Five set epics your favorite won in which you felt the opponent was the overall better player in the match

Federer was lucky to escape against Stan in the 2017 AO semis. Stan had more break point opportunities than Fed. But Fed was more clutch with those break points.

Early 2017 Fed was the most clutch version of him that I have ever seen. He was an escape artist.
 
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Hitman said:
I am almost certain we all have them, a five set epic that our favorite pulls of out the bag while having his back against the wall for the majority of the match. The match wins are fully legit, because it shows mental strength, clutchness, an unyielding desire to never give in, and there is a sense of relief and triumph that follows the handshake. As glad as I am in those situations, I do feel empathy for the other player, who I would feel was the better player and deserving winner also. Of course therein lies the contradiction, the better player ultimately wins these matches, but there is always a feeling that I get in such situations where I feel the other guy deserved it more.

Here are my personal top picks for Djokovic, that he clutched out, but felt the other player was dominating the majority of the match.

Djokovic v Wawrinka - Australian Open 2013

Well, what can be said about this match that hasn't already been said? The birth of the Stanimal. One of the most electrifying nights ever seen at the AO. Stan came out all guns blazing, hitting hard, heavy and deep, bullying and simply outplaying Djokovic. Brutal aggression that kept Djokovic on the back foot for the majority of the match, supremely clutch in that fourth set tie break, and epic saving of MPs with those backhands that even brought a smile to both their faces. To me, this is their greatest encounter. Djokovic relented the storm and won in the end, but Stan set the tone for what this match would ultimately become.


Djokovic v Murray - Australian Open 2012

This match was breathtakingly brutal and often gets overlooked because of what happened in the final, but the way Murray came at Djokovic after coming under the wing of Lendl was shocking. He was aggressive, moving Djokovic around side to side, turning it into a dogfight. Just that second set alone is one of the most barbaric sets of tennis I have seen. Murray was hurting Djokovic continuously, every time Djokovic thought he had an advantage, Murray would raise the level even higher. The pace of the match was dictated by Andy for the majority, It went right down to the wire again before Novak could pull out the win.


Djokovic v Nadal - Wimbledon 2018

To me quite simply put, this was the greatest ever match between the two. The level was just so high, that you had to wonder how it could ever be topped when they were going at each other. Nadal brought a complete package of all court game play, aggression, and simply dominated Djokovic from the back of the court for the majority of the match. All of Nadal's shots were firing, in particular that forehand down the line which kept burning Djokovic over and over again. Nadal was at his ruthless best, his game face was on, Djokovic was on the verge of losing numerous times, and each time he thought he had a breakthrough against Nadal, Nadal would produce superhuman drop shots on set and match points.


Djokovic v Federer - Wimbledon 2019

This will be the match they will most likely be remembered for due to the historical significance. Federer controlled the majority of the match, Djokovic was doing enough to stay with him during this encounter, and during the tie-breaks able to push through those tight sets, however for the actual sets of tennis played, Fed controlled the ball. He was moving smoothly, picking his spots, having Novak guessing more often than out, and continued to keep the pressure on in every single set. Novak was on the backfoot IMO for the most of the match, even when he was up in sets, but he managed to weather the storm and pulled off one hell of win when all was lost. Overall Federer outplayed him for the most of the match, but Novak held strong in the breakers and saw it home.

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Fed is a specialist in this kind of matches.
 
Sport said:
Title of the thread: "Five set epics your favorite won in which you felt the opponent was the overall better player in the match." Won is the crucial word here.

Federer is your favorite, so choosing Federer as the better player of a match he lost is both unobjective and dishonest with the goal of the thread. Unobjective because only because Federer had match points it doesn't follow that he played "better" than Nadal in Rome 2006. And dishonest because you should have chosen a match where Federer won despite his rival having played overall better than him. Something like Miami 2017 Federer-Kyrgios, where Kyrgios was leading 5-4 in the tie-break of the last set and someone form the public shout "OUT" in the middle of the rally and made Kyrgios desconcentrate and make a crucial unforced error. Or Wimbledon 2009, where Roddick choked the second set of the final. Roddick was leading 6-2 the tie-break of the second set of the WB 2009 final, and still lost it 6-8. That is, Roddick missed 4 set points in a row.
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Don't tell me who my favourite is.
 
Hitman said:
How do you feel about Del Potro v Federer RG 2009 semi? I felt Del Potro was the better player, hitting the covering off of the ball, and Federer was just responding, trying to stay in it, until he finally got the break in the fifth. I was thinking at one point Del Potro had it, Federer was clutch on very key moments, but even then he couldn't fully put him away until the very end.
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It's funny how everyone's obsessed with W19 but forgets how bl**dy close he was to not winning FO 09. A far more damaging blow to his future peace of mind than losing that Final.

Anyone who doubts this should have seen McEnroe tearing himself apart over FO 84 on a recent documentary, a mere thirty five years later.
 
Last edited:
DSH said:
Wrong!
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1-your-evidence.gif
 
Fedr v JMDP, FO 2012. Won a 5 setter but JMDP was better, and got injured.

Also Fedr v Wawrinka AO 2017. To this day I have no idea how he pulled it out. He was a goner
 
I feel like Nadal and Djokovic “stole” a lot of matches where their opponent was playing at a higher level throughout the match. They were just able to remain consistent mentally and physically to outlast them.
 
clout said:
I feel like Nadal and Djokovic “stole” a lot of matches where their opponent was playing at a higher level throughout the match. They were just able to remain consistent mentally and physically to outlast them.
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Like Federer. All players have won matches where the opponent choked match points or was arguably playing "better".
 
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