Best tennis match of the last 7-8 years?

F

Fr4Nc0

Rookie
So my girlfriend, who doesnt like tennis, has finally agreed to watch a tennis match with me. i feel like this is the only chance i'll ever get to get her hooked to the sport, so I wanna choose a great match to watch with her.

It needs to be intense, emotional and with great shotmaking. Preferably with federer in it.

Any suggestions? (I was thinking AO 2009 final or AO 2012 semifinal or the Masters final against nalbandian or something along those lines)
 
T

timnz

Legend
2008 Wimbledon

Never seen a match before or after with the drama, fantastic rally's where the stakes are so high. The backhand pass on the run by Federer to save match point in the 4th set was a highlight. It's a pity darkness had an impact on the patch - maybe they would still be playing for it now!
 
F

Fr4Nc0

Rookie
timnz said:
Never seen a match before or after with the drama, fantastic rally's where the stakes are so high. The backhand pass on the run by Federer to save match point in the 4th set was a highlight. It's a pity darkness had an impact on the patch - maybe they would still be playing for it now!
Click to expand...

I remember actually tearing up a little bit when hewitt took off that set from Djokovic at the AO this year. I dont think ive ever seen that much drama on a tennis court, but I think you have to be a hardcore tennis fan with actual knowledge of the game to appreciate how much Hewitt's performance meant.
 
P

purge

Hall of Fame
timnz said:
Never seen a match before or after with the drama, fantastic rally's where the stakes are so high. The backhand pass on the run by Federer to save match point in the 4th set was a highlight. It's a pity darkness had an impact on the patch - maybe they would still be playing for it now!
Click to expand...
someone not hooked to the sport already will surely have fallen asleep by the time federer decided to finally join the match halfway into the 3rd set. so that would be a terrible choice.

im not even sure you should go for one of those big epic 5 setters or has she agreed to spend like 5 hours + on this experiment? lol

if you really want to go with a 5 setter id say either one of these
fed - safin AO 05
fed - nalby TMC 05
fed - nadal AO 09
nadal - verdasco AO 09
fed - djoko USO 11

and out of those i would probably say fed - safin or nadal - verdasco would be the best fit for you here.

BUT i think youd probably fare better by taking fed - djoko FO 11 even tho (or maybe because) it was just a 4 setter lasting roughly 3 1/2 hours. and the quality opf shotmaking was sizzling throughout with ony 2 little dips (djoko early in the 2nd and fed early in the 3rd set). also the atmosphere was there all the time and the crowd went wild with every winner fed hit lol.
 
C

Colin

Professional
I'd show her something with Fed at the WTFs that would be on the shorter side, full of shotmaking, not a lot of time wasting. Keep it under 2.5 hours.

Waiting for Nadal to serve in a match could turn someone off tennis forever.
 
P

purge

Hall of Fame
Colin said:
I'd show her something with Fed at the WTFs that would be on the shorter side, full of shotmaking, not a lot of time wasting. Keep it under 2.5 hours.

Waiting for Nadal to serve in a match could turn someone off tennis forever.
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yeah. just the downside with those is that every one that has feds shotmaking at its best is a total demolition job.

thats generally a problem when recommending fed matches you kinda always have to decide between quality of shotmaking or tension and drama. cause whenever he was actually on top of his game he would just destroy everone and not get taken to a tense decider
 
chaddles

chaddles

Semi-Pro
Fr4Nc0 said:
I remember actually tearing up a little bit when hewitt took off that set from Djokovic at the AO this year. I dont think ive ever seen that much drama on a tennis court, but I think you have to be a hardcore tennis fan with actual knowledge of the game to appreciate how much Hewitt's performance meant.
Click to expand...

Not my choice but I know what you mean. Living in Australia, everyone was stating that Tomic > Hewitt during the summer. That match shut A LOT of people up.

I'm going with Federer v Safin 2005 AO SF.
 
westside

westside

Hall of Fame
chaddles said:
Not my choice but I know what you mean. Living in Australia, everyone was stating that Tomic > Hewitt during the summer. That match shut A LOT of people up.

I'm going with Federer v Safin 2005 AO SF.
Click to expand...

Took the words out of my mouth.
 
J

jakemcclain32

Banned
I'm going with a tie. Nole/Rafa this year, and Rafa/Roger in 08.

Two different surfaces, but just back and forth, great shot after great shot, and both incredibly unpredictable.
 
Warmaster

Warmaster

Hall of Fame
Depends on what you want, if a one sided match with great shotmaking is good, you could try Federer-Blake YEC final.

Otherwise Federer-Safin 2005 or Federer-Djokovic RG 2011 are great as well.

