Following Rafael Nadal's thrilling comeback in the 2022 Australian Open Final, there has been a lot of discussion about where this final ranks compared to other great grand slam finals.
Whilst there always is some recency bias involved, there is no doubt that last Sunday night's match was within the top ten grand slam finals of all time.
What was most impressive of all about this win, however, wasn't the match itself or any of the rounds prior. Instead, it was the fact that 'Rafa' fought through the toughest of adversity to take home his record-breaking 21st grand slam title.
As he revealed in his interview following his big win, "A month and a half ago I didn't know if I would play tennis again at a professional level due to various factors, including the problems I've had with my foot and with COVID."
In order to determine which grand slam final matches since 2000 have been the best, we look through two different criteria:
1. The quality of the match
2. The length of the match (has to be a 5-setter)
3. What it meant for the world of tennis with breaking records etc
Here's our top ten.
2. 2. 2019 Wimbledon Final: Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Roger Federer (SUI)
Scoreline: 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 13-12 (7-3)
Another rivalry between two members of the big three saw the tennis world shift their focus to the All England club for Novak Djokovic versus Roger Federer.
Djokovic came into the game as the favourite due to his terrific form and also his great record against Federer.
However, the first four sets could not split the two legends with both players producing quality shots at big moments.
In a painfully long final set, Federer worked hard for multiple match points. But ultimately, Djokovic's absolutely phenomenal grit got him over the line in a new 12-12 tiebreak.
