The 20 Most Legendary Matches of the Big 3 Era

[Thedesertfox]

RG 20 F Nadal equalling Rog I forgot.

That was so satisfying watching Novaxx getting bageled by Rafa.

 

[Mustard]

And 2020 USO F was a disaster. Zverev pulled a choke of such magnitude against a cramping Timmy

There was one clutch point in the fifth set tiebreak that was decisive. Thiem hit a good service return and then a passing shot. I think it was at 6-6 in the tiebreak.

 

[MadariKatu]

You mean 2007 Madrid Masters

yes, sorry, my bad

 

[MadariKatu]

And 2020 USO F was a disaster. Zverev pulled a choke of such magnitude against a cramping Timmy

I wasn't implying it was a good match, just historic, in a way... I was just being stupid

 

[Thedesertfox]

I wasn't implying it was a good match, just historic, in a way... I was just being stupid

Yeah it was a historical disaster. 65 mp/h second serve. Christ my second serve is faster

 

[NatF]

Rome 2005 should arguably be on here too. Not high stakes but rather legendary contest nonetheless.

 

[Rosstour]

PETE's moral beatdown of Federer at Wimbledon has to be on the list.

 

[NatF]

PETE's moral beatdown of Federer at Wimbledon has to be on the list.

PETE showing why he's the BOAT by embarrassing Fraud in Macau is right up there too.

 

[Picmun]

Most? What are the other "legendary" matches you've not mentioned? Are they 'less' legendary ?

 

[albatros_forehand]

 

[zvelf]

The 2009 Wimbledon final should be on the list because it was one of the most epic matches of the last 20 years, got Federer past Sampras' record, and ended Roddick’s last real chance at another major. This should replace 2022 USO Alcaraz-Sinner, which was a great match, but it's unclear how historically important it is unless both do a lot more in their careers.

The 2012 U.S. Open final should be on the list because Murray became the first British man to win a major since 1936 and it also consolidated his position in the Big 4. This should replace Murray's loss in the 2012 AO.

The 2022 AO should only make the list if Djokovic doesn’t overtake Nadal’s slam tally. If Novak does, then 2022 AO will be diminished significantly historically.

 

[T007]

As the Big 3 Era enters its 20th and maybe final year I decided to look back and pick the 20 matches I think were the most iconic of the period. The matches that you can't tell the story of the last 20 years without mentioning. This is not a list of the 20 highest quality matches of the last twenty years or else the 2020 USO F would be here of course. Without further ado my list in chronological order:

1. Federer-Agassi US 04
2. Safin-Federer AO 05
3. Nadal-Federer Rome 06
4. Federer-Nadal W 07
5. Nadal-Federer W 08
6. Nadal-Verdasco AO 09
7. Nadal-Federer AO 09
8. Del Potro-Federer USO 09
9. Djokovic-Federer USO 11
10. Djokovic-Murray AO 12
11. Djokovic-Nadal AO 12
12. Djokovic-Wawrinka AO 13
13. Nadal-Djokovic RG 13
14. Wawrinka-Djokovic AO 14
15. Djokovic-Federer W 14
16. Wawrinka-Djokovic RG 15
17. Federer-Nadal AO 17
18. Djokovic-Nadal W 18
19. Djokovic-Federer W 19
20. Alcaraz-Sinner USO 22

Number of Appearances:
Federer 11
Djokovic 10
Nadal 9
Wawrinka 3
Agassi 1
Safin 1
Verdasco 1
Del Potro 1
Murray 1
Alcaraz 1
Sinner 1

Tournament Distribution:
Australian Open 8
Wimbledon 5
US Open 4
Roland Garros 2
Rome 1

Notes:
Federer appears the most times but only 3 times as a winner
Djokovic has the most wins at 7
Despite being the clear 4th best player of the era Murray makes only one appearance the same amount as Verdasco and 2 less than Wawrinka
Wawrinka is the only on Big 3 member to appear more than once
Alcaraz-Sinner is the only match without a Big 3 member
Wawrinka-Djokovic 15 RG is the only 4 set match
Nadal-Federer Rome 06 is the only non slam match
11 of the 20 matches are from the years from 08-14 (A 7 year period)

What matches would you guys swap in and which would you take out? Which ones were your favorites?

