{"id":38781,"date":"2021-07-10T12:00:45","date_gmt":"2021-07-10T16:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=38781"},"modified":"2021-07-11T12:11:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-11T16:11:00","slug":"the-five-finest-wimbledon-mens-finals-ever-including-borg-vs-mcenroe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2021\/07\/10\/the-five-finest-wimbledon-mens-finals-ever-including-borg-vs-mcenroe\/","title":{"rendered":"The Five Finest Wimbledon Men\u2019s Finals Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Ahead of the 2021 Final, Martin Keady, our resident tennis historian, looks back at the finest Wimbledon Men\u2019s Singles Finals ever. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>The 2021 edition will have to go some to match these classics. In ascending order, here are the five finest Wimbledon Men\u2019s Singles Finals Ever.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li><strong> 2001: Goran Ivani\u0161evi\u0107 beats Pat Rafter 6\u20133, 3\u20136, 6\u20133, 2\u20136, 9\u20137<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Goran Ivanisevic v Pat Rafter: Wimbledon Final 2001 (Extended Highlights)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DzoEVuRkLLo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Goran Ivani\u0161evi\u0107 is part of Novak Djokovic\u2019s coaching team now, but 20 years ago he was on Centre Court himself, as he finally won a Wimbledon Final at the fourth attempt, eventually defeating Australia\u2019s Pat Rafter 9-7 in the fifth set after the two men had traded sets for the first four sets. It is only 20 years ago, but in terms of the evolution of tennis it almost seems like the distant past, as both Ivani\u0161evi\u0107 and Rafter were classic serve-volleyers of the kind that dominated Wimbledon for most of its first 120 years. In fact, it was the last time that two classic serve-volleyers would meet in a Wimbledon Singles Final, either for Men or Women. But if this was to be the last of the great serve-volley finals at Wimbledon, it was a heckuva way for the once dominant style of tennis to go out.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong> 1972: Stan Smith beats Ilie N\u0103stase 4\u20136, 6\u20133, 6\u20133, 4\u20136, 7\u20135<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ufLIhebvS5I<\/p>\n<p>The 1972 Wimbledon Men\u2019s Final saw perhaps the greatest contrast in styles between two finalists ever, because it was not only a clash of playing styles, between the serve-volleying Smith of the USA and the baseline-hugging Ilie N\u0103stase of Romania, but a clash of personal styles and even perhaps of eras. The tall, moustachioed but otherwise clean-cut Smith was almost the embodiment of the Amateur Era in which he had grown up, whereas \u201cMr Nasty\u201d N\u0103stase was the figurehead of the new, ultra-competitive and often foulmouthed professionalism of the post-1968 generation. But between them, they played an absolutely wonderful match, which Smith eventually won 7-5 in the fifth. Wimbledon &#8217;72 and the tennis shoes that still bear his name more than half a century on are the legacy of the singular Stan Smith.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong> 2019: Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer 7\u20136 (7\u20135), 1\u20136, 7\u20136 (7\u20134), 4\u20136, 13\u201312 (7\u20133)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer Wimbledon 2019 final highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mnLdAeSXZv0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The most recent Wimbledon Men\u2019s Final was not just a five-set classic but a three-tiebreak classic, including the first ever fifth-set tiebreak in a Wimbledon Men\u2019s Final.\u00a0 Unfortunately for Roger Federer, he lost all three of them, and with them the match. Of course, as every FedHed knows (and as Federer himself will probably never forget), the great Swiss actually held two match-points in the fifth set, when Djokovic was serving at 7-8. However, the Serb showed all the rock-like resilience that is his own defining quality as a tennis player (in contrast with Federer\u2019s grace and Nadal\u2019s competitiveness) to hold serve and eventually take the match to a third and decisive tie-break. He duly won that third tie-break 7-3, to win not only his fifth Wimbledon title but to record his third victory in a final against Federer, formerly the King of Wimbledon, in six years.