Best play by a pro, still resulting in a loss.

[borg number one]

Here's a match I've always been fascinated by. It was in the 1971 Tennis Champions Class in which Laver defeated Tom Okker in straight sets on his way to winning 13 straight without a loss to win the tournament.

Here's a description of the match from the Fireside Book of Tennis, written by Fred J. Podesta---"I feel I'm better prepared for this match than I was for our first, " said Tom Okker as he went out on the court to challenge Laver again.

And Okker was right. The young Dutchman played perhaps the finest tennis of his life. He had every shot, every move--but Laver had the answer to every shot, every move. It was, to that date, the greatest tennis Laver had played, and it was after this match that the grizzled veteran observer had said that maybe, just maybe, Tilden might have had a chance.

At one point, Okker caught Rod flat-footed in the forecourt but Laver, in desperation, raced backward, caught up with the ball, ran around it and put it away. Okker dropped his racket in astonishment and the spectators, even the umpire in the chair, howled in disbelief and admiration.

In the locker room, Okker declared flatly that he had played as well as he had ever had played, perhaps better than he had ever played, "but I was never even in the match, I couldn't believe some of those shots. He couldn't believe them himself, " Okker moaned.

The date was February 6 in Madison Square Garden. The score was 6-1 6-4 6-3. Laver's earnings were now $90,000.

Another possibility is the 1979 Wimbledon semi between Borg and Connors in which Borg crushed Connors in straight sets. Some have said Connors never played better but won only eight games. I'm not sure about that but Connors did play well imo.

That is an excellent description of how Okker felt on that day versus the Rocket.

Also, here are some newly uploaded highlights on YT from that 1979 Wimbledon SF with Borg vs. Connors. I haven't seen any of this match since that day back in 1979. I can remember staying up late and watching footage on NBC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhsNNplZ0Uo

 

[Moose Malloy]

I think that will be the case with the two examples I gave, Corretja and Verdasco

what were their AM's?

 

[krosero]

what were their AM's?

Corretja's was 24.0% (Sampras had 23.7%).

Verdasco's was 23.6% (Nadal had 23.9%).

 

[kiki]

The classic example of this is Gottfried von Cramm losing to Don Budge in Davis Cup. Playing for his life, producing the match of his life, going up two sets on the best player in the world -- in the biggest tennis event of that time period -- and finally losing 8-6 in the fifth.

It's the sort of thing where a player is better remembered for one epic loss than for any of his victories.

I think that will be the case with the two examples I gave, Corretja and Verdasco. Over the long run they will be remembered most for how hard they pushed two alltime greats on the big stage: and for how hard they pushed themselves. I seriously doubt either of them ever produced better tennis when they won, as compared to what they did in those losses.

Did Budge knew beforehanded V Cramm' s life was at stake?
U hope not

 

[rdis10093]

federer vs safin at aus

 

[kiki]

That is an excellent description of how Okker felt on that day versus the Rocket.

Also, here are some newly uploaded highlights on YT from that 1979 Wimbledon SF with Borg vs. Connors. I haven't seen any of this match since that day back in 1979. I can remember staying up late and watching footage on NBC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhsNNplZ0Uo

Borgn1, the two matches at Wimbledon between both players that will be remembered forever were the 77 final ( with thatConnors comeback dramatically aborted by a double fault) and the 1981 semifinal ( with that amazing comeback from Borg two sets down)
One of the best comebacks from Borg along the 74 RG and 80 USO semi
Luke Jimmy in 77, he barely missed his comeback in the 1980 US OPEN final

 

[borg number one]

Borgn1, the two matches at Wimbledon between both players that will be remembered forever were the 77 final ( with thatConnors comeback dramatically aborted by a double fault) and the 1981 semifinal ( with that amazing comeback from Borg two sets down)
One of the best comebacks from Borg along the 74 RG and 80 USO semi
Luke Jimmy in 77, he barely missed his comeback in the 1980 US OPEN final

Those were their two toughest matches at Wimbledon: the '77 Final and the '81 SF. No lead was very safe with either Connors or Borg on the other side of the net. I had almost forgotten about that 1979 SF before PC1's post. On that day, Borg was just too dialed in. Connors is just going all out on his shots, but Borg just played too well (somewhat like the '81 US Open SF and '78 W Final). I hadn't seen footage of the '79 W SF until seeing that recent upload. Now, I wish we had great footage of their Masters YEC matches as well of course. Perhaps in the future. 1979 was interesting for Borg at Wimbledon in that he had to go through two tough left handers at the end of the tourney. Neither of them was named McEnroe interestingly.