What about Federer-Nalbandian AO 2003 or YEC 2005?

I'd stay away from Nadal matches, unless you want her to fall asleep inbetween points!
 
basil J

basil J

Hall of Fame
Lot's of great Highlights on you tube. Maybe the short highlights of several great matches will allow you to show her different styles of play. Some examples:
Agassi -Fed from the US open 2004
Samparas-Agassi-2001 US open semi(One of the best matches I have ever seen)
Nadal-Coria -any clay court battle-great shot making
Nalbanian-Fed any hard court match from early 200's
Roddick -Nalbandian 2001 US open semi
Fed -Sampras wimby match
Capriatti-Henin Us open semi-Lots of drama
The list could go on & on.
 
borg number one

borg number one

Legend
The 2008 Wimbledon final. That was an epic match between two all time greats, played at the "cathedral of tennis". Watching that match would also convey how much tradition and history there is in pro tennis.
 
kishnabe

kishnabe

Talk Tennis Guru
Djokodal Fan said:
plain and simple AO2012 final!!
Click to expand...

I think he gf might break up with him for showing that horredous 6 hour butt picking match.


I would say 2007 Wimbledon Final ( Fairly quick for a 5 setter and has different speeds and rhy thm so it won;t be boring), 2009 AO Semifinal, or just watch the 2012 FO Final in a few weeks coming up.

2008 Wimbledon final is overrated, and you can't magically create rainbreaks for Drama while watching on DVD.
 
JeMar

JeMar

Legend
Not a match with two big names, but Roddick v. El Aynaoui from the 2003 Aussie Open is the best match of the last decade in terms of drama, shot-making, entertainment, and heart. It's a little long (the last set is over two hours long), but it's well-worth it. That match pretty much encapsulates everything that is wonderful about tennis and sports in general.


Watch it with her and she'll become a fan for sure.
 
forzamilan90

forzamilan90

Legend
Wimbledon 2008 final between Federer and Nadal....

cannot think of a better match than that, I was going to have a heart attack during this one (especially during the tiebreaks towards the end). Emotional match, highly significant (Nadal's triumph, Fed's heroic comeback and fighting till the end, highly symbolic match), was a battle, had insane shot making throughout. Had rain delay too for extra drama. Seriously that match is the biggest match of all time easily I think in terms of importance of circumstance, and also happened to be one of the best, if not the best tennis displays too.
 
forzamilan90

forzamilan90

Legend
my above post was in regards to what I think is the best match, but if she has short attention span or something...show her Fed exhibition matches: like the Hewitt demolition at U.S. Open or vs Roddick at Australian Open. Fed was on during those matches.
 
C

Colin

Professional
JeMar said:
Not a match with two big names, but Roddick v. El Aynaoui from the 2003 Aussie Open is the best match of the last decade in terms of drama, shot-making, entertainment, and heart. It's a little long (the last set is over two hours long), but it's well-worth it. That match pretty much encapsulates everything that is wonderful about tennis and sports in general.


Watch it with her and she'll become a fan for sure.
Click to expand...

On second thought, go with this excellent idea. It's long but you could offer an intermission. Of course, she won't want to stop watching anyway. If she does, it was not meant to be.

I also like the Venus-Davenport suggestion if she might be more interested in a women's match.
 
Shaolin

Shaolin

G.O.A.T.
Isner/Mahut...

Have a drinking game, each ace=drink


Seriously though I would go with the Fed/Safin AO Semifinal. Or 09 Nadal/Dasco semifinal.
 
Big_Dangerous

Big_Dangerous

Talk Tennis Guru
purge said:
someone not hooked to the sport already will surely have fallen asleep by the time federer decided to finally join the match halfway into the 3rd set. so that would be a terrible choice.

im not even sure you should go for one of those big epic 5 setters or has she agreed to spend like 5 hours + on this experiment? lol

if you really want to go with a 5 setter id say either one of these
fed - safin AO 05
fed - nalby TMC 05
fed - nadal AO 09
nadal - verdasco AO 09
fed - djoko USO 11

and out of those i would probably say fed - safin or nadal - verdasco would be the best fit for you here.

BUT i think youd probably fare better by taking fed - djoko FO 11 even tho (or maybe because) it was just a 4 setter lasting roughly 3 1/2 hours. and the quality opf shotmaking was sizzling throughout with ony 2 little dips (djoko early in the 2nd and fed early in the 3rd set). also the atmosphere was there all the time and the crowd went wild with every winner fed hit lol.
Click to expand...

Wimby 2008 not on that list?
 
