Five historic tennis matches

Anyone who regularly watches tennis matches knows that a match can go either way. A match can be over in an instant, but it can also drag on for a very long time. Moreover, a match can quickly seem to be decided in favor of player A, only to have player B suddenly find his stride and turn the tide completely. Matches that last a very long time or feature comebacks that no one ever saw coming often remain etched in people's memories for ages. Sjeng Sports highlights some of these "historic" tennis matches and tells you the details!

Nadal v Medvedev (2022 Australian Open final)

True fans will undoubtedly remember it: the 2022 Australian Open final between Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev. Nadal, already quite advanced in years at 35, managed to surpass his rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in this final to win his ^21st Grand Slam title. The stakes were high for Medvedev as well, as he had won two consecutive Grand Slam tournaments (after the 2021 US Open). For a long time, it looked like the tall Russian would take the title in Melbourne. Medvedev won the first two sets (6-2 and 7-6) and, with a 3-2 lead, also faced three break points in the third set. Yet, Nadal held serve, after which the Spaniard managed to break his opponent's serve, and the rest is history. The third, fourth and fifth sets went to Nadal, meaning that after more than 5.5 hours of tennis he was the one to lift the trophy and thus become the first player with no fewer than 21 (!) Grand Slam titles to his name.

Jimmy Connors v Mikael Pernfors (Wimbledon 1987)

Jimmy Connors and Mikael Pernfors are lesser-known names in this list, but they too played a match that will certainly be remembered for a long time. During the fourth round of Wimbledon in 1987, Pernfors won both the first and second sets 6-1, after which the Swede also led 4-1 in the third set. You probably guessed it already, because Connors still took the third set and went on to win the fourth and fifth sets as well. In doing so, he completed one of the most remarkable comebacks in a tennis match ever. The American ultimately triumphed 1-6/1-6/7-5/6-4/6-2 and was eliminated in the semifinals of that tournament, where he lost to Australian Pat Cash.

Ivan Lendl v John McEnroe (1984 Roland Garros final)

During the 1984 Roland Garros final, the then world numbers one and two, John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl, faced off. American McEnroe was head and shoulders above everyone else that year – he had a win-loss record of 82-3 – and all the signals were green for him to also win Roland Garros 1984. No one doubted that the American would win, especially not when he took a 2-0 lead in sets after an hour, 6-2, 6-3. However, McEnroe was known for his erratic nature, and it didn't take much to throw him off balance. And that's what happened: McEnroe got angry because of a cameraman's headphones, and the entire match turned around. Lendl won the third set 6-4 and then also won sets four and five, both 7-5, so that, to everyone's great surprise, the Roland Garros title that year went not to McEnroe, but to Lendl.

Tomas Berdych/Lukas Rosol v Stan Wawrinka/Marco Chiudinelli (Davis Cup 2013)

Doubles matches aren't often televised, but they are still incredibly entertaining to watch. This was certainly true for the Davis Cup match between Czech pair Tomas Berdych and Lukas Rosol and Swiss players Stan Wawrinka and Marco Chiudnelli. However, if you wanted to watch the entire match, you had to set aside some time, as the four men were on court for a full seven hours and two minutes. Not surprising, considering how evenly matched the two pairs were. The Czechs won the first set, the Swiss the second. The Czech Republic regained the lead, and Switzerland equalized: time for a deciding set. The final score proved that the men were still evenly matched in this fifth set, as the Czechs won 24-22 (!) Interesting fact: the match ended with a double fault by Wawrinka, who is still playing tennis at a high level.

John Isner v Nicolas Mahut (Wimbledon 2010)

If you thought seven hours and two minutes was a long time, you haven't heard the story of the bizarre match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. In the first round of Wimbledon in 2010, the American and the Frenchman met, and that match was one for the books. After a whopping eleven hours and five minutes, a match spread over three days, Isner ultimately walked off the court as the winner. The first four sets ended 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, and the deciding fifth set, at eight hours and eleven minutes (!), became the longest set ever played. The score was a remarkable 70 to 68 in Isner's favor. A total of 980 points were played during this match, and with 113 aces, the tall American shattered yet another record. Incidentally, this record is unlikely to be broken for some time: nowadays, at Grand Slam tournaments, a match tiebreak (a tiebreak up to 10 points) is played when the score is 6-6 in the fifth set.