Five matches at Wimbledon that shaped the world of tennis

James Richardson 15 Oct 2023 11:06 PM

Carlos Alcaraz hugs at Wimbledon final

Wimbledon is so central to everyone’s view of the sport of tennis and draws so much interest from all over the world that it can often define whole eras of the game.

Here we work our way back through history and reveal five matches that shaped the world of tennis from the All England Club.

Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic – 2023

Now I know this will raise some eyebrows as we cannot yet know how this match will shape the future of the game.

However it was the clearest statement of where the game is at with a young player clawing a win away from Djokovic, who would otherwise have a perfect year in the Grand Slams.

There was more than enough from Djokovic in his five set loss that showed that he isn’t ready to hand over his crown yet and the young guns will have to claw for scraps at his table.

Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer – 2008

Nadal wins the French Open, Federer wins Wimbledon. That seemed to be the order of tennis heading into the 2008 final at the All England Club.

That was until a stunning victory by Nadal over Federer in the championship match gave him his first Grand Slam win outside of Paris.

Nadal would go on to also win in Australia and New York while the following year a motivated Federer got a slice of revenge when he won the Spaniard’s beloved Roland Garros title.

Roger Federer vs Pete Sampras – 2001

In the Wimbledon fourth round of 2001, a then little-known Federer made his name by snapping Pete Sampras’ 31-match winning run at the All England club.

Sampras had won a record 13 Grand Slam championships at the time of the loss and appeared invincible on the grass of Wimbledon.

Sampras had won Wimbledon four times in a row and had only lost once in eight years before being defeated by the 19-year-old Federer. Sampras’ domination at the event was over, and the American withdrew in the second round the following year before retiring.

Jimmy Connors vs Ken Rosewall – 1974

Ken Rosewall had resisted the tide of change so long but at the age of 39 he failed in his bid to become the oldest Grand Slam winner all over again after his 1972 heroics Downunder.

Rosewall has never won Wimbledon but his indomitable will proved no match for the skill of a young Jimmy Connors.

This was a major changing of the guard as the stars of the tumultuous 1960s began to give way to a new breed of player as Connors in particular shook up the sport.