Discuss

I would add Roddick Federer 2009 for late 5th set drama and that comeback by Fed by saving 4 set points in the 2nd set breaker.

 

[abmk]

Anyone leaving Wim 09 final out is seriously biased or a really bad evaluator

 

[RS]

Anyone leaving Wim 09 final out is seriously biased or a really bad evaluator

Give it a rest......

 

[NatF]

Give it a rest......

Message was harsh but Wimbledon 2009 is a glaring omission from the OP's list, agree?

 

[Bubcay]

How about Djokovic - Tsonga AO 2008?

 

[Razer]

As the Big 3 Era enters its 20th and maybe final year I decided to look back and pick the 20 matches I think were the most iconic of the period. The matches that you can't tell the story of the last 20 years without mentioning. This is not a list of the 20 highest quality matches of the last twenty years or else the 2020 USO F would be here of course. Without further ado my list in chronological order:

1. Federer-Agassi US 04
2. Safin-Federer AO 05
3. Nadal-Federer Rome 06
4. Federer-Nadal W 07
5. Nadal-Federer W 08
6. Nadal-Verdasco AO 09
7. Nadal-Federer AO 09
8. Del Potro-Federer USO 09
9. Djokovic-Federer USO 11
10. Djokovic-Murray AO 12
11. Djokovic-Nadal AO 12
12. Djokovic-Wawrinka AO 13
13. Nadal-Djokovic RG 13
14. Wawrinka-Djokovic AO 14
15. Djokovic-Federer W 14
16. Wawrinka-Djokovic RG 15
17. Federer-Nadal AO 17
18. Djokovic-Nadal W 18
19. Djokovic-Federer W 19
20. Alcaraz-Sinner USO 22

Number of Appearances:
Federer 11
Djokovic 10
Nadal 9
Wawrinka 3
Agassi 1
Safin 1
Verdasco 1
Del Potro 1
Murray 1
Alcaraz 1
Sinner 1

Tournament Distribution:
Australian Open 8
Wimbledon 5
US Open 4
Roland Garros 2
Rome 1

Notes:
Federer appears the most times but only 3 times as a winner
Djokovic has the most wins at 7
Despite being the clear 4th best player of the era Murray makes only one appearance the same amount as Verdasco and 2 less than Wawrinka
Wawrinka is the only on Big 3 member to appear more than once
Alcaraz-Sinner is the only match without a Big 3 member
Wawrinka-Djokovic 15 RG is the only 4 set match
Nadal-Federer Rome 06 is the only non slam match
11 of the 20 matches are from the years from 08-14 (A 7 year period)

What matches would you guys swap in and which would you take out? Which ones were your favorites?

Discuss

Nice list

Soderling-Nadal and Federer-Roddick should also be in this maybe?

Perhaps it would be good to widen this list to 25 Blockbuster Matches of the Big 3 Era and include 5 more matches.

 

[abmk]

Give it a rest......

Wim 09 is definitely in top 10. leaving it out of top 20 is not excusable IMO.

 

[BauerAlmeida]

This is not a list of the 20 highest quality matches of the last twenty years or else the 2020 USO F would be here of course.

I actually wouldn't put it in a top 50.

I personally would replace Fed Safin 05 with Fed Nadal Hamburg 2007 but they’re both practically equal.

So Safin Federer AO 2005 is not top 20?

Agassi Safin AO 04 is better than like 17 of these

Not sure if 17 but it definitely belongs.

but the 2005 Rome final between Rafa and Coria must be on the list.

And it ranks quite high.

 

[SinneGOAT]

So Safin Federer AO 2005 is not top 20?

It’s tough because I love both but again, personally I liked Hamburg 07 a little more but if I could have my cake and eat it too I’d have both.

 

[Tennfan123]

I can't even think of 5 matches.

 

[ChrisRF]

Message was harsh but Wimbledon 2009 is a glaring omission from the OP's list, agree?

The question is in which category it should be Top 20. In terms of drama due to sheer length and the situation with Federer playing for the record it definitely belongs there. In terms of quality and versatility not so much.

First of all, in terms of versatility for me a "great" match cannot just be continuous easy holds and good serving, but at least a bit of back and forth with breaks in SOME sets is required.