 

[kiki]

Those were their two toughest matches at Wimbledon: the '77 Final and the '81 SF. No lead was very safe with either Connors or Borg on the other side of the net. I had almost forgotten about that 1979 SF before PC1's post. On that day, Borg was just too dialed in. Connors is just going all out on his shots, but Borg just played too well (somewhat like the '81 US Open SF and '78 W Final). I hadn't seen footage of the '79 W SF until seeing that recent upload. Now, I wish we had great footage of their Masters YEC matches as well of course. Perhaps in the future. 1979 was interesting for Borg at Wimbledon in that he had to go through two tough left handers at the end of the tourney. Neither of them was named McEnroe interestingly.

1979 was a year for change for Connors.He married Patty Mc Guire at the end of 78, if I am right, and both expected their son Brett for most of 79.He was never 100% commited to tennis but, of course, you wouldn´t tell.But,yes, that situation took away from him a lot, specially against peak Borg and the huge ambition of Mc Enroe.

When 1980 arrived, Connors was able to beat Borg at exos and turn tables around with Mac.Their 1980 indoor matches, with Connors leading 2-1 after Philadelphia,Memphis and Dallas were absolutely fantastic.

Much like Mac and Lendl in 83 with Phily and Dallas again, and then San Francisco

 

[borg number one]

1979 was a year for change for Connors.He married Patty Mc Guire at the end of 78, if I am right, and both expected their son Brett for most of 79.He was never 100% commited to tennis but, of course, you wouldn´t tell.But,yes, that situation took away from him a lot, specially against peak Borg and the huge ambition of Mc Enroe.

When 1980 arrived, Connors was able to beat Borg at exos and turn tables around with Mac.Their 1980 indoor matches, with Connors leading 2-1 after Philadelphia,Memphis and Dallas were absolutely fantastic.

Much like Mac and Lendl in 83 with Phily and Dallas again, and then San Francisco

Yes, and those Borg-Connors matches at the Masters were just sublime right? two stellar indoor players, just playing great tennis. Great times in tennis! The Connors, Borg, McEnroe trio of all time greats was perhaps the most influential of all time. It's great to enjoy Feder, Nadal, and Federer on the Tour these days. The 1979 footage on YT above is great to watch. Borg is just passing left and right and also serving extremely well. His shotmaking could be great, even against Connors, who was himself a truly great player on all fast surfaces.

 

[krosero]

The '79 Wimb final may have been the best match Tanner ever played. At the time the press was talking about how he put in the best performance of his life to push Borg to five sets, stuff like that.

However his best match ever may have been his USO defeat of Borg later that summer. Tony Trabert, watching the match, said that Tanner served even better than he had in the Wimbledon final (while Borg served worse).

 

[1477aces]

In that case, there can only be one answer: Roddick vs. Federer, 2009 Wimbledon final. Roddick had fewer unforced errors than Federer (25-33), broke Federer twice, and only lost his own serve once; unfortunately for Roddick, that one time was at 14-15 in the fifth set. Roddick could not have played better that day, and he still lost.

Maybe but this was way past-peak Roddick. Roddick 2004 Wimbledon final is a much better example of someone playing their best but still losing.

 

[BTURNER]

Maybe but this was way past-peak Roddick. Roddick 2004 Wimbledon final is a much better example of someone playing their best but still losing.

Which begs the question. Was he playing like he was well past his peak on the above date. That is the thing with age. It comes and goes like a case of herpes. It just shows up more and more often until the sores are obvious most of the time and only occasionally are you blemish-free. That is why 'peak -playing and post peak playing time frames are so deceptive. We get too confident we know how they played by looking at the number or year of a match we haven't seen. Pet Peeve

 

[andreh]

Which begs the question. Was he playing like he was well past his peak on the above date. That is the thing with age. It comes and goes like a case of herpes. It just shows up more and more often until the sores are obvious most of the time and only occasionally are you blemish-free. That is why 'peak -playing and post peak playing time frames are so deceptive. We get too confident we know how they played by looking at the number or year of a match we haven't seen. Pet Peeve

Well put.

+10char

 

[NatF]

Which begs the question. Was he playing like he was well past his peak on the above date. That is the thing with age. It comes and goes like a case of herpes. It just shows up more and more often until the sores are obvious most of the time and only occasionally are you blemish-free. That is why 'peak -playing and post peak playing time frames are so deceptive. We get too confident we know how they played by looking at the number or year of a match we haven't seen. Pet Peeve

I agree entirely, age can explain poor matches but when it's used to completely discredit performances where a player actually plays at their peak level despite their age it really annoys me.

 

[mhkeuns]

My favorite player of all-time, Miloslav Mecir, choking after winning two sets... easily against my second favorite player of all-time, Stefan Edberg in, I believe, 1988 Wimbledon Semi Final. Mecir was merciless in the first two sets... but slowly and surely got tight as soon as Edberg was making shots to stay in the game in the third. It was the only time I rooted against Edberg.

BTW, many of Agassi's early martches were heartbreakers. He'd be the one tossing people around with his heavy ground strokes but end up loosing because of his unforced errors. I think Agassi doesn't get enough credit because Sampras owned him, but he's pretty much resposible for the modern baseline blasting game.

