Top 5 tennis matches of all time according to 'Served', Andy Roddick's podcast
Tennis NewsTuesday, 06 May 2025 at 11:00
In the latest episode of "Served", Andy Roddick and his colleagues reviewed the top 5 tennis matches of all time, as voted by their listeners. Here's the result of that list, along with highlights from the former world No. 1.
The matches analyzed span from the 1980s to the present day, including contrasting styles, grueling tests of physical endurance and legendary rivalries that helped shape the sport of racquetball into what we know it as today.
5 | Australian Open 2012 - Final | Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic
- Scorecard: 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5
- Duration: 5 hours 53 minutes
- Date: January 29, 2012
The 2012 Australian Open final went down in the books as the longest Grand Slam final ever, with 5 hours and 53 minutes of pure drama on court. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, two modern tennis legends, prolonged the match to beyond their own physical limits. After the Serb's victory, both players watched the prize-giving ceremony totally exhausted, moving around to avoid cramps after such a tough battle.
"It was crazy: almost six hours. You break inside and you still have to keep a cool head. Djokovic went from being questioned for his stamina to being called 'Iron Man' because he turned apparent weakness into his great weapon. I don't know if I could have taken it," A-Rod said.
Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal just wanted to sit down and rest after their 6-hour Australian Open 2012 final.
— Danny 🐊 (@DjokovicFan_) June 14, 2024
Amazing that it took so long for someone to get them a chair. 😂pic.twitter.com/HQ1uyoCotF
"We had bar mitzvah band, a lounge singer singing 'Cars' by Randy Newman, even a bar mitzvah group playing 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart.' Meanwhile, Nadal and Djokovic could barely stand. It was the most Kafkaesque finale I can remember at a Grand Slam."
4 | Roland Garros 1985 - Final | Martina Navratilova vs. Chris Evert
- Score: 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-5
- Duration: 2 hours 47 minutes
- Date: June 8, 1985
Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova had forged one of the most emblematic rivalries in tennis, both in terms of quality and closeness. Before the final of the Parisian major in 1985, Evert had lost 13 times in a row to Martina, many of them on the fast courts that favored Navratilova's game. However, Evert, one of the best clay-court players of all time, took the match and won her sixth Roland Garros.
"If we travel to the clay statistics, Evert had a tremendous record: 382 wins to 22 losses, a 94.5% success rate and 125 straight wins in the 1974-75 season. How can we not give him a place of honor when we talk about dominant clay-court players?" noted Mike Barthol.
"Martina had reached heights of play and power that seemed insurmountable, but Chris proved that mental consistency and magic in long exchanges can beat even the most complete. It was a reminder that tennis is as much mental as it is physical," noted the former world No. 1.
3 | Wimbledon 1980 - Final | Björn Börg vs. John McEnroe
- Score: 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7(16), 8-6
- Duration: 3 hours 53 minutes
- Date: July 5, 1980
Nearly 45 years ago, the All England Tennis Club was the scene of a clash between two polar opposites that would be remembered to this day, taking the popularity of tennis to new heights;
The coolness and calculating play of Sweden's Björn Börg against the unbridled impetus of a young John McEnroe. This is where the great Mac's famous and iconic "You cannot be serious!" originated during the marathon tiebreak in the fourth set;
Borg would eventually be the victor of this dramatic encounter, collapsing to his knees at the end of the match.
John McEnroe and the magic of his left foot at Wimbledon.
"Notice the contrast: McEnroe explodes, screams, scrambles... and Borg, after the deciding point, simply collapses. He didn't need to celebrate; his kneeling gesture was enough to mark an era."
"Borg's gesture has reached Federer's day. Both dropped to their knees, both silences filled with meaning. That instant was more powerful than any hug or dance," Roddick observed.
That match consolidated the model of epic rivalry, where the clash of temperaments enriches the spectacle and underlines the human dimension of sport.
2 | Wimbledon 2009 - Final | Roger Federer vs. Andy Roddick
- Score: 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 3-6, 16-14
- Duration: 4 hours 17 minutes
- Date: July 5, 2009
Andy Roddick was back in the fray against Federer after losing the 2004 and 2005 finals at the All England. The Swiss was trying to bounce back after losing to his nemesis, Rafael Nadal, the previous year. In addition, Federer's career and his desire to be the greatest of all time put him in front of the possibility of reaching the record of one of his idols at Wimbledon, Björn Borg.
The result? A true marathon and rain of aces of 4 hours of duration, with two tiebreaks included and a heart-stopping definition in the fifth set, where Roger would shout champion again.
"Federer hit 50 aces. I had 27. I held all the neutral exchanges better than ever, and that allowed me to push until the end. It was probably the best tennis of my career in return," confessed the former US Open champion, who still remembers that final with bitterness.
1 | Wimbledon 2008 - Final | Roger Federer - Rafael Nadal
- Score: 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7
- Duration: 4 hours 48 minutes
- Date: July 6, 2008
With both players at the top of the rankings, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer played the most memorable match of all time. The match, in addition to an exquisite tennis, had all the condiments to transcend in time: a lot of drama, two interruptions due to rain and a definition that consumed until the last minute of light in London;
The Swiss was going for his sixth consecutive Wimbledon, but Rafa was on a mission in 2008, seeking his first title at the cathedral of tennis, while snatching the No. 1 ranking from Federer after more than two years of pursuit.
"If that match had gone one more game, they would have had to call Monday. It was epic: grass, rain, gloom ... and two gladiators who denied any hint of weakness," said Roddick;
"Beating Federer at Wimbledon, on home soil, was the founding act of Nadal's legend. That's when we understood that it wasn't just about clay: his resilience was universal."
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