Top 10 Matches of 2015, No. 9: New York Knockdown

What do we do now that the 2015 season is over and tennis is in its all-too-brief December recess? Go back and watch the best matches of the year, of course. Over the next two weeks, I’ll count down my 10 favorite contests, accompanied by video highlights, of this season.

No. 10: The Day the Circus Came to Town—Kyrgios d. Federer, Madrid
No. 9: New York Knockdown—Azarenka d. Kerber, U.S. Open
No. 8: Cup Runneth Over, and Over, and Over—Mayer d. Souza, Davis Cup
No. 7: Stan Mans Up—Wawrinka d. Djokovic, Roland Garros
No. 6: Simona Finds the Power—Halep d. Azarenka, U.S. Open
No. 5: Sending the Open Into Orbit—Fognini d. Nadal, U.S. Open
No. 4: Richard the...Lion-Hearted?—Gasquet d. Wawrinka, Wimbledon
No. 3: The Serena & Simona Show—Williams d. Halep, Miami
*No. 2: Vincanity—Vinci d. Williams, U.S. Open

No. 1: Fierce and Fiercer—Williams d. Azarenka, Wimbledon<em>*</em>

When the women’s draw at this year’s U.S. Open was made, many of us prayed that the potential third-rounder between Victoria Azarenka and Angelique Kerber would come to pass. How could it not be a classic? Not only had these two played one of the best matches of 2012, a three-set, two-tiebreaker thriller at the WTA Championships in Istanbul, they had turned themselves into veritable epic-contest machines this season. There was something about Vika and Angie in 2015: Each of them could be the subject of her own, highly entertaining Top 10 Matches of the Year list.

Yet their one previous meeting this season hadn’t been one of those classics: Azarenka had won 6-0, 6-3 in Doha in February. Two months later, Kerber kickstarted her season with back-to-back titles in Charleston and Stuttgart, and followed those with another win at the U.S. Open tune-up event in Stanford. While Azarenka was undefeated in their previous four matches, Kerber was ready to give her a (long) run for her money at the Open. As far as quality of play goes, Vika’s 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 win, in two hours and 52 minutes, may have been the best match of a tournament that was filled with them. It comes in at No. 9 on our year-end list.

Here’s a look at the highlights above; there were a lot of them.

View image | gettyimages.com

—This one got good early. By the second game, Kerber is already letting out one of the extended grunts that she uses to celebrate a shot that’s going to go for a winner on a big point. I think the first player I heard do that was Novak Djokovic—or possibly Andre Agassi, later in his career. Someone needs to write an article for the rest of us on how to do it right.

—Kerber continues her strong early form with a drop shot-lob combination for a winner. At first glance, you might not expect the German to have a lot of variety or shotmaking skills in her game. She uses a two-handed backhand, has choppy, abbreviated strokes, and relies on her retrieving ability. But she’s also among the game’s most creative and athletic players. The deep-knee-bend backhand, the surprise slingshot forehand down the line, the can-opener lefty serve into the ad court, the backhand drop that she’s willing to go to anytime: Kerber had all of those things working against Azarenka here. Kerber is also good at finding an opening when she’s on the run. Twice in this match she tracks down an Azarenka drop shot and stabs a backhand crosscourt for a passing-shot winner. Both times Vika, rightfully, looks stunned.

—Azarenka has had her share of slow starts, but this time she doesn’t let the first set get away. By the end of it, she seems inspired by Kerber’s variety, and the two start to go back and forth in long rallies that never repeat themselves. Azarenka also uses the drop shot well—she’s especially good at following it forward—and she hits behind the fast-moving Kerber whenever she can. This is one of the rare matches where each player really does push the other to raise her game.

You can understand why both of these women play so many competitive, entertaining matches: Neither puts the ball away with one swing of the racquet, à la Serena Williams or Petra Kvitova, but neither wins by hitting the same shot over the over, either. Azarenka, the more powerful player, pushes Kerber around with combinations of shots, while Kerber uses the element of surprise in response.

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—Vika: Sneakers of the year

—Kerber wins the second set, and a new match begins: The battle of the celebrations. She starts by wagging her finger as she walks to the sideline. Azarenka comes back with her loudest shriek of the match in the next game, and when she breaks serve, she bends down and gives us a long, Serena-esque double-armed fist-pump. Kerber, not to be outdone, responds with her own shriek of joy when she breaks back for 1-1.

—Kerber holds for 2-1, and when she earns a break point in the next game, it looks like she might run away with it. Again, Azarenka hits a drop shot; again, Kerber tracks it down. This time, though, she tries to go down the line with her pass, and catches the tape—that may have been the difference in the match. Azarenka survives, holds, and goes on to take a 5-3 lead.

—The 5-3 game, perhaps the year’s best, provided an appropriate climax to this one. Azarenka battled to the brink of victory, and wagged her index finger for good measure. Kerber fought off five match points, and won over the Ashe Stadium crowd for good; each of her winners was greeted with an ovation louder than the last. Lifted by the show of love, Kerber held serve with an overhead winner from the baseline.

If any shot deserved an extended grunt, and another finger wag or two, it was that one. Kerber isn’t a regular in Ashe Stadium; she looked moved by the crowd support, and blown away by the sound they can make.

View image | gettyimages.com

—But the audience could only take her so far. Kerber didn’t have anything left at 5-4, and Azarenka quieted the stadium again with a love hold for the win. This season was often a struggle for Vika, who battled injuries and tough draws; despite all of the epics she helped produce, she would finish 2015 ranked just 22nd.

Or do I mean that's where “pinished” the season? In her post-match interview, Azarenka brought that new word—a combination of “finish” and “punish” coined by her hitting partner—to the world’s attention. But her win didn’t require any new descriptions: It was tennis at its old-fashioned, knock-down drag-out best.