Top 5 active tennis players with the most 5th set wins

Winning a match in the fifth set is the ultimate test of any player's mental strength, stamina and endurance. When a best-of-five-set match enters a decider, exhaustion (both physical and mental) begins to set in, as the mind and body both begin to wear down.

It is when skill and talent cede centre-stage to resolve and stamina, as both players dig deep into their innermost recesses of physical and mental reserves in an effort to outlast the each other and haul themselves over the finish-line.

The best-of-five-set format is what separates the men from the boys. The beauty of the format is best encapsulated in the fact that a player may be good enough to win in three or four sets, but may not necessarily fare as well if a match happens to goes the distance.

To a casual fan this might appear like a statistical oddity, as in any case the one who wins three sets also wins the match. But professional players know that it is a different ball game when a match enters a fifth set.

There have been numerous instances when a player who executes better for the most part of the first three sets is unable to close out the match, and then it becomes anybody's game in the fifth. In the one-set shootout, the player who serves first is generally considered to have an advantage as the receiver is always under scoreboard pressure.

There are five players in the Open Era who have played 50 or more fifth-set matches, and all of them have at least 30 fifth-set wins. Romanian great Ilie Nastase, with 39 fifth-set wins, leading the Open Era group as well as the all-time list.

Let us now meet the five active players who have won the most fifth-set matches in their careers.

#5 Fernando Verdasco (25-23)

Fernando Verdasco

Fernando Verdasco's 25-23 fifth-set record places him at 27th place in the all-time list. The Spanish southpaw, who made his professional debut in 2001, last played a fifth-set match at the US Open first round this year - where he lost to South Korean Hyeon Chung.

Verdasco's last victory in a fifth-set match came against Kyle Edmund in the Wimbledon second round, where the Spaniard overturned a two-set deficit to take the win.

Earlier in the season, Verdasco found himself at the other end of the spectrum. He led Marin Cilic by two sets in the third round of the Australian Open, but couldn't haul himself over the line.

#4 Stan Wawrinka (27-22)

Stanislas Wawrinka

Stan Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam winner, has a 27-22 fifth-set record which is identical to that of retired American Andre Agassi, and good enough for joint 20th in the all-time list for most fifth-set wins.

The 'other' Swiss' last fifth-set match was at Wimbledon this year, where he went down to young American Reilly Opelka in the second round after leading by two sets to one. This match came on the heels of an epic five-set Roland Garros 4th round tussle with Stefanos Tsitsipas, where Wawrinka led by a set on two occasions before outlasting the young Greek 8-6 in the fifth.

At 5 hours 9 minutes, it was the third-longest match ever at Roland Garros.

Wawrinka had dethroned three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in a five-set quarterfinal at the 2014 Australian Open. His first win in 15 attempts over the Serb laid the platform for a maiden Grand Slam title two matches later.

#3 Roger Federer (30-23)

Roger Federer

With 30 fifth-set wins, Roger Federer holds the joint-record with two other players for the most fifth-set victories by an active player.

Federer is one of five players in the Open Era to have contested over 50 fifth-set matches. Only five other players (all retired) have won more fifth-set matches than the 38-year-old.

28 of Federer's 30 fifth-set wins have come in Grand Slam tournaments, with four of his record-20 Grand Slam titles coming off matches which went the distance (2018 Australian Open - Marin Cilic, 2017 Australian Open - Rafael Nadal, 2009 Wimbledon - Andy Roddick, and 2007 Wimbledon - Rafael Nadal).

Some of Federer's most heartbreaking losses have also arrived in matches which went the distance. The Swiss maestro failed to convert match points against Novak Djokovic in the 2019 Wimbledon final, and also in the 2010-11 US Open semifinals. The same fate befell him against Kevin Anderson in the 2018 Wimbledon quarterfinals, where he led the South African by two sets to love and had a match point in the third.

Federer came within two points of victory before being thwarted in five-set finals at the 2008 Wimbledon (against Nadal) and the 2009 US Open (against Juan Martin Del Potro).

However, Federer holds the Open Era record for most comebacks from two sets down, doing so on no fewer than 10 occasions (also Aaron Krickstein and Boris Becker). The last such instance was against Marin Cilic in the 2016 Wimbledon quarterfinals, where the Swiss maestro also survived match points before eking out a hard-fought win.

#2 Marin Cilic (30-17)

Marin Cilic

Along with Federer and one other player, Marin Cilic holds the record for most fifth-set wins by an active player.

Cilic has lost his last two fifth-set matches. In the second round of this year's Roland Garros, the Croat squandered a set lead on two occasions against Grigor Dimitrov before losing 3-6 in the fifth. In the fourth round of the Australian Open, Cilic lost to Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut.

The big-serving Croatian's last win in a fifth-set match came in the match before the Bautista Agut match, in the 2019 Australian Open fourth round. Cilic fought back from two sets down to beat another Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-3 in the fifth. That marked the 7th time in his career that Cilic had won a match from a two-set deficit.

#1 Novak Djokovic (30-10)

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic is the epitome of grit, resilience and never-say-die attitude. With a 30-10 career win-loss record in fifth-set matches, Djokovic's success rate of 75% in matches which go the distance is only bettered by 10 players in the all-time list.

Only one active player - Kei Nishikori (23-6; 79.3%) has a superior win percentage to Djokovic's in fifth-set matches.

Some of Djokovic's most famous wins have come in matches which went the distance. Thrice Djokovic saved multiple match points in a match against Roger Federer (2010 US Open semis, 2011 US Open semis, 2019 Wimbledon final), the last two instances being match points down on his opponent's serve.

Djokovic's 5-hour 53-minute win over Rafael Nadal in the 2012 Australian Open final is the longest Grand Slam final in the Open Era. The Serb's last defeat in a fifth-set match came in the semifinals of Roland Garros this year, when he went down to Dominic Thiem.

The Serb has had five comebacks from two sets down, the last one being against Kevin Anderson in the 2015 Wimbledon fourth round.