Five classic men’s singles Wimbledon clashes in the modern era

This clash in 2008 is often heralded as the greatest ever match in history, let alone a Grand Slam final, as it provided everything in four hours and 48 minutes of top tennis tension.

The final few games were played out in near darkness, but Nadal eventually triumphed, despite a Federer fightback, to become only the third person in the Open Era to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year.

Watch the moment Nadal falls to floor in disbelief following his win…

2009 final: Roger Federer v Andy Roddick 5-7 7-6 (8) 7-6 (7) 3-6 16-14
Luckily for Federer, his new nemesis Nadal as unable to defend his title the following year as he had to withdraw prior to the tournament due to injury.

However, American Roddick still took the Swiss all the way in the 2009 final, with the last set being 30-games long, but couldn’t make it third time lucky in Wimbledon finals – all coming against Federer.

This match was significant for Federer as, not only did he regain the world number one spot, he became the outright highest Grand Slam winner, with 15 at the time, beating former foe Sampras.

Watch match-point of this epic…

2010 first round: John Isner v Nicolas Mahut 6-4 3-6 6-7 (9) 7-6 (7) 70-68
When people mention the 2010 Wimbledon championships, they tend to overlook Nadal’s achievement of reclaiming the title, and instead remember this first round epic dubbed ‘the endless match’.

Prior to the tournament, no one would have predicted that a clash between qualifier Mahut and 23rd seed Isner could grab so much attention, but at 11 hours and five minutes, being played over three days, it become the longest ever. The match even smashed the previous record at the time by just over four-and-a-half hours.

Isner eventually won 70-68 in the final set, that went on for more than eight hours, with both players serving over 100 aces each, but the drained American was inevitably knocked out of the next round, gaining just five games.

Relive the final moments of the three-day thriller – thankfully we haven’t given you the match in full…

2013 final: Andy Murray v Novak Djokovic 6-4 7-5 6-4
While this was not necessarily known as an epic to neutral viewers, for home fans it was a proud moment of history, as Murray became the first British man to lift the famous trophy since Fred Perry way back in 1936. No Scottish-born player had won since Harold Mahony, meanwhile, back in 1896.

A straight sets victory for Murray (9/4 chance this year) against rival Djokovic (11/8 favourite) at least saved supporters from having to go through years of nerves watching Henman attempt to win Wimbledon.

Two-time Grand Slam champions Murray’s triumph did, however, prompt a flow of roars, tears and relief as the SW19 ghosts had finally been laid to rest.

Watch the final game of this match again…