I decided I couldn't put this off any further as I really wanted to list some of my favourite ATP tour season hard court matches from this year, and since hard court takes up the bulk of the tennis season, its been fairly tough to pick out the best ones, but I've made a stab at it here and chosen 5 since there are so many. Here goes....
Number 5: Australian Open Semi Final, Andy Murray d. David Ferrer, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-1, 7-6(2).
There a few things that are really bad for the central nervous system, and one of those things is watching Andy Murray play a very tightly contested match in a crucial grand slam match. And this match certainly fitted the bill, as Andy had to grind out a win against the gritty, dogged and agile spaniard David Ferrer. The match itself was overall pretty high on quality, despite a few dips from both players, in the first set, there were a share of breaks, but it was ultimately Ferrer that took the set. Again more breaks of serve followed in the 2nd, with Andy at one point in real danger of going two sets down, but he broke back and took it took a tiebreaker, which he won. In the 3rd Andy took control and breezed through, however he let his form dip again in the 4th, letting Ferrer right back in, and before we knew it, it was another tiebreak, but again Andy dominated the breaker with his serve to secure his place in a career 3rd grand slam final. Both players definitely deserve a lot of credit as they brought some terrific play to this match, even the ladies World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, who was out of the tournament at this point, took a seat in Andy's box to watch. And it was unfortunate for Ferrer, who played a gutsy match to lose out, however it was even more unfortunate for the Muzza to go on and face an invincible opponent in the final, but that's another story. But overall a very fine match and one of the highlights of the season.
Number 4: Regions Morgans Keegan Championships Memphis Final, Andy Roddick d. Milos Raonic, 7-6, 6-7, 7-5.
As another switch up, here's a match with none of the top 4 players involved, as Andy Roddick early on in February this year took on the rising Canadian star and very talented player Milos Raonic. And both of them they put on a very entertaining, high quality final, and between them they must have served up at least 60 aces (Roddick alone served 32!) as they are both big servers. Both players also provided some incredible points and Raonic particularly hit some superb clean winners on both sides of the court, and throughout the match the big Canadian (6 ft 5) proved to be a real threat to Roddick's calibre. And the fact that all three sets were very tight made it for a very gripping match as well, and the match is also very noteworthy for Roddick's remarkable championship point, as he had a break point on Raonic's serve at 6-5(30-40) and sealed the title with an incredible dive, as he raced to the return Raonic's shot and dove on the court, with the ball speeding over the net clean into the court. Remarkable stuff. It also was the only title Roddick won all year, and sadly for him his year took a bit of a downturn after this, however this match was one of the highlights of his career and of the year.
Number 3: BNP Paribas Paris Masters, Semi Final, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. John Isner, 3-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(3).
Here is another match where there are none of the top 4 players in this choice, as this match was between the World No.7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and the American John Isner (ranked No. 25) in the Paris Masters semi final. John Isner came into this match leading the head to head against Tsonga 2-0 in their previous meetings, but this time he would be playing on Tsonga's home soil at the Bercy in Paris. For nearly 3 hours both players put on an absolutely superb display of tennis for the cheering French crowd, who naturally were right behind their man, Tsonga, who came under threat from the in-form giant American Isner, who's serve itself is the stuff that nightmares is made of for tennis players (remarkably Isner never had his server broken once in this match). In the first set Tsonga dropped his serve to allow Isner take it, but in the second and third sets there was nothing to set the two men apart, and in a thrilling game at 5-6 on Tsonga's serve in the 3rd, where Tsonga faced three match points, Tsonga saved them all to push the match to a tiebreak, which Tsonga closed out to reach his 2nd Paris Masters final. For most of the top players such as Murray, Djokovic or Nadal, you almost get a routine feel when they get to a Masters final as they have won so many, but when on this occassion between Tsonga and Isner, it really does feel like a big match you are watching. And this match definitely had that feel to it, as the French crowd provided a great atmosphere for the two tennis players who played some of their best stuff, with the whole crowd cheering Tsonga on to victory. John Isner also deserves a lot of credit for this match, and this year he has come forward and leaps in bounds. So in my humble opinion this was definitely one of the best matches of the hard court season.
Number 2: Sony Ericsson Open Final, Novak Djokovic d. Rafael Nadal, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4).
This match took place early on in the ATP tour season back in March when the world's two best players had it out for the second time that year, with Djokovic already having gained the upper hand against Nadal in Indian Wells, Rafa was determined to prove by the looks of thing that it was just a fluke. Despite coming out as the stronger player at the beginning, Rafa soon once again found Djokovic to be a formidable opponent who just wouldn't go away. This match was undeniably one of the highlights of the season as it featured some of the best tennis you will see in 2011, with both players just hammering it out for the crown in Miami. After his level dipped in the 2nd set, Rafa regrouped in the 3rd set as both men fought hard to keep their serve, and in the end it took a tiebreak to separate these two guys. But by then Djokovic had gotten firmly into the habit of knowing how to win a match and played the crucial points, and ultimately sealed Rafa's fate with a forehand winner down the left hand side. This was definitely when Rafa realised he was about to be replaced in the World No.1 spot by the Serb, and we clearly saw him slump in defeat in his chair at the end of an exhaustive and quite incredible match.
Number 1: US Open Final, Novak Djokovic d. Rafael Nadal, 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-1.
There are so many superlatives you could throw at this match and they still wouldn't be enough to describe just how utterly remarkable it truly was, as the 2011 US Open men's singles final wasn't just in my opinion the Number 1 match of the hard court season, it was the best match of the year: period. After losing to Novak Djokovic 5 times in a row, in 5 finals, Rafa was determined to set the record straight by trying his damndest to hold onto his New York crown, and by God did he try. Right from the start, with Rafa coming out so strong and bossing the play, you could see you were in for a treat, and before you knew it, Djokovic had not only broke back, but also bagged the first set as well as the 2nd. And the scoreline totally belies what the two men had on the court, as this was one of the most physically intense matches that has ever been played on any surface, and both men produced tennis of the highest quality you will probably ever see, that at times stopped being tennis and became more like two heavyweight boxers trading blows (well across a net!). And two of the most remarkable things about this match (of which there were many!) where that one, Rafa despite being broken at 5-6 in the 3rd set, was able to break back and take the set to a thrilling tiebreak which he won, and the second, that in the 4th set Djokovic despite suffering from back pain, was able to defeat Rafa from the back of the court, get his first serves in, and defeat Rafa 6-1!!! So in the end after a brutally exhaustive and absolutely stunning 4 hours and 10 minutes of play, Djokovic hit a forehand winner, which saw him fall flat on his back in delight as he won his 4th grand slam title. And right throughout the New York crowd, produced an utterly electrifying atmosphere as they screamed and shouted out in joy, amazement, wonder and sheer utter awe at what they were witnessing. And if there is to be a better grand slam final in the immediate future, its going to have a hell of a job outdoing this one. Just spectacular.
So that's itttttt!!!! If the ATP World Finals brings up an amazing match there will be room for it here. But that's it for now, more to follow on Paris Masters soon!
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