is because I think if Federer hadn't won Sampras would still not have won Wimbledon. With the tennis he was playing, Sampras wouldn't have got past Tim, Goran and Rafter.

Fed v Samp.

Changing of the guard.

sypl said:

Fed v Samp.

Changing of the guard.

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I think this match is blown out of proportion in its importance. Federer didn't go on to achieve great things until 2 years later. This match made no difference to Federer's career and I don't think it even changed Sampras'. I think Sampras was going downhill by 2001 and wouldn't have won Wimbledon even if he'd beaten Federer.

as much as it pains me to say it....after fed lost to hewitt in the davis cup, after being up 2-0, in 2001? 2002?? ...he became GOAT after that

(that was hewitts best match ever i reckon, but it started a juggernaut therefafter of FED= GOAT) (and i don't even like fed as a player much personallyy, but admirehis tennis prowess

Rafter over Chang, 97 USO Semis. Chang was #2 and the overwhelming favorite of the 4 players left in the draw (along with Rusedski and Bjorkman). The unheralded Rafter absolutely demolished Chang in the most dominant pure S&V performance since McEnroe retired. It signaled Rafter's arrival. Sadly, it also was the beginning of the end of Chang's run as a slam contender.

1990 wimbledon final. It settled the rivalry for the no.1 spot between the three crown princes Edberg, Becker and Wilander to finally dethrone Ivan Lendl after years and years of being at no.1.

But Wilander was no.1 in 88 and wasn't contending for no.1 in 90. Lendl's reign as no. was long over by 90. Becker was the true no.1 of 89 whatever the computer said.
The 90 Wimbledon final was very significant in that it was the handing over of the no.1 spot (again forgeeting the computer) from Becker to Edberg. edberg was to hold on to his no.1 spot in 90-91.
i still think the 95 Us Open final was the most important of the 90s. I think the Agassi sampras rivalry would have been different and alot more people would claim agassi as the greater player. Sampras stopped Agassi when he was playing his very best tennis in Flushing Meadows 95.

1978 - Navratilova d. Evert at Wimbledon. This was the changing of the guard, ending Evert's first and longest reign at #1. And though Martina's reign at the top was to be interrupted from 1980-81, this is really where it began, with the first of her 9 Wimbledon victories. I don't know if this match gave her the #1 ranking on the computer, but I think it should be regarded as the day the tables turned in the Chris-Martina rivalry -- the day it really became a rivalry.

1980s - I think both Evert's defeat of Navratilova at the 1985 French Open and Graf's dethroning of Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1988 are good candidates for match of the decade. The first one revived an old rivalry that was going dead, giving women's tennis a consistent challenger to Navratilova in her prime, and taking the #1 ranking from her (briefly). The second one was a huge changing of the guard. If I had to choose, I'd pick Graf-Navratilova.

1990s - There's a temptation to pick that Hamburg match where Seles was stabbed. But if we stick to what was done with the tennis racquet, then perhaps Seles' defeat of Graf at the 1990 French Open. Graf's defeat of Seles upon her return in 1995, in the U.S. Open final, was quite significant too.

My memory of tennis in the late 90s is not so good; nothing sticks out in my mind from those years.

Sampras v Agassi, USO 95?

sandy mayer said:

1990s
1995 US Open final Sampras v. Agassi
This match stopped Agassi's momentum in its tracks just as it looked as if he was about to topple Sampras. Agassi took over as no.1 in 99 due to Sampras' injury.

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Whatever. Agassi won 2 slams and made it to the final of a 3rd.

sandy mayer said:

Agassi took over as no.1 in 99 due to Sampras' injury.

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Agassi actually first took the number 1 ranking in 1999 after Wimbledon (where he lost to a very much fully fit Sampras). Sampras already held the ranking points from the semi-final of the 1998 US Open. I doubt Sampras would have taken the number 1 year end ranking. On this topic why is year end ranking so significant anway.

Sampras is famous for six year end number 1s, and he undoubtably deserves credit for this, but during these years Agassi took the number 1 ranking on several occasions. For example in 1995 Agassi spent more weeks at number 1 than Sampras, Sampras just ended the year as number 1.