P

purge

Hall of Fame
Big_Dangerous said:
Wimby 2008 not on that list?
Click to expand...
nope. as the first sentence from my post was in regard to someone suggesting the 08 wimby final. in all honesty it took until well into the 3rd set for fed to finally arrive and make it a high quality match from there. by that time his g/f will be done with tennis
 
zagor

zagor

Bionic Poster
If you can somehow cut out the non-play bits (I don't know if she'll get bored waiting for Nadal to serve) I think the best match to show to a newcomer you want to bring into tennis is Nadal-Verdasco 2009 AO SF.
 
S

Say Chi Sin Lo

G.O.A.T.
This isn't with your time range, but those back-to-back Agassi/Rafter Wimbledon semi's were ridiculous.

Agassi vs. Rafter 2000 Wimbledon Semifinal
Agassi vs. Rafter 2001 Wimbledon Semifinal
 
Rock Strongo

Rock Strongo

Legend
JeMar said:
Not a match with two big names, but Roddick v. El Aynaoui from the 2003 Aussie Open is the best match of the last decade in terms of drama, shot-making, entertainment, and heart. It's a little long (the last set is over two hours long), but it's well-worth it. That match pretty much encapsulates everything that is wonderful about tennis and sports in general.


Watch it with her and she'll become a fan for sure.
Click to expand...

Yes! That match just oozes excellence!
 
Leelord337

Leelord337

Hall of Fame
The MOST classic match hands down was the 2008 Wimbledon final (it had a little bit of everything but I hate seeing federer down match points so I don't have a real urge to watch it again :) ) ^^^and nadal/verdasco 2009 aussie open had lots of drama too

The best match in terms of quality was the 2009 Madrid final that was 4 hours long and 3 sets, Nadal d Djokovic.. I would also have to throw in the Aussie Open 2012 final and the semi final w/Murray vs Djokovic---2 amazing matches.

Oh..almost forgot, Kohlschreiber d Roddick in the 2008 Aussie open in 5 sets, 1hbh show for that match --crazy stats 180 winners only 60 errors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtTCxepCPbA
 
Last edited:
jones101

jones101

Hall of Fame
Paul Murphy said:
Nadal v Verdasco at the 09 AO.
A genuine classic.
Click to expand...

What a great match.

Verdasco was godly that night and pushed Nadal to the peak of his ability that night.

Verdasco's shotmaking that night was sensational and one of the best perforamnces ive seen from a loser. 80+ winners past Nadal is unreal
 
P

purge

Hall of Fame
Leelord337 said:
Oh..almost forgot, Kohlschreiber d Roddick in the 2008 Aussie open in 5 sets, 1hbh show for that match
Click to expand...

yeah i really liked that match too

but whenever i bring it up people go crazy about how horrible roddick played there.. when in truth he didnt play that bad at all. at least imo
it was just the absolute best performance we will ever see from kohli
 
C

Colin

Professional
This thread inspired me to rewatch highlights of all four of Fed and Nadal's WTF match-ups. I'd say the 2006 match should be a contender if you want something that's only two sets, short and sweet. At 6-4, 7-5, it was the closest of the encounters (the only one with a final set that didn't end in a bagel or breadstick).

Though Nadal won a set in 2010, the outcome in that one didn't truly feel in doubt, and the quality in 2006 is very high from both. This is maybe the best I have seen Nadal on indoor hard court. He managed to stage mini-comebacks in both sets, forcing Fed to raise his game with masterful shotmaking.

If that whets her appetite for longer Fedal showdowns, you could try that Rome 2006 final, the amazing clay match with Nadal that Fed really should have won.
 
Hood_Man

Hood_Man

G.O.A.T.
There aren't many matches that I can watch in full after knowing the result, but Goran winning Wimbledon is one for the ages.

[EDIT]

Which of course was 11 years ago, not 7-8...

Reading fail...
 
Last edited:
P

Paul Murphy

Hall of Fame
jones101 said:
What a great match.

Verdasco was godly that night and pushed Nadal to the peak of his ability that night.

Verdasco's shotmaking that night was sensational and one of the best perforamnces ive seen from a loser. 80+ winners past Nadal is unreal
Click to expand...

Some of the forehands from both were simply sensational.
I remember Rafa hitting one way out of court and it curling back in for a winner in the corner.
I can't remember Verdasco ever hitting his forehand better - when it's "on" it's one of my favourite shots.
 
West Coast Ace

West Coast Ace

G.O.A.T.
Paul Murphy said:
S
I can't remember Verdasco ever hitting his forehand better - when it's "on" it's one of my favourite shots.
Click to expand...
He also served huge in that match. Didn't just roll in serves.

I have that match on my netbook and will watch it on flights to EU or Asia if the in flight movie choices are lame. The hitting point after point was amazing.
 
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