And then, when I talk about quality here I mean what is expected from Federer. His level was a disappointment by his own high standards. I remember watching the match with a friend and fellow Federer fan, and more than once we said to each other something like "Damn, how bad is he today". We expected one of his easiest Slam final wins, easier than the Söderling RG match weeks before. We couldn't imagine anything that Roddick could do apart from rushing the net and bending over. And then Federer only managed to break him in his 38th service game. His level in return games was unusually weak (and had to be, or he would break much earlier against ANY version of Roddick).

 

[mike danny]

The question is in which category it should be Top 20. In terms of drama due to sheer length and the situation with Federer playing for the record it definitely belongs there. In terms of quality and versatility not so much.

First of all, in terms of versatility for me a "great" match cannot just be continuous easy holds and good serving, but at least a bit of back and forth with breaks in SOME sets is required.

And then, when I talk about quality here I mean what is expected from Federer. His level was a disappointment by his own high standards. I remember watching the match with a friend and fellow Federer fan, and more than once we said to each other something like "Damn, how bad is he today". We expected one of his easiest Slam final wins, easier than the Söderling RG match weeks before. We couldn't imagine anything that Roddick could do apart from rushing the net and bending over. And then Federer only managed to break him in his 38th service game. His level in return games was unusually weak (and had to be, or he would break much earlier against ANY version of Roddick).

I literally can't see 20 matches above this one.

 

[RS]

A quality list could really make people get upest......

 

[NatF]

The question is in which category it should be Top 20. In terms of drama due to sheer length and the situation with Federer playing for the record it definitely belongs there. In terms of quality and versatility not so much.

First of all, in terms of versatility for me a "great" match cannot just be continuous easy holds and good serving, but at least a bit of back and forth with breaks in SOME sets is required.

And then, when I talk about quality here I mean what is expected from Federer. His level was a disappointment by his own high standards. I remember watching the match with a friend and fellow Federer fan, and more than once we said to each other something like "Damn, how bad is he today". We expected one of his easiest Slam final wins, easier than the Söderling RG match weeks before. We couldn't imagine anything that Roddick could do apart from rushing the net and bending over. And then Federer only managed to break him in his 38th service game. His level in return games was unusually weak (and had to be, or he would break much earlier against ANY version of Roddick).

Going by quality it's above several on that list. You like many others are underrating that match.

 

[mike danny]

The question is in which category it should be Top 20. In terms of drama due to sheer length and the situation with Federer playing for the record it definitely belongs there. In terms of quality and versatility not so much.

First of all, in terms of versatility for me a "great" match cannot just be continuous easy holds and good serving, but at least a bit of back and forth with breaks in SOME sets is required.

And then, when I talk about quality here I mean what is expected from Federer. His level was a disappointment by his own high standards. I remember watching the match with a friend and fellow Federer fan, and more than once we said to each other something like "Damn, how bad is he today". We expected one of his easiest Slam final wins, easier than the Söderling RG match weeks before. We couldn't imagine anything that Roddick could do apart from rushing the net and bending over. And then Federer only managed to break him in his 38th service game. His level in return games was unusually weak (and had to be, or he would break much earlier against ANY version of Roddick).

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Sinner-Alcaraz match was marred by poor serving from both. Serving somehow always takes the backseat when discussing match quality.

 

[abmk]

The question is in which category it should be Top 20. In terms of drama due to sheer length and the situation with Federer playing for the record it definitely belongs there. In terms of quality and versatility not so much.

First of all, in terms of versatility for me a "great" match cannot just be continuous easy holds and good serving, but at least a bit of back and forth with breaks in SOME sets is required.

And then, when I talk about quality here I mean what is expected from Federer. His level was a disappointment by his own high standards. I remember watching the match with a friend and fellow Federer fan, and more than once we said to each other something like "Damn, how bad is he today". We expected one of his easiest Slam final wins, easier than the Söderling RG match weeks before. We couldn't imagine anything that Roddick could do apart from rushing the net and bending over. And then Federer only managed to break him in his 38th service game. His level in return games was unusually weak (and had to be, or he would break much earlier against ANY version of Roddick).