 

[Benhur]

These are the two that first come to my mind.

The best tennis I've ever seen by Roddick was in the first two sets of his 2007 USO match against Federer. He lost both tiebreaks.

And the best tennis I've ever seen by Verdasco was in his loss against Nadal at the 2009 AO.

 

[scootad.]

ASV losing to Graf Wimbledon '95 final
Graf losing to Seles AO '93 final
Novotna losing to Graf Wimbledon '93 final
Seles losing to Graf USO '95 final
Chanda Rubin losing to Seles AO '96 SF
Davenport losing to Venus Wimbledon '05 final

 

[DMP]

My top choice would certainly be Gerulaitis v Borg in their Wimbledon semi.

I would also add Roddick v Federer in the W final of 2009. Mentally I thought it was the toughest I saw Roddick be. People ignore the mental component of play. In 2009 Roddick was older, knew that Federer had a hex on him, and maybe he would not get another chance. So there was a lot of pressure, but he didn't buckle and kept his play at as high a standard as he was capable.

 

[PDJ]

Laura Golarsa v Evert Wimbledon q/f 1989. Golarsa played out of her skin to be within 2 points of winning the match. And she didn't lose it, Evert pulled it out, by a breath!

 

[Qubax]

Roddick 2009 Wimbly is a strong case.

 

[Laurie]

I think Agassi might still be wondering how he lost to Rafter in the 2001 Wimbledon semifinal, he had the match in his hands even though Rafter was an incredible fighter.

 

[bluetrain4]

ASV losing to Graf Wimbledon '95 final
Graf losing to Seles AO '93 final
Novotna losing to Graf Wimbledon '93 final
Seles losing to Graf USO '95 final
Chanda Rubin losing to Seles AO '96 SF
Davenport losing to Venus Wimbledon '05 final

Good pick, and not that obvious, since Chanda wasn't a big star. She played exceptionally well, and that was probably the best match of her career. Wasn't it like 16-14 in the third set?

 

[suwanee4712]

This thread is inspired by a post from the men's claycourter thread where best play from a loss was deemed 'strange'

Think of the occasions when a player/ champion played some their best, most inspired tennis for that you can recall, in a match, and still ended up second. Here is a couple.

Sabatini played the most awesome clay tennis I ever saw out of her, in a '92 RG semifinal vs Seles. Tactically it was as shrewd and effective a match as I ever saw , as a balance between aggression and patience. She kept her error rate down, and never gave Seles two shots that looked alike. She approached on spin and placement rather than power, cut angles down, then opened them up, moved and anticipated very well and had Seles completely exhausted, desperate and down 2-4 in the third. Just when Seles looked like death warmed, She blasted winners and ripped the win away. Sabatini did NOTHING wrong, and competed very well to the bitter end. But the victory was gone.

Poor Evert. She played so many great grasscourt matches with nothing much to show but admiration from crowd and opponent. If I had to pick the greatest grass play I ever saw by the Floridian, I'd pick that '87 semifinal vs Martina which she lost. The stats back this as one of the cleanest matches in tennis from a winner/error ratio. Martina was serving at a very high percentage throughout, volleying at her athletic best. Evert drove her with marvelous returns, lobs and passes, and deep groundstrokes. Evert would have beaten any other S/ver I ever saw play. Evert lost deep in the third. There was another semi like that w/ a Golden Racket Hana stealing a 2-5 set from her, but the stats don't objectively back me up .

Sometimes you do everything great, just the way you dreamed, but life just isn't fair.

I thought the 92 French SF was the smartest and probably best match I saw Gaby play. As you described, she defused Seles' strengths while playing to her own. I've seen Gaby play great matches on her own side of the court, but in this one she was truly outstanding on both sides.

The 87 Wimby SF is my favorite Martina-Chris match. High quality from start to finish with moments of tension and moments of humor mixed in. In that moment they were symbiotic. Every shot went where it was supposed to go in the ultimate chess match.

The 85 Virginia Slims SF between Martina and Hana summed up the differences between the two. They lit each other up with startling winners from all over the court. Hana's return of Martina's serve was outstanding. But Martina's second serve was better than Hana's and she was mentally tougher. Yoy could say the same for the 84 Amelia Island and French Open matches as well as the 85 Australian SF.

Sukova beat Martina at the 84 Australian, but the fight Martina put up to save herself was awesome. Three straight big return winners couldn't deter history that day but it was a helluva game.

One of Steffi's greatest moments was in her 86 US Open loss to Martina in a match that she wasn't ready to win. Same for her 92 French loss to Seles in which she earned as much respect in defeat as she ever did in victory.

Novotna's 93 Wimby loss to Steffi is still hard to fathom. Steffi did not determine the result that day, Jana did. Jana turned Steffi into a spectator for a set and a half. But with the finish line in sight she crumbled. Graf deserves credit for hanging in there but Jana lost that match.