Pivotal moments in tennis history

tennisaddict said:
FYI, Most Fed fans including me gave credit to Novak and Cilic even recently
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Yet, what credit have you all given to Nadal?

Revisionist W2008 comes to mind.... 99.99% of Fed fans attributing Nadal's win to better play during the TTW match thread. Only 00.01% fed fans thought he had mono..... In fact Fed fans back then congratulated Nadal.

Today, lol, it was mono....

Fed fans obsess over denigrating Nadal.

When was the last time Fed fans could give Nadal credit?

Or is it fine to only give the one offs? Not the ultimate Fed owner?
 
You could even say pivotal points:

That set point at the end of the first set in the 1995 USO;

Nole's forehand to save the first match point against Fed in 2011.

Both of those points changed tennis history.
 
For me the pivotal moment in recent tennis history came during the 2nd set tie breaker of the 2013 Australian Open final. As Murray lined up a 2nd serve at a vital moment an evil minded feather drifted tauntingly past his nose, causing him to serve the ball helplessly into the net. Djokovic went on to win the match and the offending feather became known as "the feather that changed the world."
 
reaper said:
For me the pivotal moment in recent tennis history came during the 2nd set tie breaker of the 2013 Australian Open final. As Murray lined up a 2nd serve at a vital moment an evil minded feather drifted tauntingly past his nose, causing him to serve the ball helplessly into the net. Djokovic went on to win the match and the offending feather became known as "the feather that changed the world."
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Murray ain't beating AO-13 version of Djokovic even if Andy had 2-0 lead in sets.
 
objectivity said:
surprised u guys don't agree with me on how momentous the nalbandian vs roddick match at USO 2003 was. remember, nalbandian had taken out federer in that tournament!

i really think if fat dave had won the USO 2003, he would have been a formidable challenger to both federer and rafa in the 2000s. a real pity.

but then again, he might have ended up like safin. who knows?
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I don't disagree that Nalby could have achieved a lot more and that that US Open semifinal was probably pivotal (though that's no guarantee he would have won the final).
But there's a big difference between that and the OP stating:

"1) 2003 US Open, Nalbandian vs Roddick. Nalbandian should have won but denied by some contentious refereeing (don't recall that it was that bad). if he had won, i think there wouldn't have been the same federer. nalbandian was always the better player than federer but i think after that loss, he was never the same player."

Imo, Fed became the player he was on the verge of becoming regardless of Nalby (though Nalby could no doubt have challenged him more than he did). Wimbledon 2003, especially the WTF 2003 and the AO 2004 were pivotal for that.
 
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Agree re the Seles stabbing: A truly dark day, and it would be churlish, at best, to suggest that this wasn't pivotal &, very possibly, altered the history books.
 
Goosehead said:
1985 u s open final..lendl def McEnroe in straights..

McEnroe played last major final and at same time lost his world no1 rank for the last time..to lendl.
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Yes, that was another big pivotal moment, much more so than the 1984 French Open final that tends to get mentioned a lot.

winstonplum said:
You could even say pivotal points:

That set point at the end of the first set in the 1995 USO;
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The thing is, Agassi's 3 wins over Sampras in 1995 all came after Agassi lost the first set. The first set of the 1995 US Open final was very similar to the first set of the 1995 Australian Open final, with Agassi broken in the tenth game and losing the set. The difference is, in the 1995 Australian Open final, Agassi immediately responded brilliantly by winning the second set 6-1 and breaking Sampras 3 times. In the 1995 US Open final, Agassi was stunned and went 0-3 down in the second set.
 
Hard to say...

I could think of Hingis losing vs Graf at the French Open. Federer winning against Sampras in 2001 was definitely one as well.
In recent times I can only remember Federers I/O fh on breakpoint against Haas.
Or Federer against Nadal (e.g. Rome 06, Wimbledon 08).
The 2002 Wimbledon final was also one - this tournament really proved that tennis is changing/changed a lot, away from s/v to the baseline.
 
NatF said:
On the topic of Nalbandian being robbed I came across this old thread;

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=252358

Fail to see how David was robbed, Andy beat him fair and square by holding his nerve.
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The controversy came at 7-7 in the third set tiebreak, with a rogue "out" call from someone in the crowd. The next controversy was the point where Nalbandian was broken to go down 3-5 in the fifth set. Nalbandian hit the ball on the edge of the sideline, yet it was called out. It definitely caught a bit of the line, without question. No hawkeye in those days, though.
 
Mustard said:
The controversy came at 7-7 in the third set tiebreak, with a rogue "out" call from someone in the crowd. The next controversy was the point where Nalbandian was broken to go down 3-5 in the fifth set. Nalbandian hit the ball on the edge of the sideline, yet it was called out. It definitely caught a bit of the line, without question. No hawkeye in those days, though.
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People call out in the crowd all the time though, it's tough luck but it's part of the game. Yes that was a bad call, but at 2 sets all I hardly call that point being robbed. Not enough to say he should of won the USO.
 