Federer's returning was worse in the Wim 2008 final than in Wim 2009 final.
Your own over-rated expectations for Fed vs Roddick caused this.
You also missed Roddick approaching the net fairly well in the QF+SF vs Hewitt+Murray or how much heart he was displaying if you thought he was going to bend over.
Fed should've broken late in 1st set, but yeah, rest of it was mostly Roddick being clutch apart from serving great and backing up serve really well.
the serving was absolute ATG from Roddick even among ATG servers. and conditions being faster made it tougher to return.

Re-watch. Match was very good in terms of quality. serving ATG, ground game very good. fed returning meh, Roddick returning below par (but clustered points well to get the 2 breaks)


match is arguably top 10 in terms of quality in big 3 era, top 15 at worst, IMO. (if only considering slam matches)
definitely top 10 in terms of being legendary.

 

[mike danny]

The question is in which category it should be Top 20. In terms of drama due to sheer length and the situation with Federer playing for the record it definitely belongs there. In terms of quality and versatility not so much.

First of all, in terms of versatility for me a "great" match cannot just be continuous easy holds and good serving, but at least a bit of back and forth with breaks in SOME sets is required.

And then, when I talk about quality here I mean what is expected from Federer. His level was a disappointment by his own high standards. I remember watching the match with a friend and fellow Federer fan, and more than once we said to each other something like "Damn, how bad is he today". We expected one of his easiest Slam final wins, easier than the Söderling RG match weeks before. We couldn't imagine anything that Roddick could do apart from rushing the net and bending over. And then Federer only managed to break him in his 38th service game. His level in return games was unusually weak (and had to be, or he would break much earlier against ANY version of Roddick).

Didn't Fed return like ass in the 2008 Wimb F too? Only breaking Nadal's serve once the whole match? Or is that excusable because it was against Nadal?

 

[abmk]

Didn't Fed return like ass in the 2008 Wimb F too? Only breaking Nadal's serve once the whole match? Or is that excusable because it was against Nadal?

ah yes, excusable to return like vs significantly worse serving like Nadal's.

 

[ChrisRF]

Didn't Fed return like ass in the 2008 Wimb F too? Only breaking Nadal's serve once the whole match? Or is that excusable because it was against Nadal?

To some degree yes. At least he created chances in that match. He was 1/13 in break points, almost as horrible as 2007 at RG (1/17). Maybe it's not excusable against Nadal's serve as a standalone shot, but more understandable in the whole service game. Usually he totally destroyed Roddick during those years. However, I understand that he was nervous because of the record in 2009.

By the way, in terms of pure quality I don't even rank the 2008 Wimbledon final as high as some people either. Of course it's very high in the list, but not the outright greatest match. Definitely Rome 2006 and AO 2009 were better. If AO 2009 would have added the 5th set of 2017 to its first 4 sets, then this would have been the greatest tennis match ever.

 

[abmk]

Lets see the matches in contention.
From 2003 onwards, min quality expected (so that leaves the 3 biggest chokefests out)

slams only:

AO 03 Roddick El Ayanoui
AO 04 Safin Roddick
AO 04 Safin Agassi
Wim 04 Federer Roddick
USO 04 Federer Agassi
AO 05 Safin Federer
USO 05 Agassi Blake
RG 06 Nadal PHM
RG 07 Nadal Fed
Wim 07 Fed Nadal
Wim 08 Nadal Fed
AO 09 Nadal Verdasco
AO 09 Nadal Fed
RG 09 Soderling Nadal
RG 09 Fed Delpo
Wim 09 Fed Roddick
USO 09 Delpo Fed
Wim 10 Isner Mahut
RG 11 Fed Djoko
Wim 11 Tsonga Fed
USO 11 Djoko Fed
AO 12 Djoko Murray
AO 12 Djoko Nadal
RG 12 Djoko Tsonga
USO 12 Murray Djoko
AO 13 Djoko Stan
RG 13 Nadal Djoko
Wim 13 Djoko Delpo
AO 14 Stan Djoko
Wim 14 Djoko Fed
AO 17 Nadal Dimi
AO 17 Fed Stan
AO 17 Fed Nadal
Wim 18 Djoko Nadal
USO 18 Nadal Thiem
Wim 19 Djoko Fed
USO 22 Alcaraz Sinner