I am not even sure weeks at number 1 is terribly significant for determining greatness of players at all. For a start the ranking system has been flawed over the years. Connors ended year number 1 for 1977 and 1978 but all experts agree he was not the best player in these years. The ranking governing body even went against their rankings and named Borg the player of the year both these years. Secondly players do not strive to obtain another 10 weeks at number 1. McEnroe's, Sampras's, Lendl's, Borg's failures were not in failing to hold onto the number 1 ranking for longer, they were failing to win an elusive grand slam. Agassi of course completed his career grand slam in 1999.

krosero said:

1978 - Navratilova d. Evert at Wimbledon. This was the changing of the guard, ending Evert's first and longest reign at #1. And though Martina's reign at the top was to be interrupted from 1980-81, this is really where it began, with the first of her 9 Wimbledon victories. I don't know if this match gave her the #1 ranking on the computer, but I think it should be regarded as the day the tables turned in the Chris-Martina rivalry -- the day it really became a rivalry.

1980s - I think both Evert's defeat of Navratilova at the 1985 French Open and Graf's dethroning of Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1988 are good candidates for match of the decade. The first one revived an old rivalry that was going dead, giving women's tennis a consistent challenger to Navratilova in her prime, and taking the #1 ranking from her (briefly). The second one was a huge changing of the guard. If I had to choose, I'd pick Graf-Navratilova.

1990s - There's a temptation to pick that Hamburg match where Seles was stabbed. But if we stick to what was done with the tennis racquet, then perhaps Seles' defeat of Graf at the 1990 French Open. Graf's defeat of Seles upon her return in 1995, in the U.S. Open final, was quite significant too.

My memory of tennis in the late 90s is not so good; nothing sticks out in my mind from those years.

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1990s?
I'd take the Wimbledon 1992 final.
Graf vs. Seles, the two best and successful players of that decade at the most prestigious slam.

WCT final: Ken Rosewall v. Rod Laver.

Set off the 1970's tennis boom in the US.

I don't disagree with any of the above choices. But I think these matches are also significant:


70's - 1976 US Open F Connors d. Borg - Borg lost his best chance to win the US Open since it was on clay.

1972 French Open F Court d. Evert - The 70's is the decade of Chris Evert. And even though she lost this match, it removed any doubts that Chris was on her way.

80's - 1981 US Open F McEnroe d. Borg - This match essentially broke the will of the Swede and ushered in his retirement. Had Borg won this match or had he been motivated by the loss, Connors may have never won another slam, and the Borg/Mcenroe rivalry may have reached an even higher apex than it did.

1984 US Open F Navratilova d. Evert - Evert said that had she won this match it would've been the perfect match to retire on. But she let this close loss motivate her to keep going. The rivalry was renewed where it has the potential to be buried.

90's - 1992 US Open F Edberg d. Sampras - The 90's belonged to Sampras. And it was this loss that motivated him to re-dedicate himself to the game and become perhaps the greatest male player of all time.

1991 Wimbledon F - Graf d. Sabatini - Sabatini's choke began the erosion of her game that had potential to play spoiler to the emerging Graf/Seles rivalry. The demise of Sabatini coupled with the Seles stabbing ensured that the rest of the 90's would become a dead spot in the history of womens tennis.

00's - 2001 Wimbledon Federer d. Sampras - I don't think there really is another candidate for match of the decade. Federer needed this win to become the player that he is today.

2002 Wimbledon F S. Williams d. V. Williams - Serena asserts herself over her sister. It's too bad that neither Williams sister is committed 100% to tennis. Henin is more or less best compared to Hana Mandlikova in terms of style. So this is probably what the 80's would've looked like had either Martina or Chris retired early with Hana winning more slams, as Henin is doing while the Williams sisters move from one interest to the next.

suwanee4712 said:

I don't disagree with any of the above choices. But I think these matches are also significant:


70's - 1976 US Open F Connors d. Borg - Borg lost his best chance to win the US Open since it was on clay.

1972 French Open F Court d. Evert - The 70's is the decade of Chris Evert. And even though she lost this match, it removed any doubts that Chris was on her way.

80's - 1981 US Open F McEnroe d. Borg - This match essentially broke the will of the Swede and ushered in his retirement. Had Borg won this match or had he been motivated by the loss, Connors may have never won another slam, and the Borg/Mcenroe rivalry may have reached an even higher apex than it did.

