Category Archives: Great Matches
Those Points You Can’t Get Back
Wimbledon, Semifinal, 2000 (12) Rafter d. (2) Agassi, 7/5 4/6 7/5 4/6 6/3 Andre Agassi and Patrick Rafter contested three consecutive Wimbledon semifinals between 1999 and 2001. Only the first of these, through which the American romped in particularly straight … Continue reading
Filed under Great Matches
Great Matches You’ve Probably Never Heard Of #7
Hamburg, 2001, Final (Q) Portas d. (8) Ferrero, 4/6 6/2 0/6 7/6 7/5 There is a reasonable case to be made that Albert Portas’ victory at the 2001 Hamburg Masters constituted the decade’s most unexpected result, while the ATP’s later … Continue reading
Filed under Great Matches
Greatness in Obscurity
Readers may not be aware, since this site’s layout is rather less intuitive than it might be, but there is a sporadic series of columns that I write here on excellent, but potentially unheard-of tennis matches. The series is called … Continue reading
Filed under Great Matches
Great Matches You’ve Probably Never Heard Of #6
San Jose, 2002, Final Hewitt d. Agassi, 4/6 7/6 7/6 When the time comes to compose the definitive history of tennis – doubtless to commemorate a milestone in the game’s development, perhaps its passing – there will almost certainly be … Continue reading
Filed under Great Matches
Great Matches You’ve Probably Never Heard Of #5
Paris Masters, 2000, Final Safin d. Philippoussis, 3/6 7/6 6/4 3/6 7/6 Scanning the long list of champion tennis players in the Open Era, I note many whose achievements are qualified by an asterisk, and that not all asterisks are … Continue reading
Filed under Great Matches
Great Matches You’ve Probably Never Heard Of #4
Chennai 2008, Semifinal Nadal d. Moya, 6-7 7-6 7-6 Andre Agassi’s confession in Open that he once tanked a match against Michael Chang has lately opened a sluice gate of similar accusations, levelled whenever any player loses a match they … Continue reading
Filed under Great Matches
Great Matches You’ve Probably Never Heard Of #3
Adidas International 2003, Final Lee d. Ferrero, 4/6 7/6 7/6 When Hyung-Taik Lee defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final of the 2003 Adidas International, he gained membership to that select club of players who have won an ATP title … Continue reading
Filed under Great Matches
The Hip and The Head
With the World Tour Finals out of the way for another season, the time seems apposite to travel back a decade to the first Tennis Masters Cup, which remains one of the finest season finales ever contested. Tennis Masters Cup, … Continue reading
Filed under Great Matches
Great Matches You’ve Probably Never Heard Of #2
Tennis Masters Cup 2003 Round Robin Federer d. Agassi 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 Roger Federer arrived Houston in November 2003 as a relatively modest world No.3, weary after a middling indoor season, and publicly irritated with the tournament itself. He would … Continue reading
Filed under Great Matches
Great Matches You’ve Probably Never Heard Of #1
Los Angeles Final 1999 Sampras d. Agassi, 7/6 7/6 Andre Agassi devotes only a few lines to this match in Open, but this is how he chose to remember it: ‘I fly to Los Angeles and play well. I meet … Continue reading
Filed under Great Matches