(AP Photo/Robert Dear, File)
1. Borg-McEnroe tiebreak
John McEnroe’s infamous ‘you cannot be serious’ line could easily have taken top spot, but the part he played in the 18-16, fourth-set tiebreaker in the 1980 Wimbledon final may just have been the most engrossing 22 minutes of tennis ever played in south-west London.
The top seed Borg, the stoic Swede, was up against second seed John McEnroe, the combative American, their first-ever meeting in a Grand Slam tournament with Borg aiming to take home his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title and McEnroe hoping to secure his first. McEnroe cruised through the first set, but Borg soon came back to win the next two, letting two match points slip away while serving in the fourth set as it went to a tiebreaker. It was a decider that lasted an age, the tension building with each point as the lead changed hands five times – Borg had five match points, McEnroe had six set points, and it was the American who finally converted with his seventh to take the set and the final to the bitter end. Borg, however, rallied to win the final set 8-6, clinching his fifth and, amazingly, his final Wimbledon crown, despite this being his 10th Grand Slam title, aged just 24.
2. Navratilova wins her ninth
At 21, Martina Navratilova won her first Wimbledon singles title in 1978; nine years later, she had eight of them. Dominating the grass court, the Czech American had equalled the record of singles titles set by Helen Wills Moody in 1938, however her ambition to win her ninth was stunted as the new titan of women’s tennis, Steffi Graff, began to ascend. In 1988 and 1989, Graf would beat Navratilova on Centre Court for back-to-back Wimbledon titles and, come 1990, a now 33-year-old Navratilova was running out of runway, having gone three years without a Grand Slam title. Yet, as it has done so many times, Wimbledon brought back the magic, and she would go on not just to claim her record-beating ninth title, but do so in dominant style, without dropping a set in her entire run. With Graf taken care of by Zina Garrison in the semi-finals, Navratilova stormed to a 6-4, 6-1 win against the American to become the most decorated Wimbledon singles player of all time, men’s or women’s (Federer has only won eight).
3. The greatest final of all time?
Five sets, two rain delays, the greatest players of the time at the peak of their powers, and a grandstand finish shrouded in darkness; the 2008 men’s singles final had it all. It was a match that brought to a head tension that had been building for three years – Nadal had lost to Federer in the two previous Wimbledon finals in 2006 and 2007, the latter in a riveting five-setter, so the Spaniard was more determined than ever to make it third time lucky. Federer, however, wasn’t going to let his ‘king of grass’ crown go so easily – he had not lost a match at the All England Club since 2002 and was shooting for his sixth straight Wimbledon crown. The two contrasting styles made for exhilarating tennis, but ultimately it was Rafa who had the upper hand – after forcing Federer to fight off two match points in the fourth set, Nadal refused to let Federer get out of reach in the fifth, winning the final set 9-7.
4. Arthur Ashe upset
American Jimmy Connors was the man to beat on grass in 1975. The year before he had dominated the great Ken Rosewall on Centre Court, before doing the same again at the US Open (back when it was also played on grass) to assert his dominance on the surface. Reaching the final without dropping a set, the 22-year-old was the easy favourite. Meanwhile, his opponent Ashe was a player that looked past his prime – without a Grand Slam title in five years and without a final appearance in three, he made it to the final hurdle in unconvincing fashion too. Few thought he’d be the man heading home with the trophy. There was also an added edge to the contest – just two weeks before the final, Connors had announced a $5 million libel suit against Ashe for criticising his decision to not play for the US Davis Cup team.
But, while Ashe came in as the underdog, he came out at the victor, decisively too with a 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 victory to clinch one of the greatest upsets in Wimbledon history.
5. Wade wins Wimbledon on centenary
The day that Virginia Wade won Wimbledon in 1977 remains one of the greatest occasions in British sport. From a sporting perspective, Wade wasn’t fancied at all for the title – she had two Grand Slams at this point, a US Open in 1968 and an Australian in 1972, but was considered past her best – but after a semi-final victory over Chris Evert, it looked as if it might be her year in her 16th attempt at the crown. Dutchwoman Betty Stove was her opposition in the final, and with a three-set victory, Wade brought the trophy home exactly 100 years after the tournament had begun. With a British winner in the centenary year, it was already quite the occasion at the All England, but to make matters more special it was also the Silver Jubilee year, the Venus Rosewater Dish presented to Wade by Queen Elizabeth II herself – it couldn’t have been scripted much better.
6. Ivanisevic becomes first wild-card winner
The 2001 Wimbledon final was undoubtedly one of the most fascinating and most unpredictable events in sporting history, let alone tennis. While Goran Ivanisevic was not unknown to Centre Court – he’d been a Wimbledon finalist three times – the Croatian had faded outside of the top 100 in the world rankings and had only got into the tournament thanks to a wild-card entry. Ivanisevic had lost in the first round in four of his five tournaments leading up to Wimbledon, but somehow his best form returned at the All England. Infamously (for British tennis fans at least) beating Tim Henman in five sets in the semi-final (following that crucial, ill-timed [for Henman] rain delay), he went on to win another five-setter against Pat Rafter in the final, and in doing so became the first ever wild-card to lift the Wimbledon trophy. Part of what spurred him on was the other remarkable aspect of that final, the crowd. Played on the Monday after rain delay, 10,000 tickets were handed out on a first come first served basis, and with that came a crowd and an atmosphere that had never before been seen at the All England, more akin to a football stadium than centre court.
7. Sister act in the women’s final
The Williams sisters first faced each other at Wimbledon in the 2000 semi-final when Venus Williams would not only win in straight sets [6-2, 7-6], but go on to win the first of five crowns in SW19, defeating Lindsay Davenport in the final, 6–3, 7–6. However, 2002 saw them meet in a Grand Slam final for the first time. Even though Venus was defending back-to-back champion [and would win a further three titles in later years], Serena was in the ascendency, a dominant force that couldn’t be stopped even by the only player to be cut from the same cloth. Serena defeated her big sister [older by two years] 7-6, 6-3, but they’d at least share the spoils in the doubles, winning the women’s doubles title 6-2, 7-5, against Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez. It was the second of six doubles crowns they’d secure together.
8. Andy Murray ends 77-year wait for British men’s champion
For the modern British tennis fan, there’s only one moment. Ever since Fred Perry’s third title in 1936, British men had failed time and again to win their home singles Grand Slam – until 2013, when Scotsman Andy Murray ended the drought. The best British hope since Tim Henman, Murray had made his first final in 2012 but lost in four sets to the grass court wizardry of Roger Federer, so when he made it back to the last dance a year later, victory seemed to be his destiny, even with Novak Djokovic between him and his prize. It was by no means straightforward, the man from Dunblane having to battle back from 1-4 down in the second set and a 2-4 deficit in the third, but after a backhand from Djokovic hit the net, Murray had done it, and in straight sets too: 6–4, 7–5, 6–4. He secured a second three years later, winning the 2016 final 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 against Milos Raonic.
