The Grandstand presents its 2013 Matches of the Year, continuing with an honorable-mention group of Nos. 11-15. It includes one of Roger Federer’s best performances of the season—albeit in another loss to Rafael Nadal—and one of the five-setters between Novak Djokovic and Stanislas Wawrinka.
Grigor Dimitrov d. Baghdatis 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(5) – Brisbane
Dimitrov went 3-0 against his friend and occasional doubles partner in 2013. Two—both in the first two months of the season—delivered extreme entertainment, including one in the first week of the year during the Australian hard-court summer. The Bulgarian lead by set and also broke for a 3-2 lead in the second, but his opponent was in this one for the long haul. Baghdatis broke back twice then held throughout the third to force a decisive tiebreaker. Trailing 5-4, Dimitrov won the last three points of the match—including one with an awesome backhand passing shot. While Dimitrov parlayed the win into a stellar year, Baghdatis was mostly a disaster throughout the remainder of 2013. For two hours and 29 minutes, however, he managed to be at his entertaining best to produce a match contested in great spirit complete with ridiculous shot-making.
Andy Murray d. Roger Federer 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2 – Australian Open semifinals
It was not an instant classic like some Grand Slam five-setters are between two of the top three players in the world, but Murray vs. Federer in Melbourne had a little bit of everything: great rallies, wild momentum shifts, sudden dips in form, tense tiebreakers, minor temper tantrums, small controversies, and even some bad blood. There was no debate that Murray was the better player from start to finish; both of the sets he lost ended in tiebreakers and all three of the sets he won came courtesy of at least one service break. Federer, however, left everything on the court before finally losing a step in the fifth. The Swiss even stayed alive when Murray served for the match at 6-5 in the fourth, managing to break with some incredible backhands before dominating the ensuing tiebreaker. Despite a few Federer outbursts and accusatory remarks at Murray during the fourth, Murray steadied himself mentally and regained control during the decider. Surprisingly, this was the first and only Murray-Federer encounter of the entire season.
Fabio Fognini d. Federico Delbonis 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-2 – Hamburg final
Fans may not have been able to believe what they were witnessing. ‘Fabio Fognini vs. Federico Delbonis for a 500-point title?!?!’ Believe it, folks. Fognini’s road to the final included twin 6-2, 6-4 upsets of Tommy Haas and Nicolas Almagro. Delbonis capitalized on a slumping Federer by seeing off the No. 1 seed 7-6(7), 7-6(4) in a semifinal stunner. While the championship certainly did not feature the highest of quality, the surprising matchup combined with the second-set drama ensured that it would be a contest not soon forgotten. Ranked 114th at the time, Delbonis was not only one match away from his first career ATP title but he was also one point away…on three different occasions! Fognini, who once trailed by a set and 4-1 in the second, saved three match points in the second-set tiebreaker. On one of his opportunities, Delbonis botched a sitting volley with a wide open court that would have given him the win. Fognini survived, eventually dominating the third set for the second of two titles in consecutive weeks.
Rafael Nadal d. Roger Federer 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 – Cincinnati quarterfinals
The 31st installment of one of the best rivalries in tennis history came with unusually low expectations. After all, Nadal was in rare form on hard courts while Federer was in the midst of almost-unprecedented struggles. This Nadal-Federer collision, however, turned out better than anyone could have expected. Federer, whose previous three tournaments ended in losses to Sergiy Stakhovsky, Delbonis, and Daniel Brands, came out playing aggressive tennis and pleasantly surprised the crowd by stealing the first set thanks to a break at 5-5. Nadal, undefeated on the hard stuff in 2013 with titles in Indian Wells and Montreal, answered with one break in the second. Federer seemed to be going away early in the third, but he fought until the end and saved four match points after Nadal served at 5-3, 40-0. On his fifth chance, the Spaniard curled a forehand winner into the deuce-side corner to end the showdown. It proved to be a relatively bizarre finish, because Federer declined to challenge a close call that replay showed to be incorrect. Nadal’s shot had laded millimeters out.
Novak Djokovic d. Stanislas Wawrinka 2-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 – U.S. Open semifinals
Djokovic had outlasted Wawrinka 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(5), 12-10 in an epic Australian Open fourth-round affair, so the Swiss was looking to flip the script in New York. Like he did Down Under, Wawrinka stormed out the gates on fire, taking the opening frame of play with ease and almost seizing a two-set advantage. Djokovic again recovered to pull out the second set, but this time it was Wawrinka who went up two sets to one. The Serb, though, was not going to be denied. Djokovic roared through the fourth and fifth with one break in each set without facing a single break point on his own serve. He made only five unforced errors in the fourth and tallied more winners than errors in the fifth (13-10) to end a somewhat error-strewn encounter in style. This one did not match the Melbourne classic in terms of quality or even in drama, but the tension in Arthur Ashe Stadium was palpable the entire way.
I still get goose-bumps just thinking of that Rafa-Fed Cincy match. Pre-match I was convinced Rafa was going to steamroll over Fed but yikes, Fed came out all guns blazing! After the first set I was already lining up my excuses and then the real Rafa stood up!