1984 US Open F Navratilova d. Evert - Evert said that had she won this match it would've been the perfect match to retire on. But she let this close loss motivate her to keep going. The rivalry was renewed where it has the potential to be buried.

90's - 1992 US Open F Edberg d. Sampras - The 90's belonged to Sampras. And it was this loss that motivated him to re-dedicate himself to the game and become perhaps the greatest male player of all time.

1991 Wimbledon F - Graf d. Sabatini - Sabatini's choke began the erosion of her game that had potential to play spoiler to the emerging Graf/Seles rivalry. The demise of Sabatini coupled with the Seles stabbing ensured that the rest of the 90's would become a dead spot in the history of womens tennis. ....

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The 1990s had the two greatest matches ever in women's professional tennis.
The FO 92 final Seles-Graf and the legendary FO 99 final Graf-Hingis.
There were some other matches that will be remembered by tennis fans in decades to come:
Wimbledon 93 final Graf-Novotna
Wimbledon 95 final Graf-Sanchez
USO 95 final Graf-Seles
FO 96 final Graf-Sanchez

The current decade has had only one slam final so far that is comparable to these 90s classics: The Wimbledon 05 final.

Borat72 said:

The 1990s had the two greatest matches ever in women's professional tennis.
The FO 92 final Seles-Graf and the legendary FO 99 final Graf-Hingis.
There were some other matches that will be remembered by tennis fans in decades to come:
Wimbledon 93 final Graf-Novotna
Wimbledon 95 final Graf-Sanchez
USO 95 final Graf-Seles
FO 96 final Graf-Sanchez

The current decade has had only one slam final so far that is comparable to these 90s classics: The Wimbledon 07 final.

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Are you talking about the men's final?

noeledmonds said:

Agassi actually first took the number 1 ranking in 1999 after Wimbledon (where he lost to a very much fully fit Sampras). Sampras already held the ranking points from the semi-final of the 1998 US Open. I doubt Sampras would have taken the number 1 year end ranking. On this topic why is year end ranking so significant anway.

Sampras is famous for six year end number 1s, and he undoubtably deserves credit for this, but during these years Agassi took the number 1 ranking on several occasions. For example in 1995 Agassi spent more weeks at number 1 than Sampras, Sampras just ended the year as number 1.

I am not even sure weeks at number 1 is terribly significant for determining greatness of players at all. For a start the ranking system has been flawed over the years. Connors ended year number 1 for 1977 and 1978 but all experts agree he was not the best player in these years. The ranking governing body even went against their rankings and named Borg the player of the year both these years. Secondly players do not strive to obtain another 10 weeks at number 1. McEnroe's, Sampras's, Lendl's, Borg's failures were not in failing to hold onto the number 1 ranking for longer, they were failing to win an elusive grand slam. Agassi of course completed his career grand slam in 1999.

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I second this post in all of its extension. while having almost no knowledge in tennis history and stats, i always had the impression that Sampras was always on the "rampage" for Slams and year ends.

sandy mayer said:

Are you talking about the men's final?

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No, about the Wimbledon 05 final.

no comments on 1970's and 1980's, but in 1990's:

1992 USO F edberg-sampras: this match was the most important match in sampras' career, as sampras reiterated again and again. if sampras had won that match, he probably would'nt have been **ssed off and go on to achieve what he did.

1993 Wim SF sampras-becker: people forget about this match. it was a straight sets victory for sampras, but the scoreline doesn't tell the true story. sampras converted 2 of 4 BP chances while becker was 0 for 6. it could just as easily been the other way around. if sampras had lost, again, his career would probably have been different.

1995 USO F sampras-agassi: if agassi had won this, there's no telling how their respective careers would've panned out.

1999 FO F agassi-medvedev: this victory lifted what would just have been an excellent career into a outstanding career as it made agassi join laver as the only player to win all 4 slams.

70s:

Men
Borg d. Connors 1977 Wimbledon final - Borg established his greatness at the most prestigious tournament.

