Highest quality USO final in XXI century?

Pick the year whose final you think featured the best tennis on aggregate.

  • Total voters
    67
abmk

abmk

Bionic Poster
StrongRule said:
Don't think anyone really thought of the 2009 final as an unpredictable match. I was 100% sure Federer was going to win it. Still surprised Del Potro managed to win. He has a very long history of just pushing top players in big matches, but not actually winning big matches.
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1. talking about unpredictability match as it happened. delpo pulled back winning the 2nd set.
2. The last statement is not relevant. Post-hoc/revisionist stuff.
3. delpo had GOATed vs fed in RG 09 - going 5 sets. had crushed Nadal in the USO 09 semi 2,2 and 2. While fed was favorite, was not a lock.
 
D

Deleted member 779124

Guest
mike danny said:
2006 was ok, but Roddick's lack of power was bothersome.

Still a solid effort, but he played a better match in 2007.
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Yes it seems at times Federer was struggling to handle Roddick more in 2007 even though it was in straights. A advantage 2006 Roddick is sneaking out a set though.

I was more comparing as a underated factor though not the level.
 
abmk

abmk

Bionic Poster
tudwell said:
Med's comeback to push it five was epic, though, and he nearly leveled it in the fifth after being down two breaks. I'd say scoreboard drama was pretty even between the two finals (other than the surprise factor of Delpo coming out on top in 2009). And yeah, the overall quality of hitting was better from the baseline in the 2009 final, but I think Med and Nad make up ground with their variety. Look how much they both came to net! Plus smaller kinds of change-ups, unusual shot selection, etc. A very different brand of tennis than the 2009 final saw, with its own unique charms. With a better fifth set, I'd put the 2009 final above in a heartbeat, but as it stands I think 2019 just edges it (for me personally).
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Given med was down 2 sets to love, that takes off the scoreboard thing honestly. Tough to come back from 2 sets to love down in a GS final, even more so vs nadal.
even more so when med hadn't won a single 5th set match till then.

I'd agree that the net play in 19 USO final was more than norm

In the 5th set, Nadal in the 5-2 game hit 2 DFs and 2 other UEs to get broken. That's not really quality. If he was playing as well as delpo was in the 5th set, it'd have been done and dusted then and there.
 
T

tudwell

G.O.A.T.
abmk said:
Given med was down 2 sets to love, that takes off the scoreboard thing honestly. Tough to come back from 2 sets to love down in a GS final, even more so vs nadal.
even more so when med hadn't won a single 5th set match till then.

I'd agree that the net play in 19 USO final was more than norm

In the 5th set, Nadal in the 5-2 game hit 2 DFs and 2 other UEs to get broken. That's not really quality. If he was playing as well as delpo was in the 5th set, it'd have been done and dusted then and there.
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Well I guess we have a different definition of scoreboard drama because I found Med's comeback very dramatic. We can nitpick things about either of these matches for ages. They were both great quality, entertaining affairs, easily the two best US Open finals in the last 20 years. Either one's a fine pick in my view.
 
abmk

abmk

Bionic Poster
tudwell said:
Well I guess we have a different definition of scoreboard drama because I found Med's comeback very dramatic. We can nitpick things about either of these matches for ages. They were both great quality, entertaining affairs, easily the two best US Open finals in the last 20 years. Either one's a fine pick in my view.
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Agree to disagree.
Clear gap b/w the 2 finals for me.

To put it another way, level wise,
delpo USO 09 final > nadal USO 19 final clearly
federer USO 09 final > med USO 19 final clearly
 
T

tudwell

G.O.A.T.
abmk said:
To put it another way, level wise,
delpo USO 09 final > nadal USO 19 final clearly
federer USO 09 final > med USO 19 final clearly
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Hmm. Not sure I actually disagree with that. Definitely Federer over Medvedev (despite the fifth-set collapse). Delpo-Nadal is closer. Nadal wasn't executing some things as well as he would have liked, but had a ton of variety to fall back on. Delpo was better at executing his plan A game, but also had some lapses (basically donated the third set after being up an early break, if I recall correctly). Could go either way between them, so I wouldn't say "clearly" but it's not unreasonable to claim Delpo was better.
 
abmk

abmk

Bionic Poster
tudwell said:
Hmm. Not sure I actually disagree with that. Definitely Federer over Medvedev (despite the fifth-set collapse). Delpo-Nadal is closer. Nadal wasn't executing some things as well as he would have liked, but had a ton of variety to fall back on. Delpo was better at executing his plan A game, but also had some lapses (basically donated the third set after being up an early break, if I recall correctly). Could go either way between them, so I wouldn't say "clearly" but it's not unreasonable to claim Delpo was better.
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Yeah, 2 DFs from delpo at 4-5, 30 all in the 3rd set. Had won 2 points from 0-30 before that though.
But Nadal also missed an easy smash when he had BP at 4 all in the 3rd set vs Med

And like I pointed out already:

In the 5th set, Nadal in the 5-2 game hit 2 DFs and 2 other UEs to get broken. That's not really quality. If he was playing as well as delpo was in the 5th set, it'd have been done and dusted then and there. Would've ended 6-2 as well.
 
