Wimbledon’s Most Epic Men’s Singles Finals

The 2019 clash between Djokovic and Federer went down in Wimbledon’s history as it lasted 4 hours and 58 seconds. The Serbian successfully defended his 2018 title and defeated his opponent with 7-6 (7-6), 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 13-12 (7-3).

Djokovic became the first tennis player since 1948 to secure a win after being points down but the clash was eventful for yet another reason. This was the first time when the tie break rule was enforced at the prestigious British tournament.

The 2013 men’s singles final pitted Andry Murray against his fiercest rival Djokovic to end in what some consider a surprising victory for the Scot. Murray managed to crush his opponent in a little over three hours and became the first British tennis player to secure the Wimbledon title since Fred Perry who lifted the trophy in 1936.

Murray’s victory was also momentous because no Scot had won the title since Harold Mahony’s victory back in 1896. Additionally, this was Murray’s first triumph at the hallowed grass courts of the All England Club. Muzzard repeated this stunt again in 2016 against Canadian pro Milos Raonic, earning £2 million in prize money.

Federer crushed his American opponent at lush grass courts of the All England Club with a result of 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 16-14, securing his sixth Wimbledon champion title. The clash set a record at the time as the longest in terms of games played, as the two opponents went through 77 games before Federer finally prevailed.

Many tennis fans consider this match a turning point in Federer’s career as it gave the Swiss player his 15th major title. The event was so momentous that tennis legend Pete Sampras flew all the way from the U.S. to watch it, returning to the Wimbledon courts for the first time since 2002.

One year before his iconic triumph over Roddick, Federer suffered a bitter defeat at the hands of his biggest rival Rafael Nadal. The Spanish player crushed the Swiss with 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (8-10), 7-9 in what many regard as the most iconic match in the entire history of tennis.

This was a momentous moment in Nadal’s career as he previously suffered two agonizing Wimbledon defeats against his Swiss nemesis, in 2006 and again in 2007. El Nino denied Federer a sixth successive Wimbledon title, earning his first title at the All England Club for a prize of £750,000.

Croatian pro Goran Ivanisevic made history in 2001 when he became the first unseeded player to secure the champion title in more than fifteen years. Ivanisevic denied Rafter the title with 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7 to lift the champion trophy and return home with £500,000 in prize money.

Another reason why the match was notable is because the Croatian became the first wild card to secure a Grand Slam title. The win allowed Ivanisevic to climb from 125th to 16th position in the rankings at the time. He himself was surprised at his triumph, calling in “an unsolved mystery”.

The 1980 Wimbledon Men’s Singles final between Björn Borg and John McEnroe is among the greatest sporting moments of the last century. On July 5, 1980, the Swede made history as he conquered his fifth Wimbledon champion title in a row, defeating his opponent by 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (16-18), 8-6.

The fifth and final set was of particular significance as it saw Borg hitting 80% of his first serves and conceding only three points on serve. The pitched battle ended after 3 hours and 53 minutes when Borg unleashed an impressive backhand passing shot that earned him his fifth consecutive win at the All England Club center court.