Strongest Mental Display at Grand Slams in the Past Decade?

[NatF]

I'd like to throw in a mention for Federer's performance in the Olympics SF in 2012. Guy held serve to stay in that match over and over again. Definitely up there.

 

[falstaff78]

The Candidates.

RG 09' Federer - Missed out against Nadal the previous four years. Nadal's loss early on placed a huge pressure on Federer's shoulders to finally make it. Fought through brutal matches all the way through to the final and produced an amazing performance in the final.

AO 12' Djokovic - Played two incredible back to back Semi and Final against Murray and Nadal, beating Nadal in the longest GS final ever and being a break down in the 5th.

Wimby 08' - Roger & Rafa - Both showed incredible mental strength at stages of the greatest match of all time - Roger nearly coming back from two sets down to win and Rafa bouncing back after dropping the 3rd and 4th sets and missing match point in fourth to win in 5th.

USO 12' - Murray - After losing in his first four grand slam finals, the pressure to win a grand slam was becoming even more immense than it already was. Faced Novak again in a final and after losing a two sets lead, Murray came out and played an amazing 5th set to finally win his first grand slam.

Other notable mental performances;
- Robredo RG 2013 - Came back from two sets to love down in three consecutive matches to reach the QF's.
- USO 10' & 11' - Djokovic - Saved match points against Roger in 2010 to reach first GS final since his AO 08' win and came back from two sets to love down and match points against Roger the very next year to go on to beat Nadal in the final.
- Wimbledon 13' Murray - Always huge amounts of pressure put on Andy at Wimbledon and produced an amazing display in final to beat Novak.
- RG 13' & 14' - Nadal - Came back to beat Novak in 5 after being break down in 5th to go to win the title in 2013. After losing their previous four meetings and last meeting on clay in Rome, Nadal came back from a set down in the final to beat Novak in four in 2014.
AO 17' - Despite Roger not having much to lose and little expectations early in the tournament it was clear his game was very much on after wins against Berdych, Nishikori and Stan to reach the final. After having such a torrid time against Nadal in slams throughout the years, amazingly he came back from a break down in the fifth to win his 18th slam and first slam in 5 years.

These are the ones that come immediately to my mind when I think of mental strength shown in slams anymore you think I have missed?

This thread needs a poll like Nadal needs to escape the first week of Wimbledon.

Please and thanks.

 

[abmk]

I'd like to throw in a mention for Federer's performance in the Olympics SF in 2012. Guy held serve to stay in that match over and over again. Definitely up there.

should've finished delpo off sooner. broke delpo and then got broken . 8 all , was it ?

unnecessarily stretched it to much later. Probably cost him a good shot in the final vs Murray.

 

[NatF]

should've finished delpo off sooner. broke delpo and then got broken . 8 all , was it ?

unnecessarily stretched it to much later. Probably cost him a good shot in the final vs Murray.

Yeah he broke then lost serve but still think his refusal to yield and holding serve many times after that were a great mental display.

 

[Tennis_Hands]

As a lifelong Fed fan AO 2017 was vindication after a decade of torment at the hands of Nadal. I needed it more than Fed probably did.

:awesome:

Weak.

Federer held his ground and anyone who understands that cannot be making that statement, let alone "needing" a win from a tennis player.

 

[TheGhostOfAgassi]

Andy winning Wimbledon for the first time. He was under insane pressure. Never seen anything like it.

 

[deBroglie]

I'm not sure if these were mentioned here, but:

Federer d. Djokovic, RG 2011, Semifinal: Federer had lost the 3rd set and was down a break with Novak serving to take it to a fifth (it would've been finished the next day due to darkness), but he managed to break back and seal the win in a tiebreaker. He stopped the bleeding and finished the match with a win, unlike what happened at the US Open later that year.

Del Potro d. Federer, US Open 2009, Final: I don't think this needs much of an explanation. Del Potro hit some insane forehands past Federer in the fourth set. It was amazing to see him do that in his first (only? ) Slam Final, aged 20.

Nadal d. Djokovic, Madrid 2009, Semifinal: He saved match points with his defense against a very aggressive Djokovic in the tiebreaker to win it. He was probably drained after 4 hours of hitting and wasn't at his best the next day, but he left it all on the court that day. I'm aware the original post asks only for Slams, but I think this one is too good to not remind everyone of.

 

[aldeayeah]

Soderling's consecutive runs to the RG final are up there to me, even if he failed to do much in the finals themselves.

 

[Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil]

I'm not sure if these were mentioned here, but:

Federer d. Djokovic, RG 2011, Semifinal: Federer had lost the 3rd set and was down a break with Novak serving to take it to a fifth (it would've been finished the next day due to darkness), but he managed to break back and seal the win in a tiebreaker. He stopped the bleeding and finished the match with a win, unlike what happened at the US Open later that year.

Del Potro d. Federer, US Open 2009, Final: I don't think this needs much of an explanation. Del Potro hit some insane forehands past Federer in the fourth set. It was amazing to see him do that in his first (only? ) Slam Final, aged 20.

Nadal d. Djokovic, Rome 2009, Final: He saved match points with his defense against a very aggressive Djokovic in the tiebreaker to win it. He was probably drained after 4 hours of hitting and wasn't at his best the next day, but he left it all on the court that day. I'm aware the original post asks only for Slams, but I think this one is too good to not remind everyone of.

The third match you mentioned was the Madrid 2009 semifinal.

 

[deBroglie]

The third match you mentioned was the Madrid 2009 semifinal.

Thank you, I have edited it. I was also going to talk about the Rome 2006 final, but I decided against it, hence the year + tournament + round error.

 

[Phoenix1983]

Honorouble mention should go to Djokovic in the 2014 Wimbledon final. Up 5-2 in the 4th set and looked to be cruising, then suddenly he started faltering, Fed went into the zone and won five games in a row to take it to a decider and rip his heart out in the process. When you also take into account all the close GS matches Novak had lost in the previous 18 months he really did require nerves of steel to come through that 5th set and over the finishing line, especially against a Federer serving out of his mind. So proud and tearful as a fan that he continued believing in himself that day and didn't allow another golden opportunity for his 7th major to slip through his fingers yet again. Amazing.

Yes, I can well imagine that as a Novak Djokovic fan, you would have seen that match as one of his greatest triumphs.

I was of course willing Federer on to win, and was sorely disappointed when Novak Djokovic emerged triumphant in the fifth set. Looking back, it was the match that spurred him on to his most consistent run of success (6 slams out of 8 between W 2014 and FO 2016), and ensured that he became a Tier 1 great, rather than remain eternally stuck at Becker/Edberg level.

 

[mike danny]

Federer: Wimb 2007, FO 2009, AO 2017

Nadal: AO 2009, Wimb 2008, FO 2013

Djokovic: AO 2012, Wimb 2014

Murray: Wimb 2016. He refused to lose against Tsonga.

Stan: AO 2014. After losing consecutive epics to Djokovic in 2013, the guy still refused to go away and kept believing in himself in yet another epic against Djokovic.

Tsonga vs Fed 2011 Wimb deserves a mention.