Wimbledon final in 2000 Sampras breaking the all time slam record that lasted for 33 years.
US open final 2002 Sampras becoming the only man to win a grand slam title in his last ever match.

Also the Wimbledon final 1999 Sampras broke borgs open era slam record that had stood for 19 years.
 
NatF said:
People call out in the crowd all the time though, it's tough luck but it's part of the game. Yes that was a bad call, but at 2 sets all I hardly call that point being robbed. Not enough to say he should of won the USO.
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Nalbandian should have responded better to losing the third set tiebreak, but that's tough after having a match point in that tiebreak and feeling an injustice on that 7-7 point. Roddick won the fourth set 6-1. In the fifth set, Nalbandian seemed to be focused again, but that backhand that was called wide when Nalbandian was a break point down at 3-4, saw Nalbandian go 3-5 down and Roddick served for the match in the next game.

It's easy to see how a lot of people were frustrated.
 
Mustard said:
Nalbandian should have responded better to losing the third set tiebreak, but that's tough after having a match point in that tiebreak and feeling an injustice on that 7-7 point. Roddick won the fourth set 6-1. In the fifth set, Nalbandian seemed to be focused again, but that backhand that was called wide when Nalbandian was a break point down at 3-4, saw Nalbandian go 3-5 down and Roddick served for the match in the next game.

It's easy to see how a lot of people were frustrated.
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For sure, but Roddick was a deserved victor. Nalbandian could have responded better. I think this match and the AO 2006 SF were the top matches that if he had won would have transformed his career. I think he would have won the finals had he not lost 2 sets to love leads in both.
 
Nathaniel_Near said:
I highly doubt Roddick would have gone on to become some sort of legend or great of tennis had he won that 2004 Wimbledon final. He simply didn't have enough game. He's not ''rubbish'' but his return and movement have never been close to top notch and his backhand was a big weakness. Even by removing Federer altogether I struggle to imagine Roddick winning more than 6 Slams, although actually I'd guess about 4-5.
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actually 4-5 already puts him in very select company. just below edberg and becker.
 
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Mustard said:
Yes, that was another big pivotal moment, much more so than the 1984 French Open final that tends to get mentioned a lot.
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I was a big-time Lendl fan and vividly remember this match. McEnroe was up a break in the 1st set and it looked like business as usual, i.e., Lendl losing yet another U.S. Open final. A lot of people (myself included) forget just how well McEnroe was still playing in 1985 (having just beaten Lendl in straight sets at Stratton Mountain and in Montreal) and how much, despite that 1984 French Open win, Lendl was regarded as a choker.
 
My two Pivotal Moments in Tennis History:

The dominance of Borg, tennis' version of the Beetles.

The transformation of Martina Navratilova. She is the Mother of Modern Tennis in regards to fitness.
 
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Mustard said:
The controversy came at 7-7 in the third set tiebreak, with a rogue "out" call from someone in the crowd. The next controversy was the point where Nalbandian was broken to go down 3-5 in the fifth set. Nalbandian hit the ball on the edge of the sideline, yet it was called out. It definitely caught a bit of the line, without question. No hawkeye in those days, though.
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I like to think of that call as karma for the equally terrible one that went against Roddick at the 2001 US Open against Hewitt. I still can't believe the umpire's decision on that one.
 
I think Wimbledon 2004 is definitely a huge one. Had that rain not come who knows what would have happened.

I think the Soderling-Nadal match at Roland Garros in 2009, the only best of 5 set clay court loss of Nadal's life, and the kicking open of the door that allowed Roger Federer to complete the career grand slam. What's funny is he then almost got knocked out too the very next day :lol: when he came back and won that one, I think we all knew it was time.

US Open 1981 final. After losing his Wimbledon crown, Borg once again is unable to topple Mac in New York. If he had found the way to close that one out after taking the first set... would he have thrown in the towel? Tough to imagine it.

Rome 2011. I think the final of this one was when Djokovic well and truly broke Nadal's spirit. If Rafa can win here, does Novak have the overwhelming confidence that would allow him to topple Nadal at 3 slams in a row?
 
gavna said:
Interesting on how so many list individual matches and not truly historical moments that affected the game?

Althea Gibson being the first black person to win a major, Ashe the first Black man? The formation of the ATP and Virginia Slims - Pro Tennis in 1968, Riggs v King????

The Wimbledon boycott was huge - the (unfair) year long ban that Vilas had to take......the refusal of the the ITF to allow Borg to cut back his schedule and in the end helped push him out of tennis.
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Yeah, I was more thinking about these things as well, maybe not so much Riggs vs King though. The latter was fan, but hardly a pivotal moment. Also don't think its fair to say the ITF pushed Borg out of tennis.

Otherwise, the Seles stabbing is by far the most pivotal moment on the women's side, who knows what Graf and Seles would've ended up with...
Also pivotal was the period where pro's were not allowed to compete in the slams. Laver likely would've ended up with a lot more slams, but we'll never know now....

Most moments people here mentioned (some mentioned reveal either a firmly biased or very young poster, by the way) were pivotal for a player's career.
 
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