OK so to continue with my look at the top 10 men's tennis matches of the year and without any further ado let's get take a look.....
5. US Open final, Novak Djokovic d. Roger Federer 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
And at No.5 we have the last grand slam final of the season which saw the World's No.1 and 2 players go at it at Flushing Meadows, New York at the US Open. The match promised as what you would usually expect from these two and given their head to head, which is so close, Novak lead it 3-2 this season so far having come off a loss in Cincinnati to Roger just a few weeks prior to the final. However Novak was a different proposition for Roger this time as the World No.1 was right ontop of his game from the start but he stil came up against some stern resistance from the Swiss Maestro in this highly entertaining and high quality clash.
The match itself started with a few breaks of serve with Rog going a break up, then Novak and eventually it was Novak that closed out the opening set. In the 2nd set there were more breaks of serve but this time it was Roger who finally managed to put the squeeze on Novak's seemingly inpenetrable defensives and he broke Nole in his 5-6 service game to level the match. In the 3rd set Roger had his chances to break Novak but the Serb hung tough and managed to scrape his way out of trouble and yet again he broke Roger to take a two sets to one lead. And in the 4th set Roger blinked not once but twice on his serve but he still managed to retrieve one of the breaks back and he pushed Novak to close it out for a second time as he pushed the World No.1 to duece a few times before the Serb showed his steely nerve and sealed the win in four sets to claim his 10th grand slam title.
Well its safe to say when these two usually play you will get a top quality match and this one proved to be no different as both men were almost equally matched throughout and the level of tennis they played was at times out of this world. Rog also had an incredible 23 break points against Novak but he was only able to convert four of them which shows just what a level that the Serb can really play at as he showed that with his unreal defensive skills and his ability to repeatedly get the ball back into play. But in the end it was a very fine match indeed which concluded that Novak really was and still is the undisputed No.1 player in the world.
4. ATP World Tour Finals round robin stage, Roger Federer d. Kei Nishikori, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
At No. 4 is what I think would be fair to say was the match of the tournament this year at the ATP world tour finals from the o2 arena in London. And this match saw things hang in the balance for Kei Nishikori who was in danger of facing the door in exiting the tournament as he took on Roger Federer in a thrilling three set scrapathon. The first set itself was pretty close but Rog went up a break early on before Kei broke back to go 5-5 and here he blinked to hand Roger the first set. In the 2nd set however after Kei went a break down again and with Roger in the driving seat, the tables turned again as the Japanese player broke Fed again to level the scores. And at this stage Roger started to blink himself on serve as he dropped serve and the 2nd set with it. And in the 3rd set Roger went up a break again but yet again Kei defied him and broke back to go 4-4 but as Kei tried to serve to go 5-5 he finally capitulated on serve and exited the tournament as Roger sealed his place in the semi finals of the event.
The ATP WTF this year was a bit better than last year's event but it has to be said this match was still the best one of the tournament and both players played some terrific tennis for the full capacity 17,800 crowd at the o2. And Nishikori deserves alot of credit for putting up such a spirited fight against Roger and he has proven once again to be a difficult customer for him as Kei had already beaten Rog twice before in their previous career meetings. It was a pity Nishikori exited the tournament at this point but it did at least see him exit it in fine style and he put a great fight that more than worthy of its place on the list.
3. French Open final, Stan Wawrinka d. Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
So at No.3 we have the French Open final between two heavyweights of the game who slugged it out on Court Philippe Chatrier to try and win their maiden titles at Roland Garros. Novak however was the overwhelming favourite in this match given the form he had shown going into this match as he was on a 28 match winning streak, whereas Stan went into this match with a bit of a question mark over his head as he had shown good form in the tournament so far in beating Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarters and semis respectively.
And the first set appeared to indicate that Novak remained the heavy favourite as he broke Stan who was dogged in trying to break Nole's serve but ultimately the Serb took the opener as he was just a third of the way towards achieveing his career grand slam. But Stan soon found his range in the match as he started to boss the World No.1 with his powerful groundstrokes and his ferocious backhand and he levelled the match a set all. And in the 3rd set Stan continued to put in a powerhouse performance and broke Novak again to seize a two sets to one lead. In the 4th set however the tables seemed to turn again with Novak going an early break up it looked like he would level the match and take it to a 5th. But Stan yet again broke Nole's serve and got back on serve and at 4-4 with Novak's serving, Stan did the near unthinkable and broke serve yet again to serve for the championship. And in the final tense 6 minute game, Stan finally got the win as he ripped an incredible backhand winner down the line to claim his 2nd grand slam title and deny Novak once again a chance to claim that elusive French open major.
