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The grass courts at SW19 have witnessed plenty of epic battles over the years. The serene grass of Wimbledon has seen it all - the greatness of Rod Laver, the magic of Martina Navratilova, the style of Steffi Graf, the arrogance of Andre Agassi, the sanctity of Pete Sampras, the boldness of Billie Jean King, the booming serves of Boris Becker, the mercurial talent of John McEnroe, the wizardry of the Williams sisters, the calmness of Bjorn Borg and the class of Roger Federer.
But there are some matches that stand out and create a special place for themselves in history. This is my attempt to present the 5 greatest finals at Wimbledon over the years.
5) Venus Williams over Lindsay Davenport, 2005
Venus Williams' match against fellow American Lindsay Davenport in 2005 is considered one of the greatest women's final of all time. Lasting for 2 hours 45 minutes, it is also the longest women's final at Wimbledon.
Davenport took the first set 6-4 and was seemingly marching towards the title. The second set though was an even contest full of ups and downs, with Venus edging it in the tiebreak. Then the drama of final sets at Centre Court crept in point by point, game by game.
At one stage, the then World No. 1 Davenport was leading 4-2 and Venus was looking out of sorts. However, Davenport threw away a 40-15 lead and had to take a medical timeout due to a back injury.
After the resumption of the mammoth match, Venus saved a match point on her own serve with a vicious backhand down the line. There was no turning back after that as she sealed the third set 9-7 and with it her third Wimbledon singles title.
4) Roger Federer vs Andy Roddick, 2009
Andy Roddick was a veteran at colossal five-set battles, but more often than not he ended up on the wrong side of the result. It was no different when the Swiss maestro met the fiery American on 5th July 2009 at the All England Club.
This was their third meeting in a Wimbledon final, with Federer convincingly outplaying Roddick in the first two.
Roddick had fought hard in the lead up to the final, beating Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray in the previous rounds. On the contrary, Federer had cruised past his opponents without dropping a single set in the process.
The setting was perfect, and the two gladiators took centre stage on Centre Court. Federer was looking for his sixth title and Roddick was hoping to spoil the party.
The American started strongly, serving his way to the first set 7-5. It had always been difficult to break Roddick's serve, but if anyone could do it then it was the great Roger Federer. That Sunday though, Roddick had different plans. He was seemingly serving better with every game.
The second set went to a tie breaker which Roddick led 6-2, but Federer saved 4 set points and somehow managed to win it. The third set also went to a tie breaker with both the men tightly holding their serve. Federer won it comfortably and was one set away from clinching yet another Grand Slam.
To everyone's surprise though, Roddick broke Federer in the fourth set and leveled the match by winning it 6-3. Then began the historic fifth set for the epic finale.
There was not a single break point opportunity in the first 16 games. At 8-8 the Swiss was in a moment of bother, serving at 15-40, but managed to deny Roddick an opportunity to serve for the Championship.
No more break points were offered till 14-15, when Federer broke Roddick's serve for the first time in the match and conquered a record 15th Grand Slam. The match is remembered as much for its longevity as for Roddick's heartbreaking post match speech.
3) Goran Ivanesevic over Patrick Rafter, 2001
In a rain-affected tournament even the final wasn't spared. Due to the many delays over the previous couple of weeks the final was scheduled on Monday, and around 10,000 tickets were sold on a first come first serve basis.
It was an unfamiliar Monday with a wild crowd and a wild card finalist. It was the most un-Wimbledon final ever. The BBC called it "the most raucous crowd a Wimbledon final has ever seen". The Aussies and the Croatians lit up Centre Court with chants matching a football game.
Both the 6-feet-plus giants did not disappoint and displayed tennis of supreme quality. The big serves were on show and the quality of the tennis matched the grandeur of the occasion. It was a hard fought battle with the pendulum swinging to either side from time to time.
The No. 3 seed Aussie and the wild card Croat shared the first four sets among themselves. In the fifth set, Rafter managed to save three match points, but after that his resolve gave in. Finally Ivanesevic converted his fourth match point and won the most dramatic Wimbledon final ever.
In the process, Ivanisevic became the first man to win the tournament as a wild card in the Open era.
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2) Bjorn Borg over John McEnroe, 1980
Many sports journalists and tennis greats have dubbed this match as the greatest Wimbledon final ever. It was a match between the two best players in the world at that time.
The Borg-McEnroe rivalry is considered to be one the most fierce rivalries in tennis; the match-up was a complete contrast of style and demeanor. And that is what made that final so special. It was a clash of two of the greatest tennis superstars in their prime.
After the first three sets, the Scandinavian had the upper hand leading 2-1. But in the penultimate set of the match came the humongous tie breaker for which this match is so famous. This 22-minute marathon tie breaker broke all boundaries of entertainment in sport.
The seesaw tie breaker ended when Borg netted a volley, handing the set to the flashy American. In the process McEnroe had managed to save several match points, thereby setting up a mouth watering final set.
McEnroe versus Borg was Fire and Ice. It was the flamboyance of McEnroe against the poise of Borg. It was the aggression of the American versus the composure of the Swede.
In the nervy fifth set, the calmness of Borg prevailed as he broke McEnroe and it was game, set and match. The score line read 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (16-18), 8-6, thus ending one of the most entertaining finals WImbledon has ever seen.
1) Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer, 2008
Arguably the two greatest tennis players of all time took to Centre Court on July 6, 2008 to create history and establish their supremacy over the tennis fraternity.
The anticipation of this final had started the previous year when Federer beat Nadal in an epic five setter to capture his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title. The Fedex-Rafa rivalry had already taken shape with Federer conquering the grass throne and Nadal establishing himself as the King of Clay.
It was fight between Federer's class and Nadal's tenacity. Having beaten Nadal in the previous two finals, Federer clearly had an advantage over his opponent. The Spaniard on his part was aiming for the unthinkable French Open and Wimbledon double. Bjorn Borg was the last person to achieve this feat in 1980.
On a cloudy Sunday afternoon, the battle between these two legends brought sunshine to central London. It was tennis of the highest quality, the kind never seen before anywhere on this planet.
Federer's racquet was oozing class and Nadal fought for every blade of grass on the court. Federer with his elegance and magic coupled with Nadal's power and aggression, with splashes of rain here and there, resulted in the 'PeRFect' final.
After playing out the longest final in Wimbledon history, Nadal claimed victory with a score of 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (6-8), 9-7. It was 4 hours 48 minutes of extraordinary tennis which resulted in Spanish joy and Swiss tears. This was Nadal's first Wimbledon title, and what a way he chose to do that.
As John McEnroe rightly said on air, "This is the greatest match I've ever seen". Nadal had managed to do the impossible by beating Federer in a Wimbledon final.
The match ended at 9.16 pm in a shroud of darkness, with Nadal holding the Wimbledon trophy amidst the flashes of cameras. This final has since become analogous to the great Fedex-Rafa rivalry; it surpassed all expectations and highlighted to the world the greatness of these two geniuses.
Special mentions:
Margaret Court over Billie Jean King, 1970
Suaznne Langlen over Dorthea Lambert Chambers, 1919
Arthur Ashe over Jimmy Connors, 1975
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