The Wimbledon Championships is the oldest and most prestigious tennis sporting event in the world. Wimbledon takes place in June/July and is the third Grand Slam tournament played in the year, preceded by the Australian Open and Roland Garros, and followed by the US Open. At Wimbledon, the sport returns to its roots, and everyone is dressed in white as if it were a gala. When the organisers open the tournament, they ask competitors to dress as close to 100% white as possible. It is the only Grand Slam to be played on grass.
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Welcome to the top 5 most emblematic matches of this marvellous tournament:
5. Wimbledon 2001 – Goran Ivanisevic vs Patrick Rafter
At the age of 29, many thought that Goran Ivanisevic would be one of those cursed players who would never win a major. His serve was devastating, or just plain lousy luck always allied against him. Until 2001, when nobody counted on him and started as a Wild Card, he allowed himself a luxury: to win the tournament after an epic final against Patrick Rafter that ended 9-7 in the fifth set and with the last game will never be forgotten. Excitement, tension, and nerves, lots of nerves. There were three double faults before showing the world that Goran was finally capable of winning Wimbledon.
4. Final de Wimbledon 2019 – Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, the world’s top-ranked tennis player, won his fifth Wimbledon tournament by defeating Switzerland’s Roger Federer in an epic and record-breaking Grand Slam final. Djokovic needed four hours and 55 minutes to beat the second-seeded Swiss 7-6 (7/5), 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), 4-6 and 13-12 (7/3), reporting for the first time to a tie-break final at 12-12 after a new rule applied at Wimbledon.
3. Final de Wimbledon 2010 – John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut
It was a marathon match — a whopping eleven hours and five minutes of play, or whatever the hell that was. At the pace of serves, almost all the records were broken: 183 games, 980 points, 215 direct serves, 490 winners and only three breaks. Crazy!
2. Final de Wimbledon 1980 – Bjorn Borg vs John Mcenroe
One of the matches of the century took place on the fifth of July. A confrontation between two greats. A cold Swede who hardly thought he felt the pressure and who dominated the backcourt like few others and an American left-hander whose volley was one of his best assets. Borg won 8-6 in the fifth set, but McEnroe took an epic tie-break (16-18) in the fourth set before that. This match reached a 34-point moment on the grass to top it all off; that was fast in those years.
1. Final de Wimbledon 2008 – Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer
This one’s considered by many to be the most excellent match of all time. A duel between two giants that marked the end of a cycle, Roger Federer’s reign on the grass of Wimbledon and Nadal’s first title in London. Four hours and 46 minutes (with interruptions in between) of battle with 9-7 in the fifth set and emotion in abundance.
Are we missing an epic match in this championship? Let us know in the comments!
