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12/15/09 11:29 PM | Ricky Dimon
The Tennistalk panel has voted and the writers have come up with the Top 10 matches of the year on the ATP Tour. Part 1 includes matches 8-10.
10) U.S. Open second round: Taylor Dent d. Ivan Navarro 6-4, 5-7, 6-7(1), 7-5, 7-6(9)
After retiring from tennis due to serious back surgery and never expected to play tennis again, Dent found himself in the second round of the 2009 U.S. Open on Friday, September 4. Standing in Dent's way of an appearance in the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2005 U.S. Open was little-known veteran Spaniard Ivan Navarro. It was hardly a much-anticipated match, but it became an instant classic. Playing throwback, serve-and-volley tennis, both players put on an incredible, near-flawless show over four hours and 12 minutes. Dent finished with a mind-boggling 121 winners at the expense of just 50 unforced errors. Navarro struck 70 winners and committed a shockingly mere 20 mistakes. Fittingly, only a fifth-set tiebreaker could separate the two competitors. Navarro saved three match points and Dent saved one in a nail-biting 'breaker before Dent finally clinched it 11-9 with a down-the-line backhand return. After a hug at the net, Dent grabbed the chair umpire’s microphone and said “You guys are unbelievable,” to the Grandstand crowd before taking two victory laps.
9) French Open fourth round: Robin Soderling d. Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(2)
Although it perhaps lacked the same drama as other Top 10 matches, this one stole more headlines than just about any match this entire year, or even this entire decade. Nadal, of course, had never lost at Roland Garros; four appearances, four titles. Furthermore, he had just hammered Soderling 6-1, 6-0 in Rome. On this day, however, Soderling’s power was simply too much for the top-seeded Spaniard. While the details of the match are often lost in the hoopla and the fact that Nadal was not as his best is undeniable, this memorable clash was actually both competitive and of relatively high quality. Nadal finished with more winners than errors (33 to 28) and even though Soderling had more than two times as many unforced errors (59) as Nadal, the underdog Swede also struck almost twice as many winners (61). Most impressively, Soderling held his nerve at the most tense of moments, dominating the fourth-set tiebreaker with a monumental upset on the line.
8) U.S. Open third round: John Isner d. Andy Roddick 7-6(3), 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6(5)
What was supposed to be a day session match turned out to be the first electrifying night spectacle—a veritable tradition in Arthur Ashe Stadium—of the 2009 U.S. Open. Two Americans—a former champion and title hopeful in Roddick against an up-and-coming giant in the 6'9'' Isner—battled until well past 9:00 at night and it almost surely would have gone much, much later if the U.S. Open did not have its fifth-set tiebreaker rule in place. While the fans inside Arthur Ashe could barely move due to suspense, those outside (waiting to see world No. 1 Dinara Safina followed by New York favorite James Blake), numbering in the thousands, could barely move amidst a sea of bodies clamoring for views of the big screen while waiting to get inside. Not only was it a long one, but it was also a darn good one. Roddick lost despite firing 51 winners against a miniscule 20 errors, blasting 20 aces to just two double-faults, and never dropping serve over the final three sets. Isner, however, crushed a whopping 90 winners and 38 aces and he won all six of his service points in the fifth-set ‘breaker. "I kind of knew that if the match went a little bit long, it would turn into a night match and I really wanted to be in that atmosphere," Isner explained. "The crowd was giving me goose bumps."
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Ricky: That's too cruel to include the Rafa RG match in this list. It was only the match of the year if you were a staunch Soderling fan - and before RG there were not too many of those around. For RN fans it was a nightmare!
ed251137 , 12/16/09 11:56 AM
I think the quality of the Rafa/Soderling match is high quality where Soderling's tennis is concerned, but not high quality in terms of Rafa's tennis. How often do you see Rafa standing so far behind the baseline without even adjusting his position throughout the match (on clay), throwing short balls after short balls at Soderling, and allowing Soderling to dictate play throughout the whole match. I don't think that can be considered high quality play from Rafa, the only thing why the match is competitive is because of how good a player Rafa is on clay, that playing 'poorly' by his standard is still good enough to give Soderling a good fight when Soderling is playing the match of his life. The subsequent matches by Soderling during the FO were also good but definitely not as good as what he did against Rafa. After the FO, Soderling could not produce that kind of play anymore against anyone. He is still a top class player, hence he is in the top ten, but his FO performance is definitely above his usual normal level and will be hard for him to replicate. By next year's FO, if he can't go beyond the 4th round, he'll drop plenty of points, and may drop out of top ten if he can't gain points from other tournaments.
luckystar , 12/16/09 12:20 PM
This blog should really come under upsets of the year, to call them top 10 matches of the year baffles me!
carrie , 12/16/09 1:17 PM
ed (and carrie) - keep in mind this is not my list. It is the master list, a combination of six different writers' lists. So it is going to be at least fairly accurate when it comes to naming the best matches.
both Dent-Navarro and Isner-Roddick were on my individual list. Nadal-Soderling was not.
RickyDimon , 12/16/09 3:10 PM
My guesses - #1 = US Open final; #2 = Wimbledon final; #3 = Rafa/Nole Madrid?
stu , 12/16/09 3:13 PM
Anyway, all these lists and polls are purely subjective.
carrie , 12/16/09 3:26 PM
i dont think anyone ever though they WEREN'T subjective!