Well there is not much doubt this was a really high class match with some great points and rallies from both men and despite Novak being the hot favourite to win this one, it was Stan that went in and defied the odds to claim victory for himself. In a way it was a pity that Novak lost as during the trophy presentation he fought back the tears as he receieved a standing ovation for his efforts. But you couldn't take away from Stan's stunning performance in this match as he blasted 60 winners past Novak to claim the title and with it he also proved he was no one-hit wonder and a multiple grand slam winner with surely more than one slam still in him. So there it sits at No.3.
2. Rogers cup final, Andy Murray d. Novak Djokovic 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
OK this might be more a match I've put up this high for personal reasons (as a Murray fan!;-)) but its still for me one of the best matches of the year, which was between yet again Andy and Novak. This was their 5th meeting of the year and at this point Andy was on the receiving end of 8 straight losses to his old rival so surely this had to be a must-win match.
And the match itself did not disappoint as it turned out to be a thrilling contest between two of the world's best players which saw Andy get off to a quicker start for once against his old foe Nole and he broke the Serb to move ahead in the match and grab the vital first set (as Andy has never beaten Novak from a set down in any of their meetings!). In the 2nd set however Andy's serve started to go walkabout as Novak got himself back into the match and broke the British No.1 to level proceedings. And in the 3rd set with the danger of yet another loss looming over Andy's head, he defied expectation for once and save break points on his own serve and broke Novak's by playing very aggressively and gave himself a winning chance for a change. And in a thrilling final game it was Andy who finally after 9 goes and two years, finaly managed to beat his old nemesis in three highly entertaining and nail biting sets to claim his 11th Masters 1000 series title and with it the World No.2 spot overtaking Roger Federer.
Well for me there isn't much doubt this was the best three set ATP tour match of the season and both men produced a match that was of a very high class with some great rallies and points throughout. And for Andy it was an important psychological victory as he finally managed to get a win over Novak for the first time since the Wimbledon final two years ago which saw his loss counter set back to zero. Since then Novak has started the wins again as he has beaten Andy twice since in Shanghai and Paris but let's hope he won't have to wait another two years before he get's another chance again. But regardless of any of that its still a great match and that's why its on here at the No.2 spot.
And at No.1 is...............
1. Davis cup world group first round, Great Britain vs USA: James Ward d. John Isner 6-7, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6, 15-13.
Soooooo this is my pick for the best match of the year as for a couple of reasons: one it was simply an amazing match and two, I was at it!
Yes this match was played in Glasgow at the Emirates Arena and with Great Britain taking on the USA it seemed likely that a defeat could be looming given that their team had the giant John Isner on their side and also the Bryan brothers for the doubles. And on paper this match seemed like a bit of a no brainer given that Isner is a much higher ranked player than Ward was (and is). And at the start of the match it seemed to go the way that you would expect as Isner took a two sets to love lead leaving Ward trailing and staring defeat in the face. However things turned in the 3rd set as Ward finally managed to get a break of the Isner serve and from here he managed to hold and serve out for the set to keep himself alive in the match. And in the 4th set things went to a tiebreak and Ward started to defy the odds as he took the breaker 7-3 to level the match. And from here the match went into a thrilling, nailbiting decider which went on and on (so long that I had to leave the match to go for a dinner!). And as Ward had various match points at different games he finally after nearly five hours sealed the deal and broke Isner's massive serve to close out the biggest win of his career and what turned out to be a defining moment for the Great Britain Davis cup team this year.
Well I think I've just about said it all as this match really was a stunning experience from start to finish and it was great to witness and be in such an amazing atmosphere at Emirates Arena in Glasgow. And from the third set on Ward hardly put a foot wrong as he served and returned brilliantly and in the end he succeeded in wearing his big opponent down. And it indeed turned out to be the key match to Great Britain's eventual success in the Davis cup final this year as they simply could not have done it without James Ward's victory right here as it could easily have went the other way.
And there is no doubt whatsoever that James Ward deserves all the credit for this match and what so far has been the biggest win of his career by beating a top 20 player in John Isner. And quite often Davis cup has brought out the very best in James Ward and it did so here yet again so much so that Davis cup US captain, Jim Courier said that if he can improve on that form during the tour level matches he will be an even better player and finished by saying "but I just wish he would stop playing like that against us!".
So this for me is the best tennis match of the year!
Anyway so that's it for my list and I will be back again probably early next year on this blog to do a preview of my picks for the Australian open.
So until then its bye for now and hope you all have a Merry Christmas and see you in the new year!
No comments:
Post a Comment