Much like the debate around the greatest tennis player of all time, answers vary among fans who discuss the best match ever.
This year’s Roland Garros final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz was right up there, with the ‘new two’ delivering a five-set thriller in Paris.
Many consider Novak Djokovic’s clash with Rafael Nadal in the championship match of the 2012 Australian Open to be the pick of the bunch; the longest Grand Slam final ever at five hours and 53 minutes.
Others will point to Venus Williams‘ 4-6, 7-6, 9-7 victory over Lindsay Davenport in the 2005 Wimbledon title bout, which featured a remarkable comeback from the seven-time major champion.
However, there was one match that Australian star Nick Kyrgios thinks stands head and shoulders above the rest.
Nick Kyrgios’ favourite Grand Slam final of all time
When asked in an interview with TNT Sports to pick the greatest tennis match of all time, Kyrgios said: “I like [Roger] Federer [Rafael] Nadal at Wimbledon in 2008 when Nadal won his first one; that was incredible.”
The 2008 Wimbledon final is the most popular answer to that question, and for good reason.
Roger Federer was simply unstoppable at the All England Club in the mid-2000s and had won five crowns there in a row.
The Swiss legend was on a record 65-match win streak on grass, dating all the way back to 2003.
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That streak finally came to an end when he was faced with Nadal, who defeated him in an enthralling five-setter that lasted four hours and 48 minutes, finishing just before nightfall.
Nadal’s triumph marked his first of two Wimbledon titles, with the Spaniard going on to emerge victorious in SW19 once again in 2010.
It also ended a near-four-year trend of Nadal and Federer dominating at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, respectively.
Federer followed suit by winning his first and only French Open title the year after.
Nick Kyrgios picks the greatest player of all time
When asked to pick the greatest player of all time, Kyrgios’ answer was neither of the two competitors in the 2008 Wimbledon final.
‘Novak Djokovic’ answered the 30-year-old, whose sole appearance in a Grand Slam final was against the Serb.
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Kyrgios faced Djokovic in the 2022 Wimbledon final and managed to take the opening set, but could not get over the line.
Choosing the greatest women’s player of all time, Kyrgios selected 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.
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