Unforgettable: the best games of 2024

There are games and games. But, in a season full of historical moments with tension and emotion in the same dose, tennis scored ten unforgettable battles.

Some for ladies, some for gentlemen, but always within sight of the clinical eye of AM850 Tennis:

1) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Dominic Thiem in the first round of the Australian Open. It was 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 5-7 and 6-3. The match began on a Monday night in Melbourne and ended after 1.40 AM. At one point, when he was just two points away from a straight-sets win, the 27th-seeded Canadian was forced to work hard. to the maximum to achieve a victory of four hours and 59 minutes.

2) Rybakina-Blinkova in the second round of the AO. The Russian was ranked 57th on the WTA list and, with a record tiebreak (the longest in women’s tennis in a Grand Slam tournament, 22-20 in 31 minutes), she eliminated the current finalist and 3rd in the world.

3) Coco Gauff vs. Maria Sakkari in Indian Wells. Rain, medical assistance and a night to remember in the Californian desert. The victory? For the Greek 6-4 and 6-7 (5) and 6-2 to get into the grand final.

4) Mariano Navone vs. Holger Rune in Madrid. Shower of applause from the fans present. It could have been the Argentine’s first big impact at a professional level but he lost 5-7, 7-6 (2) and 6-4 in the second round of the Masters 1000.

5) Aryna Sabalenka vs. Iga Swiatek, the Madrid final. A battle that could have been for either of them. For three hours and 14 minutes the leaders of the women’s world ranking were battling. Both had several match points, but only the Pole was able to take advantage of them to win her 20th title in her young career.

6) Iga Swiatek-Naomi Osaka at Roland Garros. The Japanese tennis player (134th on that day) was unable to close the match and ended up achieving a historic victory against the leader of the world ranking in the second round.: 7-6 (1), 1-6 and 7-5 in almost three hours of match.

7) Novak Djokovic vs. Lorenzo Musetti in the 3rd round of Roland Garros. The four hours and 29 minutes that they fought for a place in the round of 16 of the French Open and that, finally, ended up opting in favor of the Serbian for 7-5, 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3 and 6-0were immortalized as the latest match ever played in the history of the tournament.

8) The men’s singles final at the Olympic Games. Novak Djokovic won the coveted gold medal after beating Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (3) and 7-6 (2). A true tennis masterclass was demonstrated by the two favorites of the competition in the almost three hours of play. Incredible points that left everyone present at the Philippe Chatrier in Paris speechless. A milestone that will remain marked in the history of Serbia, tennis and sport in general.

9) Arthur Fils-Ugo Humbert. Tokyo ATP Final. French classic in the hands of Fils who raised nothing less than a match point in the second set. He achieved it with a final score of 5-7, 7-6 (6) and 6-3 in three hours of play!

10) Jannik Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz in the Beijing final. The very high level of the Europeans left their mark on Asian soil as it was the longest match in the history of the tournament. It was 3 hours and 21 minutes for the 6-7 (6), 6-4 and 7-6 (3) in favor of the Spanish. It also entered the list of the longest duels of 2024 within the ATP Tour behind the one in which they starred Arthur Fils and Alexander Zverev in Hamburg (3h 33m). Further back, Fils and Ugo Humbert follow in Tokyo (3h 5m).