Connors d. Rosewall 1974 Wimbledon final - The arrival of Connors.
McEnroe d. Gerulaitis US Open final 1979 - Mac's 1st major title

Women

Evert d. Eisel US Open 2nd round 1971 - The arrival of Evert, saving 6 match points to win the match
Court d. Casals US Open final 1970 - The match that completed the calendar Grand Slam for Court
Navratilova d. Evert 1978 Wimbledon final - Martina's 1st major title
Austin d. Evert US Open final 1979 - The arrival of Austin as a major threat and stopping Evert from winning 5 straight US Open titles

Battle of the Sexes
King d Riggs - speaks for itself

Bhagi Katbamna said:

WCT final: Ken Rosewall v. Rod Laver.

Set off the 1970's tennis boom in the US.

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It is, without any doubt, the most significant tennis match of the open era. It generated public interest, made the pro tour a viable concern and paved the way for all of the other matches to follow - on both the men's and women's tour (if the men's tour had faltered the women's would never have survived).

Other matches:

1977: Guillermo Vilas beats Jimmy Connors in the US Open final. Marks the begginings of the Latin American 'boom' we're seeing today.

1985: Ivan Lendl beat John McEnroe in the US Open final. Signalled the end of McEnroe and full ascension of Lendl.

1985: Boris Becker wins his first Wimbledon. Subsequently, tennis booms in Germany (with a little help from Graf - but predominantly Becker's doing) and 'pure power tennis' is ushered in. Lendl also played a large part in the latter event but Becker provided a far more attractive and entertaining argument for that style of play.

1989: Pete Sampras beats defending champion Mats Wilander at the US Open. Signals the arrival of Sampras. I could have gone with Sampras's win over Lendl in the 1990 US Open quarters (breaking Lendl's streak of 8 final's appearances) but think 1989 is more significant.

Federer beats Sampras at Wimby(; the beginning of the potential GOAT?)
And like sypl said before, yes, the changing of the guard

Max Mirnyi yesterday bringing back serve and volley..... i wish...

2004 Wimbledon final Federer and Roddick- this match cemented Federer's dominance in the mens game and seemed the solify the one-sideness of this rivalry for years to come.

1991 Wimbledon final Graf and Sabatini- Graf had gone into a bad slump for her that saw her have alot of surprising losses and lose her #1 to Seles. It also led to a series of losses to Sabatini who she used to own although Gaby was playing better tennis then ever around this tim too. Graf herself said she thought of quitting when earlier that year she lost to Gaby in Tokyo again. Who knows if her career might have really reached dire straights for her if she lost this match. She won it and won Wimbledon again, briefly taking back #1.

grafrules said:

2004 Wimbledon final Federer and Roddick- this match cemented Federer's dominance in the mens game and seemed the solify the one-sideness of this rivalry for years to come.

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My choice also for match of the 2000s so far, much more crucial than Fed-Sampras in 2001. Sampras was becoming a non-factor in slams, whereas Fed was still 2 years away from "clicking" in the spring of 2003. The result didn't matter that much to either man. Even after that victory over Pete, Fed still had a lot of slumps and disappointing results until 2003.

But the Roddick match in the 2004 Wimbledon final was truly crucial. Federer was already establishing himself as the dominant player, but Roddick was still in the running, after all he had finished 2003 as no1 in the world... and although I don't remember exactly, I doubt Federer was considered the *overwhelming* favorite for the Wimbledon final. Losing to Federer in that relatively tight final had a massive impact on Roddick's mental game I think, whereas Federer became even more confident...

Mikael said:

My choice also for match of the 2000s so far, much more crucial than Fed-Sampras in 2001. Sampras was becoming a non-factor in slams, whereas Fed was still 2 years away from "clicking" in the spring of 2003. The result didn't matter that much to either man. Even after that victory over Pete, Fed still had a lot of slumps and disappointing results until 2003.

But the Roddick match in the 2004 Wimbledon final was truly crucial. Federer was already establishing himself as the dominant player, but Roddick was still in the running, after all he had finished 2003 as no1 in the world... and although I don't remember exactly, I doubt Federer was considered the *overwhelming* favorite for the Wimbledon final. Losing to Federer in that relatively tight final had a massive impact on Roddick's mental game I think, whereas Federer became even more confident...