#Fight
I thought Fed might have a chance given how bad Rafa had been in Cincinnati over the years. But I thought it would because Rafa would drop his level as opposed to Federer raising his. Definitely exceeded expectations. Fed threw the kitchen sink at Rafa but it was not enough.
true that…rafa was clueless on fed’s service games in the first set…in the middle of the second he started reading the fed serve much better and then it was rafa who dictated more
That was an extremely important win for Andy. His first defeat of Roger in a Grand Slam.
Though us his fans always thought he’d have a much better chance of beating Rog if he met him b4 a final.
At blooming last Andy!
Fed’s “you stopped” followed by Andy’s smirk was one of the best moments of the entire year.
you mean, you ****** stopped? 😛 haha, yes it was ! I love the ending stages of set 4 !
extremely well said about the “******”
hahaha 😛 murray handled the situation really well though…both on the court and during the post match itnerview
Andy must’ve so loved that moment!
#MrCool
#ForOnce
as Ricky mentioned in the write up, andy was in cruise control for almost the whole match. Fed was really tough when his back was against the wall though….
one rather surprising element about fed is how sometimes he can fade away in final sets :S i mean , he has played some great 5th sets but the meltdowns have been quite a lot, even to players not named rafael nadal…
even against players**
see: Del Potro, Juan (2009 US Open)
yup! the perfect example..it was almost inexplicable
though it was against rafa, the 2009 Aus open final’s 5th set was strange too! fed won set 4 and he had the momentum and people were speculating rafa might start getting tired but… rafa just blew him away and there was hardly any resistance..
vamosrafa,
That was what broke Fed mentally. I had this feeling that Fed was waiting for the tiredness to catch up with Rafa at some point. When he won that fourth set, conventional wisdom would give him the momentum in the fifth set. But when Rafa came out and played even better, that’s when I think Fed was done mentally. That’s why Rafa won that fifth set in fairly routine fashion. To see Rafa come out even stronger in that fifth set, was one of those moments that you don’t ever forget. Another reason why this has been my favorite Rafa slam win.
That Cincy match seemed to be a return to bygone days. Fed came out and seemed to catch Rafa off guard with different tactics. But in typical Rafa style, he just found the answer in the second set. This match had the kind of suspense that so many of their recent matches haven’t had.
Nobody could forget that moment in the fourth set with Andy and Fed in the AO semis! I thought that Andy did a great job of keeping it together mentally and not getting rattled.
Of course, what can one say about Djoker/Stan in the USO semis. Stan just came out blasting in the first two sets. Amazing match.
hope we get part 3 tomorrow !! haha
there is no Part 3
the next installment is “Match No. 10”
oh I see ! waiting then..
It was after the ’09 AO that Fed came out with the classic statement “When it goes to a fifth set it’s not always the best man who wins……………”
I’ve been wondering ever since, what exactly did he mean by that?
In recent years he has also lost twice to Djokovic in the fifth set, (USO ’10 & ’11).
maybe he meant it comes down more to physically fitness than tennis talent
so perhaps his definition of best is “talent” even though it the definition of best should be more all-encompassing.
What exactly is talent in tennis? I mean, even in the 5th set, you should be able to hit an effective slice, drop shot, DTL shot and serve so even if you should be calling on your reserves of stamina, if you can’t place the shot you are toast, no?
I think that was Fed just being a sore loser. We know how that loss affected him. Everyone saw him break down. This was a match that was his to lose. He had all the advantages. So I think this loss was particularly bitter for him.
Maybe Fed doesn’t understand having the sheer will, courage and guts not to give up. Rafa had to be feeling tired in that match. He is human. But somehow he managed to dig deep and find a way to win. Fed just couldn’t handle it, hence his comment.
I’ve no doubt that Roger did mean that the 5th set can be decided on who is more physically fit rather than who is the “better” tennis player. I’m also sure that it’s true that physical fitness can indeed be a deciding factor in 5 set matches. However, Roger knows darn good and well that Rafa’s head to head against him has little to do with Rafa’s superior fitness. At the time of the AO 2009 match, Roger and Rafa had played 19 matches and Rafa had won 13 of them, including the AO match. (Since then, they’ve played 15 times, including 2 UAE matches, and Roger has won 4 matches). It was just another example of Roger not giving Rafa his due. What irked me most about it was that Rafa had been so kind and gracious to Roger at the awards ceremony, comforting him, telling him what a great champion he is, apologizing for the win, etc, essentially relinquishing what should have been his moment to Roger, and then Roger couldn’t bring himself even this once to praise Rafa without making some qualifying statement. Grrrrr
Rafa has just played the longest AO semifinal ever. He also had only one day’s rest to Fed’s two days. Fed had the much easier semifinal winning over Roddick. Rafa had never won a hard court slam. Fed had all of the advantages, but he lost anyway. That is what he couldn’t handle.
Rafa used his mental will to overcome the physical exhaustion. He said himself that he felt dizzy at times when he was on court because of being so tired. It was a monumental achievement. One of the most courageous things I have ever seen and I’ve seen a lot in my lifetime.
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