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong> 1980: Bj\u00f6rn Borg beats John McEnroe 1\u20136, 7\u20135, 6\u20133, 6\u20137 (16\u201318), 8\u20136<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"One of the greatest? Borg v McEnroe Wimbledon Final 1980\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Yf0yfEfvMHE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>As with the greatest ever Wimbledon Women\u2019s Finals, for all the undoubted greatness of the other finals on the list, the top two Wimbledon Men\u2019s Finals stand apart from the others, in magnificent isolation, perhaps as the twin highpoints of the sport of tennis and not just of Wimbledon, its greatest tournament. Indeed, the second greatest Wimbledon Men\u2019s Final ever was almost universally regarded as the greatest tennis match ever played for nearly three decades, until it was finally supplanted. That was the 1980 masterpiece between Bj\u00f6rn Borg and John McEnroe, which Borg eventually won 8-6 in the fifth set to claim his fifth and final Wimbledon title. However, even if the match itself was eventually replaced as No.1 on this list, the fourth-set tiebreak surely remains the greatest tie-break ever (including even the fabulous tie-break in the No.1 Wimbledon Men\u2019s Final). It was virtually a match in itself, as baseliner Borg and serve-volleyer McEnroe traded shots and greatness until McEnroe finally prevailed 18-16. However, having won that epic battle, McEnroe eventually lost the war.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. 2008: Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer 6\u20134, 6\u20134, 6\u20137 (5\u20137), 6\u20137 (8\u201310), 9\u20137<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Roger Federer v Rafael Nadal: Wimbledon Final 2008 (Extended Highlights)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/f8YEiCAPAbg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Federer era, or Age of Roger, at Wimbledon may have finally ended this week at Wimbledon, when Hubert Hurkacz not only beat him in straight sets in their quarterfinal but actually bagelled him in the third set. It was the first time ever at Wimbledon that Federer had lost a set 6-0 and the surest proof imaginable that, as the old saying goes, time wounds all heels \u2013 even those that once appeared to possess wings.<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/81854132\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.32997% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/81854132?et=CreEqRvrRT1qyx7PLjnOfQ&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=2IYu2OfUHEB9_0Fr1fpWgMJ8Eg4Y_7gKlHSx0MpbfYM=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" width=\"594\" height=\"394\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In reality, however, the Federer era, at least in terms of his unrivalled dominance at Wimbledon, ended 13 years ago, at the conclusion of the 2008 Final that he lost to Rafael Nadal. In retrospect, the gathering gloom in which the final few games of the final set were played out can perhaps be thought of as the tennis gods closing their eyes because they could not bear to see one of their own being defeated. And if that is hyperbole, then the 2008 Final entirely justifies it. Nadal swept into a two-set lead, Federer won two incredibly close tie-breaks to level the match, and then the two greatest players of their generation (at least until Novak Djokovic stopped consuming gluten) traded shot after extraordinary shot until Nadal finally prevailed. The only consolation for Federer, and it obviously wasn\u2019t much consolation for him at all, was that he had lost not only the greatest Wimbledon Final ever but arguably the greatest tennis match ever.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/79030320\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 72.89562% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/79030320?et=ERF9ftIWTjFeO-P2quR0yQ&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=WezzN9j6RPsOvkvAVViWblMaSg_e2Mwm9uCPxUMxjiA=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" width=\"594\" height=\"433\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ahead of the 2021 Final, Martin Keady, our resident tennis historian, looks back at the finest Wimbledon Men\u2019s Singles Finals ever. The 2021 edition will have to go some to match these classics. In ascending order, here are the five finest Wimbledon Men\u2019s Singles Finals Ever. 2001: Goran Ivani\u0161evi\u0107 beats Pat Rafter 6\u20133, 3\u20136, 6\u20133, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":993,"featured_media":38817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1735,11519,6],"tags":[274,16245,11448,2281,160,22,7351,11449,135,7185,114,16244,799,21,11445,11325],"class_list":["post-38781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-time-best","category-tennis","category-wimbledon","tag-bjorn-borg","tag-borg-vs-mcenroe","tag-goran-ivanisevic","tag-ilie-nastase","tag-john-mcenroe","tag-novak-djokovic","tag-novak-djokovic-vs-roger-federer","tag-pat-rafter","tag-rafael-nadal","tag-rafael-nadal-vs-roger-federer","tag-roger-federer","tag-stan-smith","tag-tennis-history","tag-wimbledon","tag-wimbledon-history","tag-wimbledon-tennis"],"modified_by":"Yesh Ginsburg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/993"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}