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Yeah I agree. That match was so crucial in reaffirming Federer's confidence to be the dominant player, and reaffirming in his own mind his clear superiority over Roddick, the presumed second best at the time. It also made sapped some of Roddick's confidence and belief in his overtake or even beat Federer.

sandy mayer said:

But Wilander was no.1 in 88 and wasn't contending for no.1 in 90. Lendl's reign as no. was long over by 90. Becker was the true no.1 of 89 whatever the computer said.

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Seems you need to ignore the computer for 1990 too?

Lendl:

6-Aug-90 1 175 30-Jul-90 1 173 23-Jul-90 1 178 16-Jul-90 1 176 9-Jul-90 1 169 25-Jun-90 1 169 18-Jun-90 1 168 11-Jun-90 1 245 28-May-90 1 250 21-May-90 1 254 14-May-90 1 250 7-May-90 1 253 30-Apr-90 1 230 23-Apr-90 1 234 16-Apr-90 1 231 9-Apr-90 1 201 26-Mar-90 1 186 12-Mar-90 1 183 5-Mar-90 1 164 26-Feb-90 1 160 19-Feb-90 1 168 12-Feb-90 1 164 29-Jan-90 1 164 15-Jan-90 1 166 8-Jan-90 1 167 1-Jan-90 1 164

For the record, in 1990, he won the aussie and made the SF of Wimbledon, skipping the French and thus sacrificing many points. He also beat McEnroe and Becker consecutively in straight sets at queens.

For the record, in 1989, he won the AO, lost to becker on grass at W (expected) and lost to Becker in the Final of the US.

sandy mayer said:

2006 Federer v. Nadal Wimbledon final
Absolutely essential win to prove that he's the true no.1. I don't think the 2001 Federer v. Sampras match is because I think if Federer hadn't won Sampras would still not have won Wimbledon. With the tennis he was playing, Sampras wouldn't have got past Tim, Goran and Rafter.

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I don't think this was crucial to keep 1 - I think it was crucial, full-stop. We hadn't seen that Nadal - a burgeoning superpower - would both get injured and fall apart on Hard Court in the second half of the year - and no-one had predicted a W final. I honestly think that if Nadal had have won that match, we may have see a very broken Roger Federer, especially if he maybe lost to him early in the Hard Court season. When I say very broken, i'm talking the sort of mental crushing that is very hard to come back from.

I don't know if this rates as significant, but the 2nd round match between Ilie Nastase and John McEnroe, United States Open, 1979 is noteworthy for a number of reasons; if not only for the match itself, but from the fallout that resulted from it; fallout that could even come into question today. This was a match that very nearly included a full-blown riot; a match that Bud Collins once described as: "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman."

Nastase is in the twilight of his career; McEnroe is the rising star who in 2 years time, will knock Borg off his Wimbledon perch. Nastase knows that he's not going to win the match the way it's going, so he starts to pull out "all the tricks" in an attempt to disrupt McEnroe. Nastase starts arguing line calls, screaming and cursing/insulting both chair umpire Frank Hammond and his opponent, John McEnroe. McEnroe, no meek wallflower himself, is having none of it and is giving it back to Nastase as well, all the while giving the aging star a tennis lesson in the process.

Nastase down 2-1 in sets, and at 2-1 in the 4th set, really starts to turn it up in the psycho department. Frank Hammond, a highly respected chair umpire who was chosen especially for this match between these two nutjobs, quietly pleaded with Nastase to continue play. Bear in mind, the "Code" calls for 4-strikes-and-you're-out: 1. first offence-code warning; 2. second violation-code violation-point penalty; third offence-game penalty; fourth offence-default. So Nastase racks up a code warning and a code violation/point penalty. Nastase freaks out at this stage and ends up getting acessed a game penalty. Nastase refuses to serve. Hammond turns the P.A. system microphone off and begs Nastase to resume play; to serve the ball. Nastase refuses. Mike Blanchard, tournament referee instructs chair umpire Hammond to put Nastase "on the clock" (he had 25 seconds in which to serve). Nastase sticks to his guns and refuses to serve. Hammond: "game, set and match to McEnroe" at which time the crowd riots and starts throwing garbage on the court.

