The six best Grand Slam matches in 2019 for the men
Only the four majors still play on three sets of wins. And only at the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows develop dramas that the tennis fans remember years later.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Dec 04, 2019, 09:19 am
Appraisals are always subjective - and if the official website of the ATP Tour now selects the six best Grand Slam matches of the year 2019, then at least the Austrian tennis fans ask themselves: wait! Was not there something in Roland Garros? Semi-final? Dominic Thiem against Novak Djokovic in five sets under very special circumstances? But good. Let us rest. And we rely on the judgment of the experts at the ATP.
# 6: Milos Raonic vs. Stan Wawrinka, Australian Open, second round
If two players like Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka already meet in the second round of a major, then at least one of them must have gone a little wrong in the previous season. After all, the two veterans should be regulars in all seedlists. In Australia, however, it was just in the second match for big exchange. And that after Raonic had to defeat Nick Kyrgios at the start. However, that gave the Canadian so much momentum in the game against Wawrinka that he was after a season of 4:01 hours with 7: 6 (4), 6: 7 (6), 7: 6 (11), 7 6 (5).
# 5: Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal, Wimbledon, semifinals
Eleven years after their epic final, which Nadal won in the fifth set as darkness fell, the two legends met each other this time in the semi-final. Just like a few weeks ago in Roland Garros. There, Nadal had asserted himself in three sets, on Church Road now kept Roger Federer with 7: 6 (3), 1: 6, 6: 3, 6: 4 the upper hand. "It's always very, very cool to play here against Rafa," said Federer after the match. "Especially because we have not met here for so long. The match lived up to the hype, we both played well from the start. "
# 4: Roberto Bautista vs. Agut. Andy Murray, Australian Open, First Round
In retrospect, you are always smarter. But that evening in Melbourne, it actually looked as if Roberto Bautista Agut had the brave Andy Murray in the tennis pension with 6: 4, 6: 4, 6: 7 (5), 6: 7 (4), 6: 2 adopted. After the game, a tearful video trailer of colleagues followed, Murray rode with broken hip into the sunset. And, as you know, it reappeared in London's Queen's Club.
# 3: Rafael Nadal vs. Daniil Medvedev, US Open, Final
That this match was still an Instant Classic, could guess no one in the second set. Too dominant played Nadal, who also had the audience almost entirely on his side. Medvedev, however, once again listened very deeply, managed the set compensation and forgave early in the fifth round even the chances of the big sensation. But at least reconciled with the fans, who were not well-disposed to him during two weeks of New York City. Of course, Rafael Nadal was not the same: the Spaniard left with a 7: 5, 6: 3, 5: 7, 4: 6, 6: 4 and his 19th Major Cup.
# 2: Stan Wawrinka vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas, French Open, round of 16
Who saw Stefanos Tsitsipas after the match at the press conference, learned the amazing: he had cried after the defeat in this epic match on the court Suzanne Lenglen for the first time in a very, very long time, Tsitsipas said on record. What would have given him in his view, only due to the result occasion. The match, which Stan Wawrinka won 7: 6 (6), 5: 7, 6: 4, 3: 6, 8: 6, fulfilled all wishes in a playful way.
# 1: Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer, Wimbledon, Final
When the Wimbledon officials at the turn of the year decided to work on their rules, nobody could have guessed that the introduction of a tiebreak at 12:12 in the fifth set could play a role in the men's final. On the other hand, this match between Djokovic and Federer, who left two match points unused in the match at the score of 8: 7 in the decision, would have come to no other end. Djokovic won 7: 6 (5), 1: 6, 7: 6 (4), 4: 6, 13:12 (3) and spoke about the mentally most exhausting match of his career.