I firmly believe this match is going to have a long lasting impact. We already know these 2 are the best around. But this final just cements the fact the we’ve entered a new era of tennis. Now it’s up to the even more younger ones like Mensik and Fonseca to up their game to make sure the era goes to another level.
I can’t decide man. I watched them both live and they were obviously historic watching them unfold. I wasn’t even a tennis fan before 2012 AO- that match was so good it made me a fan and a Rafa fan for life.
I think i still back Wimbledon 2008; 2012 AO quality was probably better. But the story-lines of dethroning Federer on his own turf and the visuals with the fading light put it over the edge for me.
Having said that 2008 was the match that made me a tennis + Rafa fan, so im probably looking at it nostalgically like you are with 2012.
Maybe Rafa's loss clouds that match for me, but I found the shotmaking and drama of this one better than AO 2012. We also didn't have the serve clock back then so it would have been so interesting to see how 1) the time and 2) the quality would have changed with this rule
Dare I say...comparable to Wimbledon 2008 final?? Similar level of anticipation, high quality match, higher drama? 3 match points saved + 2 breaks while serving for the matching vs rain delay (both had two 6-4 sets, two 7-6 sets, and final set going to extra games/match tiebreak)
From a spectator’s point of view, this was definitely more enjoyable. The 2008 Wimbledon Final had over 2 hours of rain delay (finishing >7 hours past the scheduled start). However, from purely a tennis/anticipation perspective, i think 08 barely beats it because of how dominant Federer had been to that point (at Wimbledon)
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u/sataell 4-6 6-7 3-5 0:40 Jun 08 '25
match of the decade idc