Out of these, the ones that are a shoe in

Roddick El Ayanoui AO 03
Safin Federer AO 05
Federer Nadal Wim 07
Nadal Federer Wim 08
Nadal Verdasco AO 09
Nadal Fed AO 09
Fed Roddick Wim 09
RG 11 Fed Djoko
USO 11 Djoko Fed
AO 12 Djoko Nadal
AO 13 Djoko Stan
RG 13 Nadal Djoko
AO 17 Fed Nadal
Wim 18 Djoko Nadal

now lets get the other 6:

Safin Agassi AO 04
Fed Roddick Wim 04
Soderling Nadal RG 09
Fed Delpo RG 09
Delpo Fed USO 09
Stan Djoko AO 14

might switch couple of them if in different mood, but yeah.
next 2 in contention are USO 04 QF and WIm 14 final, I think.

in non-slams, top 5 no top of my head

Fed-Agassi YEC 03 RR
Nadal Coria Rome 05
Nalby Fed YEC 06
Nadal Fed Rome 06
Nadal Djokovic Madrid 09

 

[abmk]

To some degree yes. At least he created chances in that match. He was 1/13 in break points, almost as horrible as 2007 at RG (1/17). Maybe it's not excusable against Nadal's serve as a standalone shot, but more understandable in the whole service game. Usually he totally destroyed Roddick during those years. However, I understand that he was nervous because of the record in 2009.

not at all:
Fed lost to Roddick in Miami 08 after 4.5 years (Canada 03).
Won in AO 09 in straights, but last 2 sets were competitive and Roddick was threatning to take the 3rd set.
Barely escaped vs Roddick in Miami 09
lost TB set to Roddick on Madrid red clay (only set he lost at that tournament - including beating Sod, Delpo, Nadal)

these were their 4 matches in 08-09 before Wim 09.

I don't think fed was that much nervous because of the record in Wim 09 final (not saying there wasn't, but nowhere as much as you are making it out to be)
If anything, pressure was more in RG 09 final and he absolutely GOATed vs Sod.

By the way, in terms of pure quality I don't even rank the 2008 Wimbledon final as high as some people either. Of course it's very high in the list, but not the outright greatest match. Definitely Rome 2006 and AO 2009 were better. If AO 2009 would have added the 5th set of 2017 to its first 4 sets, then this would have been the greatest tennis match ever.

quality wise:

Rome 06 > Wim 07 > Wim 08 > AO 09. But yeah, Wim 08 and AO 09 is close or arguable.

 

[ibbi]

Nice list of good matches, but I feel like the real big 3 era is 2007-2019. Counting stuff before and after that just because Djokovic/Federer were technically tennis players doesn't have much to do with the big 3.

Also counting matches that none of the three had anything to do with is a bit random too

Anyway, as your aim is to do the matches 'that you can't tell the story of the last 20 years without mentioning' I would definitely disagree with a bunch of these if we have the tough job of narrowing it down to 20...

1. Federer-Agassi US 04
3. Nadal-Federer Rome 06
4. Federer-Nadal W 07
6. Nadal-Verdasco AO 09
7. Nadal-Federer AO 09
10. Djokovic-Murray AO 12
14. Wawrinka-Djokovic AO 14
15. Djokovic-Federer W 14
20. Alcaraz-Sinner USO 22

I'm not sure I would have any of these on there. Though the two AO09 ones are probably borderline... They are all great matches, legendary even in some cases, but top 20 era defining?

I think these would fit more...

Djokovic-Federer, Australian Open 2008
Soderling-Nadal, Roland Garros 2009
Federer-Haas, Roland Garros 2009
Federer-Roddick, Wimbledon 2009
Soderling-Federer, Roland Garros 2010
Djokovic-Federer, US Open 2010
Federer-Djokovic, Roland Garros 2011
Nadal-Djokovic, Roland Garros 2012
Murray-Djokovic, US Open 2012
Murray-Djokovic, Wimbledon 2013
Djokovic-Murray, Roland Garros 2016
Querrey-Djokovic, Wimbledon 2016
Federer-Cilic, Wimbledon 2017
Djokovic-Nadal, Australian Open 2019

Not all amazing, but all iconic to one degree or another... And if you are extending it to now then the 2020 Roland Garros final should probably be on there, 2021 US Open final, and 2022 Aussie Open final too.

 

[RS]

Message was harsh but Wimbledon 2009 is a glaring omission from the OP's list, agree?

