Greatest Wimbledon Tennis matches

During this iconic time in the British summer, we take a look at the greatest tennis matches of all time that have taken place at Wimbledon. Over the years, Wimbledon has been a mecca for tennis and the matches that have taken place at this iconic venue range from some of the longest that have ever taken place to matches that have been filled with the utmost quality.

Bjorn Borg v John McEnroe – 1980 Wimbledon Final

No Wimbledon best matches list would be complete without the mention of John McEnroe and Bjorn Bjorg – the hot headed American that filled the grass courts with drama, and the elegant Swede who glided around Wimbledon on numerous occasions previously.

Having lost the opening set of the Wimbledon final to an all-out McEnroe assault, Borg took the next two and had two championship points at 5–4 in the fourth. However, McEnroe averted disaster and went on to level the match in Wimbledon’s most memorable 34-point tiebreaker, which he won 18–16. In the fourth-set tiebreak, McEnroe saved five match points, and Borg six set points, before McEnroe won the set. Björn served first to begin the 5th set and fell behind 15–40. Borg then won 19 straight points on serve in the deciding set and prevailed after 3 hours, 53 minutes.

Goran Ivanisevic v Pat Rafter – 2001 Wimbledon Final

If ever there was a fairy tale story in tennis this would surely be the script.

By the summer of 2001, Ivanišević was ranked the world No. 125. This ranking was too low to be in the main draw, but as he had previously reached three Wimbledon finals he was awarded a wildcard entry. He defeated former and future world No.1 players Carlos Moyá, Andy Roddick and Marat Safin and in the semi-finals beat home favourite Tim Henman in a five set, rain-affected ordeal, setting up a Wimbledon final with the previous year’s runner-up and former US Open champion Pat Rafter. It was Ivanišević’s first singles final since 1998. In a match lasting just over three hours, Ivanišević defeated Rafter 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 9–7.

Roger Federer v Rafael Nadal – 2008 Wimbledon Final 

During the illustrious careers of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the two greats of the tennis game played each other 40 times, with the latter coming out ahead at 24-16 overall.

Among their list of brilliant matches, the 2008 Wimbledon five-set classic is the one that resonates with many as not just their all-time best clash, but as one of greatest matches in tennis history.

The nearly five-hour-long match pitted the top and second-best players in the world in a head-to-head battle on the hallowed turf of Centre Court.

It was Nadal, the number two seed, that took a two-set advantage with an impressive five-game streak in the second set when 1-4 down to win 6-4.

Following that, after an 80-minute delay due to the weather, the players returned to the court and the Swiss hit back to take the next two sets 7-6, 7-6, while also saving two Championship points in the process during the penultimate set.

Heading into the final set, with the light fading due to a second rain delay and both players performing at their very best, Federer came two points away from a sixth-straight Wimbledon title, but the Spaniard clawed his way back into the match and won the final set 9-7 to give him a maiden title win in SW19.

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John Isner v Nicolas Mahut – 2010 Wimbledon First Round

Very rarely does a first-round tennis match make the cut on a list of greatest matches in Wimbledon history… but rarely does this particular match not make the list! Both players are by no means considered greats of the game but this game made news all around the world, because it never seemed like it was going to end!

Isner served a world record 112 aces in the match alone, breaking Ivo Karlović’s record of 78. Mahut would go on to surpass it as well with 103. Play was suspended on the second day due to darkness at a score of 59–59. Isner took the match the following day, winning 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(7–9), 7–6(7–3), 70–68.

The match is the longest match ever in a tennis open in terms of both time and games, lasting 183 games, and 11 hours and 5 minutes! And although this match is not a Wimbledon final nor have either of these players joined the Wimbledon champions list, this match will never be forgotten.

Andy Murray v Novak Djokovic – 2013 Wimbledon Final

This is the second time Djokovic has featured on this list but for British tennis fans, his match 10 years ago against Andy Murray is the one that will live long in the memory.

Coming into this well-anticipated match, Wimbledon had not seen a British men’s tournament winner since Fred Perry in 1936. However, on one fateful day in 2013, that all changed.

In what was a match between the number one and two-seeded players in the world, the Scotsman broke the then-one-time Wimbledon Champion early in the first set to make it 2-1 before holding serve for the remainder of the set.

Following a nail-biting second set where Murray served an ace to win his set point in a tiebreak, the final set was worthy of a Grand Slam final on the biggest stage.

Although the two-time Olympic Gold medallist took an early 2-0 lead having broken his opponent’s serve, the Serbian responded with four straight winning games to swing the momentum in his favour at 4-2.

However, two breaks and one retained serve later Murray headed into the 10th game of the set 5-4 up serving for the Championship.

Point after point went by with both players each receiving three attempts to win the all-important game, however, a backhand shot into the net from Djokovic on advantage saw the nation erupt as Murray had won the match.

Murray would go on to win Sports Personality of the Year in 2013, as well as 2016, the year he won his second Wimbledon title.

Roger Federer v Novak Djokovic – 2019 Wimbledon Final

How could we talk about the best Wimbledon matches of all time and not mention Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer?

The winner of the last three tournaments, Djokovic has taken the trophy home six times and played his part in one of the most memorable finals of the millennium in 2019.

Coming up against Roger Federer, himself the record holder for the most Wimbledon titles at eight, Novak fought to the very death on the grass of centre court for the third time in the final, coming back from three championship points to win the fifth set on a tiebreak 14-12.

The longevity and the twists and turns are what made this match so exciting. Federer seemed to be in control from his first shot, playing some of the most elegant tennis of his career and forcing Djokovic all over the court. Though the world number one was clearly struggling with the constant sprints to return Federer’s delicious drop shots, he somehow managed to stay in the rallies long enough to force mistakes from the 37-year-old and claw himself back into contention.

The rest of the match would continue in this vein with Federer dictating the play right until the final points where it seemed he was on top. In the end, he couldn’t quite work the previous year’s winner enough to secure the victory and Djokovic’s tenacity and perhaps younger legs, ultimately prevailed.

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