20 for 20: No. 11, Federer d. Roddick, 2009 Wimbledon

Last year, for the 50th anniversary of TENNIS Magazine, we focused on the past. Given the tome of stories we’d told, and the trove of players and matches we’d witnessed over the past half-century, it was only natural to look back.

And it was comical to even consider doing something similar this year, for the 20th anniversary of TENNIS.com. So we’re taking the opposite approach, and instead focusing on the future. All throughout the week, we’ll be talking about what’s next for the sport, the website and much more.

It wouldn’t be an anniversary, though, without a countdown. But how do you count down events that haven’t yet happened? By predicting what will come to be.

With that said, we present TENNIS.com’s 20 for 20: Twenty matches that we’ll still be talking about twenty years from now. We’ve restricted this list to matches that have taken place in the last 10 years—or, as 20 for 20 author Steve Tignor has put it, “The Golden Decade.” (If you haven’t read our 50th Anniversary Moments or Tournament of Champions, also written by Steve, I implore you to do so.)

It has been a bountiful time for tennis since TENNIS.com’s inception, and it’s anyone’s guess what the next 20 years will bring. But we believe that each of these matches will sustain the test of time.—Ed McGrogan, Senior Editor

“Tennis is cruel,” Roger Federer said when it was over.

He knew; he had seen it from both sides. The previous year, Federer had lost the longest Wimbledon final, in terms of time played, to Rafael Nadal. Now, 12 months later, he had won the longest Wimbledon final, in terms of games played, over Andy Roddick.

Now it was Roddick’s turn to rue missed opportunities; he certainly had his share over the court of this four-hour, 88-game epic. The American had lost finals on the same court, to the same man, in 2004 and 2005, but on this July 4th he was closer than ever. So close, in fact, that all he had to do was drop one more ball over the net and he would have had a two-set lead. After winning the first set, Roddick led the second-set tiebreaker 6-2, and soon after had an all-but-unmissable putaway backhand volley. Except that he missed it. Then he lost the second set.

While Roddick recovered quickly and fought on for three more hours, he had given Federer new life, and Federer knew how to make the most of it. While his opponent owned the 140-M.P.H. serve, it was Federer’s that proved crucial on this day. He hit 50 aces, one short of the Wimbledon record, and, down 15-40 at 8-8 in the fifth, one point from almost certain defeat, he fired off two unreturnables. An hour later, Federer had won his men’s record 15th Grand Slam title, an honor he accepted with that number emblazoned in gold on the back of his white Wimbledon jacket.

As for Roddick, he played the match of his career, but was left holding the runner-up trophy on Centre Court for the third time. Yet when it was suggested that, as Federer, had said, tennis was cruel, Roddick would have none of it.

“No,” he said, “I’m one of the lucky few who gets cheered for.”

On this day, the fans at Wimbledon were happy to oblige both men.