20 for 20: No. 8, Djokovic d. Wawrinka, 2013 Australian Open

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

On this long night in Melbourne, Wawrinka got his coaching from his forearm:

“Fail better,” the tattoo on it read.

Few have done so as spectacularly as Stan did in this wee-hour slugfest.

Wawrinka came into his fourth-round encounter with Djokovic as the decided underdog. He had lost 10 straight matches to the world No. 1, dating back seven years. Just as problematic was his record at big-stage events: In his previous 31 Grand Slams, Wawrinka had reached the quarterfinals just twice. Despite his gifts—strength, power and a backhand that many a pro have pledged an undying love for—he had, at 28, largely been written off as cannon fodder for the Big Three.

From the start of this evening match in Rod Laver Arena, though, Wawrinka made it clear that this time, rather than the fodder, he was going to be the cannon. He came out firing bullets from both sides, broke Djokovic three times to win the first set and continued the barrage until he was ahead 5-2 in the second, and on the verge of turning a fast start into something more lasting. That, naturally, is when the match turned around. Djokovic kept himself alive by winning the next five games and leveling at a set apiece.

From there, the two players, to the increasing delight and surprise of the crowd, proceeded to one up each other over the last three sets. Djokovic took control with his solid all-around play in the third set, only to see Wawrinka find his early form again and blast his way through a thrilling fourth-set tiebreaker. In the fifth, the two went toe to toe for 22 games until, at 1:40 A.M., on his third match point, Djokovic somehow curled a backhand pass an inch out of Wawrinka’s reach at the net.

As he had the previous year on the same court, Djokovic had survived a five-plus-hour epic; and as he had the previous year, he embraced his opponent afterward before ripping off his shirt in celebration.

“I tried to enjoy the moment and couldn’t ask for more,” said Djokovic, who would go on to win his fourth Aussie Open the following weekend.

But this match wasn’t just a sign of good things to come for the winner. The loser had also made a breakthrough.

“For sure, I think the best match I have ever played,” Wawrinka said. “I fought like a dog like always ... But he was just better.”

A year later in Melbourne, Wawrinka would fight like a dog and beat Djokovic in another five-setter in the quarterfinals before going on to win his first major title.

In 2013, Stan had failed as well as he possibly could. All that was left to do was succeed.