Blanchard seeing a potential for disaster, puts himself in the chair, REINSTATES Nastase, has the court cleaned up and the match resumes with McEnroe easily closing out the match in anti-climatic fashion; Nastase was no longer in McEnroe's class in 1979. What's interesting was that if Nastase was an unknown 18 year old, he would've been booted out of there in 2 seconds and the New York crowd would've probably serenaded this "unknown" derisively on his way out, following the default.

But what's significant was that when a "star" is involved (even an aging one in Nastase), sometimes "The Code" has to be tinkered with. Think about it: if unknown Joe Bag-of-Doughnuts from Pallukaville does what Nastase did that night, he'd be booted out of the tournament on his ass in a New York second. But what if a 'TV' rating "star" such as Andy Roddick went off the deep end? Could you see the chair umpire/tournament referee pulling the plug on a primetime evening match.....without a little "stretching" of The Code?

CEvertFan said:

70s:

Men
Borg d. Connors 1977 Wimbledon final - Borg established his greatness at the most prestigious tournament.

Connors d. Rosewall 1974 Wimbledon final - The arrival of Connors.
McEnroe d. Gerulaitis US Open final 1979 - Mac's 1st major title

Women

Evert d. Eisel US Open 2nd round 1971 - The arrival of Evert, saving 6 match points to win the match
Court d. Casals US Open final 1970 - The match that completed the calendar Grand Slam for Court
Navratilova d. Evert 1978 Wimbledon final - Martina's 1st major title
Austin d. Evert US Open final 1979 - The arrival of Austin as a major threat and stopping Evert from winning 5 straight US Open titles

Battle of the Sexes
King d Riggs - speaks for itself

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I'd put the Evert victory over Goolagong in 76 Wimbledon final in there. Had Goolagong won, the pschological barrier to Evert being a serious grass court
champion might have been daunting for the better part of that decade, her victory over Morazova notwithstanding.

How bout doubles?

I'm too lazy to research the first Navratilova/ Shriver slam title. But sure determined a nice paring in the making for over a decade.

Mcenroe - Gullikson - Wimbledon 1981
Connors - Seguso - Wibledon 1986
Sampras - Bastl - Wimbledon 2001

Any match of Tanner, particulary that one in Germay where he had a special visit from a few friends with a "Polozei" branded shirts...

Great matches

PS: this is of course a joke... tasteless perhaps but still a joke.

1905 Wimbledon Final
H.L. Doherty def. Norman Brookes
8-6, 6-2, 6-4
"No match on this side of the Atlantic ever drew such a crowd and excited such intense interest as the meeting of Brookes and Doherty, and if most of us felt at the finish that the better man had won, we do not forget that the rallies were fierce and long and that the result might have been more in doubt if the holder, like the challenger, had been called upon to face the ordeal and usffer the physical trials of the eliminating contest." - A. Wallis Myers, The Complete Lawn Tennis Player [1908].

My favorite match- Borg vs McEnroe 1980 epic 4th-set tiebreaker at Wimbledon. The match is unforgettable.

OrangeOne said:

I don't think this was crucial to keep 1 - I think it was crucial, full-stop. We hadn't seen that Nadal - a burgeoning superpower - would both get injured and fall apart on Hard Court in the second half of the year - and no-one had predicted a W final. I honestly think that if Nadal had have won that match, we may have see a very broken Roger Federer, especially if he maybe lost to him early in the Hard Court season. When I say very broken, i'm talking the sort of mental crushing that is very hard to come back from.

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My choice is RG 2007. If Nadal had lost that match we may have seen a very broken Rafael Nadal. When I say very broken, i'm talking the sort of mental crushing that is very hard to come back from.

Many excellent significant match choices.

I very surprised no mention of Rod Laver grand slam matches. Laver is in many tennis historians opionions, the true GOAT, Greatest of All Time. Rod was a main factor in creating the tennis boom, as noted in the WCT final verses the great Kenny Rosewall, mentioned in prior threads. I claim the greatest achievement in mens tennis, preopen or open, is the grand slam and Laver one one during both periods. Until Federer wins one, I will not concede him GOAT. Anyways, I will mention that Rods win over 1969 USO final win over the great Tony Roche, to win his 2nd Grand Slam as the "most significant" match.

McEnroe - Borg, Wimbledon 1981