RickyDimon , 12/16/09 3:43 PM
This is the ATP take on the decade:
NEWS
ATP REVEALS THE BEST OF THE DECADE
Mallorca, December 16, 2009
The 2010 season will not only mark the end of a spectacular decade of tennis, but also, it reminds us tennis fans of how lucky we have been to witness some of the best moments the sport has ever seen.
Roger Federer takes the cake as the best player without doubt, and Rafa Nadal (who celebrates his 9th year on tour at the start of 2010), deserves an honourable mention for giving tennis the excitement and entertainment it deserves. This decade wouldn't have been the same without either of them.
Perhaps, not having Roger around would have meant Rafa would have had a few more titles under his belt, and some would even say he would have become the best in history, BUT lucky for Rafa (and tennis fans), it hasn't been that easy. If anything, it?s thanks to their rivalry that their achievements are that much more significant.
As prove, check out this week?s ATP World Tour website to read about this decade?s best players, and the top 10 records and achievements.
Below are Rafa?s outstanding results:
DECADE IN REVIEW TOP 10 RECORDS & ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE DECADEby ATP Staff
3. Rafael Nadal?s four consecutive Roland Garros titles is a stunning feat. The Spaniard won on debut in 2005 and won 31 consecutive matches before big-hitting Swede Robin Soderling upset him in a fourth-set tie-break in the fourth round this year.
5. Rafael Nadal became the first man since Bjorn Borg 28 years before him to claim the elusive Roland Garros-Wimbledon double in 2008. (Federer repeated the feat in 2009). In a banner year Nadal also won Olympic gold that season.
8. Rafael Nadal?s imposing clay-court streak during the decade was breathtaking. Nadal, who owns a 181-16 career win-loss record on clay, won more than 11 matches for each one he lost on the surface. He amassed an 81-match winning streak between 2005-07. His record in best-of-five-set matches on clay is 49-1 and he has won 24 of 26 finals on the surface.
10. Rafael Nadal?s record at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments is astonishing. Before turning 23 in June, Nadal had won 15 of the ATP World Tour?s premier tournaments between 2005-09. He trails Federer by just one and all-time leader Agassi by two titles. (Agassi won his record 17th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title as a 34 year old.)
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Rafael Nadal reaching 400 match wins faster than any other active player is worthy of note. Nadal reached his 400th win from 491 matches, topping Federer and Hewitt, who both needed 520 matches to register their 400th wins.
THE PLAYERS OF THE DECADE
2. RAFA NADAL
Vamos Rafa!
In recent years, Rafa Nadal has emerged as the strongest challenger to Federer?s dominance and has established one of the most gripping rivalries in the history of men?s tennis with the Swiss. The Spaniard, who proudly displays the silhouette of a bull?s horns on his tennis shoes, has been the undoubted King of Clay in the past five years. Of the Spaniard?s 36 tour-level titles, 25 have come on his surface of choice.
carrie , 12/16/09 4:28 PM
My guess is that it will be Wimbledon final #1 then USO final,
then maybe AO final, oh and the AO semi with Rafa and Ferni should be way up there.
grafight , 12/16/09 4:57 PM
The ONLY reason Dent-Navarro wasn't No. 1 was that it was an early-round match between a couple of nobodies. In aesthetic terms it was as good as Fed-Nadal Wimby 08 -- just not as much on the line. Just an unbelievable match.
SenorPlaid , 12/16/09 6:32 PM
graf - USO final is No. 5... http://www.tennistalk.com/en/news/20091216/Top_10_matches_of_the_year_ %E2%80%93_part_2
SP - so true.
RickyDimon , 12/16/09 6:34 PM
Dent over Navarro is hardly an upset - I think it rightly takes its place among the matches of the year. After all, like Isner-Roddick, it went to a fifth-set tie-break. Even if you missed these matches and knew nothing of the quality of tennis on display, you'd have to say "Game on!" [And probably "omg!" and "lol!" while you're at it - I like to stay in touch with Youth Culture].
As for poor ol' Raf'n'Sod, well, I'd certainly rate it among the most memorable results of the year and a certainty for inclusion in a list like this. Not much of a match - let's be honest! - though doubtless thrilling for the many Rafa-sceptics out there.
Looking forward to seeing what topped these, Ricky, especially as you have revealed Nos. 11-20 and there are a few match-ups in there that I would have expected to make the Top Ten. I'm heading over to Part 2 right now, but not before (i) I predict Haas-Cilic at SW19 to be in the list (my best match as seen in person this year) and (ii) I send best wishes to Carrie who I trust is recovering well and shall be spoiled rotten this Christmas - whoops, I mean "spoiled rotten these holidays" of course. [Bad enough that I don't know how to spell skeptic, eh?]
gorafago , 12/16/09 6:44 PM
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Honorable mention (matches that received at least one vote), in order
11. Murray-Wawrinka (Wimbledon)
12. Federer-Haas (French)
13. Davydenko-Federer (World Tour Finals)
14. Federer-Del Potro (French)
15. Ferrer-Stepanek (Davis Cup final)
16. Federer-Murray (World Tour Finals)
17. Roddick-Hewitt (Wimbledon)
18. Cilic-Troicki (Basel)
19. Cilic-Murray (U.S. Open)
RickyDimon , 12/16/09 12:25 AM