Wimbledon: Top 10 Men's finals of Open era - 網球 Tennis

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Wimbledon: Top 10 Men's finals of Open era
By Les Roopanarine
Last Updated: 12:34pm BST 20/06/2008

Forty years ago the Open era began in 1968, and since then there have been 18
different champions. We take a look back at ten of the best Men's finals in
the intervening period.

1. Bjorn Borg beat John McEnroe (1980) 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (16-18), 8-6

Great rivalries thrive on contrasts, and this clash of mighty opposites - of
ice-cool Swede and fiery New Yorker, imperturbable four-times champion and
volatile challenger - was steeped in them. McEnroe had the initial momentum,
but failed to consolidate his early dominance and was slowly, inexorably
hauled back. At 5-4, 40-15 in the fourth set, Borg held two championship
points. McEnroe saved both, forcing a genre-defining tie-break in which, from
5-5 onwards, every other point was either a match point or a set point.
McEnroe eventually sealed it 18-16, but Borg, serving with majestic
authority, climbed a mental Everest to win the final set and claim his fifth
consecutive title. Unforgettable.

2. Goran Ivanisevic beat Pat Rafter (2001) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7

As the first final in history to begin on the third Monday and the
last-chance saloon for two former finalists soon to be forced into retirement
by shoulder injuries, this had the makings of a classic from the outset. With
the match held over by rain, 13,370 spectators paid at the gate, their
unrestrained passion generating a tumultuous clamour that was mirrored on the
court by some fearsome attacking tennis. There wasn't a dry eye in the house
when Ivanisevic - ranked 125, pushing 30 and three times previously a faller
at the final hurdle - became the first wild-card entrant in history to lift
the trophy. "I'll remember this day forever," blubbed the Croatian. So will
we.

3. John McEnroe beat Jimmy Connors (1984) 6-1, 6-1, 6-2

McEnroe's rage for perfection frequently brought him into vociferous conflict
with Wimbledon officialdom, but on this occasion he silenced everybody -
including the normally loquacious Connors - with a performance of flawless
virtuosity. Against the best returner in the business, McEnroe conceded just
11 points in as many service games, sweeping to the most one-sided victory
since 1938, when Don Budge routed Bunny Austin 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 en route to the
first ever Grand Slam. For some, there was a faint whiff of schadenfreude; a
decade earlier, Connors had swept aside Ken Rosewall in similarly ruthless
fashion.

4. Andre Agassi beat Goran Ivanisevic (1992) 6-7 (8-10), 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4

After a decade of domination by serve-volleyers, even the most optimistic
gambler in Agassi's home town would have thought twice before backing the Las
Vegan to make his Grand Slam breakthrough at Wimbledon. His baseline game
seemed as unsuited to the slick lawns of the All England Club as his long
hair and fluorescent attire. Yet Agassi, clad in pristine white, beat Boris
Becker and John McEnroe before staging a return-of-serve master class against
Ivanisevic to remind us that Wimbledon could still be won from the baseline.
Another decade would pass before Lleyton Hewitt repeated the feat.

5. Arthur Ashe beat Jimmy Connors (1975) 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4

Probably the most cerebral final in Wimbledon history. Connors came into the
tournament as the world No 1, defending champion and overwhelming favourite.
He had beaten Ashe in each of their previous three meetings, had not dropped
a set en route to the final, and warmed up by way of a light-hearted hit with
Ilie Nastase. Ashe's meticulously conceived, flawlessly executed strategy
left him with a rather sterner countenance. By taking the weight off his own
shots, Ashe nullified his opponent's power; by slicing low to the forehand,
he exposed an inherent flaw in Connors' technique. Tactical perfection.

6. Boris Becker beat Kevin Curren (1985) 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-4

When Johan Kriek tipped Becker as a contender for the Wimbledon title, at the
time most of us put it down to the fact that he had just been trounced by the
teenager in the final of Queen's. Big mistake. Three weeks later, after a
sustained blitzkrieg of booming serves, diving volleys and thunderous returns
– not to mention a gutsy fourth-round comeback from match point down against
Tim Mayotte – Becker had comprehensively rewritten the record books.
Wimbledon's first German and only unseeded champion was also, at 17 years,
227 days, its youngest.

7. Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi (1999) 6-3, 6-4, 7-5

When a player with a record 14 Grand Slam titles, including seven at
Wimbledon, identifies a performance as possibly the best of his career, it
pays to take heed. While Agassi arrived in SW19 with confidence buoyed after
completing a career Grand Slam at the French Open, Sampras, his best days
seemingly behind him, had made an indifferent start to the year. It mattered
not. Sampras produced a superlative exhibition of grass-court tennis that at
times reduced his fellow American to the role of helpless spectator. "Today
he walked on water," said Agassi. Few would disagree with his assessment.

8. Roger Federer beat Rafael Nadal (2007) 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-2

With Bjorn Borg's modern record of five consecutive titles beckoning and the
Swede looking on from the front row of the Royal Box, Federer had more to
contend with than the unrelenting brilliance of Nadal. The cumulative burden
weighed heavily on the Swiss, who was uncharacteristically tetchy at times as
he was extended to a fifth set for the first time in a Wimbledon final.
Federer survived the sternest examination of his reign to take his appointed
place in history. Victory for the Swiss this year would equal the all-time
record set by William Renshaw in the 1880s, when the holder went straight
into the final.

9. Stefan Edberg beat Boris Becker (1990) 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4

Fittingly, the final act of the Edberg-Becker Wimbledon trilogy was also the
most enthralling. Edberg, who had beaten Becker in the 1988 final only to
have the Challenge Cup firmly prised from his grasp by the German the
following summer, stormed into a two-set lead with a regal exhibition of
serve-and-volley tennis. Becker belatedly discovered his service rhythm,
recovering the deficit before breaking to lead 3-1 in the final set, but some
inspired returning earned a fired-up Edberg a double break and his second
title. "It was the kind of final you don't see too often," said Becker. He
was not wrong.

10. Rod Laver beat John Newcombe (1969) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4

The fourth and final Wimbledon title of the Rockhampton Rocket's glittering
career was also the most significant. As the third leg of a calendar year
Grand Slam – the second of Laver's career following his clean sweep of the
majors as an amateur in 1962 – his four-set victory over fellow Australian
John Newcombe was a key staging post on the road to sporting immortality.

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