I would have it probably have it.

 

[Third Serve]

Nice list of good matches, but I feel like the real big 3 era is 2007-2019. Counting stuff before and after that just because Djokovic/Federer were technically tennis players doesn't have much to do with the big 3.

Also counting matches that none of the three had anything to do with is a bit random too

Anyway, as your aim is to do the matches 'that you can't tell the story of the last 20 years without mentioning' I would definitely disagree with a bunch of these if we have the tough job of narrowing it down to 20...

1. Federer-Agassi US 04
3. Nadal-Federer Rome 06
4. Federer-Nadal W 07
6. Nadal-Verdasco AO 09
7. Nadal-Federer AO 09
10. Djokovic-Murray AO 12
14. Wawrinka-Djokovic AO 14
15. Djokovic-Federer W 14
20. Alcaraz-Sinner USO 22

I'm not sure I would have any of these on there. Though the two AO09 ones are probably borderline... They are all great matches, legendary even in some cases, but top 20 era defining?

I think these would fit more...

Djokovic-Federer, Australian Open 2008
Soderling-Nadal, Roland Garros 2009
Federer-Haas, Roland Garros 2009
Federer-Roddick, Wimbledon 2009
Soderling-Federer, Roland Garros 2010
Djokovic-Federer, US Open 2010
Federer-Djokovic, Roland Garros 2011
Nadal-Djokovic, Roland Garros 2012
Murray-Djokovic, US Open 2012
Murray-Djokovic, Wimbledon 2013
Djokovic-Murray, Roland Garros 2016
Querrey-Djokovic, Wimbledon 2016
Federer-Cilic, Wimbledon 2017
Djokovic-Nadal, Wimbledon 2019

Not all amazing, but all iconic to one degree or another... And if you are extending it to now then the 2020 Roland Garros final should probably be on there, 2021 US Open final, and 2022 Aussie Open final too.

I can’t see how Federer-Cilic was an iconic match in any way, honestly. Both AO 2009 matches are massive exclusions here, I think. They were very iconic in addition to being of absurdly high quality, especially the final.

 

[RS]

Didn't Fed return like ass in the 2008 Wimb F too? Only breaking Nadal's serve once the whole match? Or is that excusable because it was against Nadal?

This is a common criticism of the match anyway

 

[ibbi]

I can’t see how Federer-Cilic was an iconic match in any way, honestly. Both AO 2009 matches are massive exclusions here, I think. They were very iconic in addition to being of absurdly high quality, especially the final.

Iconic in that he became the all-time winningest Wimbledon champion. Hence also the inclusion of RG12, and AO19 (excuse my typo... )

The AO09 duo are definitely iconic, I'm just saying that if we're narrowing it down to 20 matches to tell the story of the era they, certainly the semi-final, wouldn't make the cut for me. The final would definitely be very close.

 

[mike danny]

This is a common criticism of the match anyway

I know, but that criticism is only applied to Wimb 2009 Fed.

 

[ibbi]

Can't believe that I forgot Nadal-Rosol also! (And nobody else has mentioned it!) In the picture for the greatest upset in the history of tennis, it's power dimmed some (Mmmm, Dim sum) by the Rafa Wimbledon results that followed, but it was still the turning point from a guy making the final every year to not being able to get out of the first week. Five straight slam finals made and then bounced in the second round. Mad night.

 

[SonnyT]

Alcaraz-Sinner doesn't belong to B3, but does belong to prospective new era.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

My personal favourites are the RG 2008 thrashing, the Wimbledon 2008 final and the
AO 2009 final. Lucky for Fed he wasn't subjected to a US Open match otherwise it would be another famous win for Rafa.

Vamos!

 

[sliceroni]

I 2nd the Nadal/Verdasco 09 AO. One of those matches afterwards you’re like holy f*** that was sweet.

 

[The_Order]

Didn't Fed return like ass in the 2008 Wimb F too? Only breaking Nadal's serve once the whole match? Or is that excusable because it was against Nadal?

In 2008 final, Fed generated 13 BP opportunities... converted 1

In 2007 final, Fed generated 8 BP opportunities... converted 3

That would suggest he returned much better in 08 than he did in 07 (especially given it's widely agreed Nadal served better in 08 than 07).