MichaelNadal

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
The Blond Blur said:
https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fed4c81b8-8e8d-4143-bbf5-32bdaabc62bb_640x365.gif
https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c796c50-c54f-4a04-bc37-242163010853_640x365.gif


Literally the 2nd point in the match :cool::p

giphy.gif

40d1236b2a53b013ede0deb856ee0871.gif
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Facts :D 2019 was amazing
 
O

Odinn21

Rookie
StrongRule said:
Don't think anyone really thought of the 2009 final as an unpredictable match. I was 100% sure Federer was going to win it. Still surprised Del Potro managed to win. He has a very long history of just pushing top players in big matches, but not actually winning big matches.
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I think Federer lost that match to the media pressure more than Del Potro. This may sound too nitpicky but the media was going crazy with young Del Potro's flat forehand and labelling it as a rival to Federer's FH, that visibly bothered Federer. I say visibly because Federer played his forehand way too much in that match. He wanted to show his FH is the best but while doing so, his strategy took a big hit and he lost.
 
Tennisfan339

Tennisfan339

Professional
2009, 2010 and 2011.
USO2010 was Nadal's best Slam off clay, but Djokovic was excellent too. USO2011 final was probably one of Djokovic's best matches ever, no one else could have beaten this Nadal. 2013 was also good but not as much as 2010 and 2011.

2009 for the suspense and scenario of the match, but very high quality too.

2019 the first 2 sets and a half were poor quality. Only the last 2 sets were great.

2012 and 2020 were great for the suspense, but low quality.

2005, 2015 and 2016 were also good matches honestly but 2009, 2010 and 2011 win IMO.

2017 was the worst.

(wasn't watching tennis in 2001 and 2002 so I can't judge these 2)

My complete ranking:
2011>2010>2009>
2013>2005>2016>2015>
2019>2020>2012>
2006>2004>2018>2007>2003>2008>2014>2017
 
D

Deleted member 629564

Guest
2020 will be always highly praised by The ABZ Movement.

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The Guru

The Guru

Legend
All this thread did was remind me how much worse the USO has been than the other slams.
 
Last edited:
BGod

BGod

G.O.A.T.
tennis_pro said:
From one player - 2004.
Combined - 2009.
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Yeah pretty much.

Unfortunately the USO is the least thrilling for finals last 30 years. Typically straight forward. Same can be said for the French but not 30 years and at least 06/11 had drama.

2007 was the highest quality straight set final in any Slam for what it's worth.
 
M

MadariKatu

Hall of Fame
Nadal_King said:
First set Medvedev was fully in it, match resembles so much to Novak- Rafa Rg match 2015 in which novak took a big lead but rafa guts it out to even it but still manages to lose the set and never recover same way meddy never really recovered if he had kept that level up until 5-5 in 1st set match could have been tighter
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No comparison at all. In 2019 Medvedev had no chance in the first sets until Nadal let him in the match, after that he took his chances and played great.
In 2021, he was closer than he himself thought and had an absolute lack of belief throughout the entire match. Also Djokovic didn't made the mistake Nadal made, but even if he did, I doubt that version of Medvedev would have taken the chance. He was frustrated because he really thought he had a chance, but things weren't going his way. Would he have stayed more calm, he could've had an opportunity, because he was not that far from pushing Novak; at first at least.
 
BGod

BGod

G.O.A.T.
Tennisfan339 said:
2009, 2010 and 2011.
USO2010 was Nadal's best Slam off clay, but Djokovic was excellent too. USO2011 final was probably one of Djokovic's best matches ever, no one else could have beaten this Nadal. 2013 was also good but not as much as 2010 and 2011.

2009 for the suspense and scenario of the match, but very high quality too.

2019 the first 2 sets and a half were poor quality. Only the last 2 sets were great.

2012 and 2020 were great for the suspense, but low quality.

2005, 2015 and 2016 were also good matches honestly but 2009, 2010 and 2011 win IMO.

2017 was the worst.

(wasn't watching tennis in 2001 and 2002 so I can't judge these 2)

My complete ranking:
2011>2010>2009>
2013>2005>2016>2015>
2019>2020>2012>
2006>2004>2018>2007>2003>2008>2014>2017
Click to expand...

How is 2007 worse than 04 or 18 let alone both? Do people really forget how tight all 3 sets were?
 
InsideOut900

InsideOut900

Legend
The 2002 final had the most potential to become a classic if Agassi didn't have a subpar hitting day for his standards and managed to push it to 5.

That was a great last career effort from Sampras, but not so much from Agassi until he was already down 2 sets.
 
NatF

NatF

Bionic Poster
InsideOut900 said:
The 2002 final had the most potential to become a classic if Agassi didn't have a subpar hitting day for his standards and managed to push it to 5.

That was a great last career effort from Sampras, but not so much from Agassi until he was already down 2 sets.
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Agassi was feeling the effects of his SF with Hewitt. Shame Hewitt didn't keep his head when he got up in sets in that SF, a rematch of 2001 could have been great.
 
xFedal

xFedal

Legend
InsideOut900 said:
The 2002 final had the most potential to become a classic if Agassi didn't have a subpar hitting day for his standards and managed to push it to 5.

That was a great last career effort from Sampras, but not so much from Agassi until he was already down 2 sets.
Click to expand...
Sampras hit 84 winners in that 2002 match, Fed hit 69 winners in 2006 USO Final against Roddick. 2 great matches.
 
Sudacafan

Sudacafan

Bionic Poster
Hard to say, as I didn’t watch/don’t remember them all.
2009 for me, the most exciting for nationality reasons.
 
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