Former British No. 1 Tim Henman overcame James Blake 4-6, 6-2, 12-10 to kick off the Champions Tennis 2015 in exhilarating style at the Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday.

The meeting between the two former World No. Fours was only their second ever, with the first coming more than 13 years ago in Toronto, a match won by the Briton in straight sets. The long-awaited re-match did not disappoint, as the clash of styles produced by baseliner Blake and serve volleyer Henman resulted in some breathtaking rallies.

Blake drew first blood, clinching the opening set with a single break of the Henman serve. But the 41-year-old Henman struck back decisively, delivering some delectable volley winners to seal the second set and force a deciding Champions Tie Break, in which the Brit saved three match points before surging back to steal victory.

The thrilling conclusion to the match can be seen here.

Henman now sits atop Group A, while defending Champion Fernando Gonzalez has placed himself in poll position in Group B after defeating Belgian Xavier Malisse 7-6, 6-4 earlier in the day.

Another highlight of Wednesday’s play at the Royal Albert Hall was the appearance of British Davis Cup hero Jamie Murray. The Scotsman was welcomed onto court for his opening doubles match crowd by a standing ovation from the Champions Tennis crowd, who were then delighted to see him reunited with his miniature replica Davis Cup winner’s trophy, which had originally been presented to him in Ghent on Sunday.

Murray then took to the court partnering fellow Davis Cup Champions Mats Wilander in a doubles exhibition match against Henri Leconte and Magnus Larsson.

5. Richard Gasquet d. Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 11-9, Wimbledon quarter-finals
Stan Wawrinka entered Wimbledon on the heels of his monumental victory at Roland Garros, halting Novak Djokovic’s date with career Grand Slam destiny. The Swiss would dispel any notion of an emotional hangover after clinching his second major title, wasting no time in streaking to the quarter-finals at the All England Club without dropping a set.

In their third FedEx ATP Head2Head clash, Wawrinka took a two-sets-to-one lead against No. 21 seed Richard Gasquet and the stars appeared to be aligned for a rematch against Djokovic in the semis. Gasquet had lost an 8-6 fifth set to Wawrinka in their most recent meeting two years ago at Roland Garros, but refused to suffer the same fate despite failing to serve out the match at 5-3 in the decisive set and being a break point down at 9-all.

Gasquet had reached the last four at a Grand Slam on only two previous occasions, including Wimbledon 2007, but the Frenchman would complete the comeback after a marathon fifth set.

Wawrinka earned a break chance at 9-9, 30/40, but could not deliver. He made a trio of errors in the next game to bring up triple match point for Gasquet. The Frenchman converted on his third opportunity to seal victory after three hours and 28 minutes, falling to the No. 1 Court grass in celebration as he booked his return to the semis.

One year earlier, Gasquet had been on the wrong end of a Wimbledon heart-breaker, losing 10-8 in the fifth to Nick Kyrgios in the second round after blowing nine match points.

“It was a great match, playing the winner of Roland Garros in a quarter-final of a Grand Slam, so I needed to keep focused and to fight,” said Gasquet, who would eventually fall in straight sets to Djokovic. “Of course, it’s a very nice victory for me to win against him 11-9 in the fifth. It’s great.”

4. Leonardo Mayer d. Joao Souza 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 5-7, 5-7, 15-13, Davis Cup first round
Argentina and Brazil are two of the fiercest international rivals in all of sport and their border battle would live up to the hype in the Davis Cup first round. Leonardo Mayer and Joao Souza supplied the drama with a pulsating six-hour and 43-minute marathon as the Argentines faced elimination entering Sunday’s reverse singles.

A win for Mayer and the tie would extend to deciding rubber, while victory for Souza would put Brazil through to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2001. What would ensue would be the longest singles match in Davis Cup history and the second-longest tour-level singles match, behind only John Isner and Nicolas Mahut’s legendary 11-hour battle at Wimbledon 2010. With countryman Juan Martin del Potro in attendance, Mayer would survive a dogged effort by Souza 15-13 in the fifth set in the fading sunlight in Buenos Aires. He converted his 11th match point, firing 16 aces and 89 winners, while overcoming 134 unforced errors. In total, Mayer won 244 points to Souza’s 233.

“I couldn’t feel prouder of him,” said captain Daniel Orsanic. “What he did today is amazing, not only for the way they both played tennis. It goes beyond that. His spirit, his effort. He played with cramps for such a long time. What he’s just experienced back there is amazing. His family, himself, they cannot be [any] prouder. They have to be really happy with that achievement. Then for us, it was a very important point because it keeps us alive, and now we’re playing the fifth.”

Mayer exacted revenge on Souza after the Brazilian prevailed in the quarter-finals of the ATP World Tour 250 event in Sao Paulo just three weeks prior. Federico Delbonis would complete the comeback a day later for Argentina, defeating Thomaz Bellucci in four sets to send the nation through to the next round.

3. Roger Federer d. Andy Murray 7-5, 7-5, 6-4, Wimbledon semi-finals
Seven times a champion on the lawns of the All England Club, Roger Federer has made many memories at the Wimbledon Championships. With no shortage of jaw-dropping performances over the years, the Swiss maestro added to his sparkling résumé at the grass-court Grand Slam in the semi-finals of the 2015 edition.

Andy Murray played a great match, but Federer turned in a majestic serving and shotmaking display. In reaching an unprecedented 10th Wimbledon final, he became the oldest men’s finalist since Ken Rosewall in 1974. The second seed fired 56 winners and 20 aces, winning a sterling 84 per cent of first-serve points and saving the lone break point faced.

“He served fantastic,” said Murray. “I didn’t really have any opportunities. That puts pressure on you. The pressure builds throughout the set that way. Obviously I got broken right at the end of all of the sets. But I didn’t actually play a bad match. I played pretty well.”

“I’ve been serving very well for the entire tournament,” Federer reflected. “I wasn’t broken against one of the best returners. I kept the pressure up and went for my shots. I mixed it up like I usually do and kept pushing forward and staying focused. It all worked out really well.”

Federer would eventually fall to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the final, which was a record 26th title match at the major level. He would add a 27th final two months later at the US Open.

Coming Thursday: The 2 Best Grand Slam Matches of 2015

“I’ll be honest, it’s been very hard,” says Grigor Dimitrov when drawing conclusions on his 2015 campaign.

Expectations had been high for Dimitrov coming into the season. The right-hander, had appeared to be on the brink of realising his enormous potential at the end of 2014, having risen to World No. 8 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and beaten Andy Murray to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon.

But mixed results in the first half of 2015 heralded a change in team for Dimitrov, who parted ways with Australian coach Roger Rasheed following a third-round exit at Wimbledon. He would finish the season just inside the world’s Top 30 at No. 28, with his best results coming in semi-final showings at ATP World Tour 250 tournaments in Brisbane and Istanbul.

“At some points, a few doubts have come into my head and even though I’m working, sometimes I’ve just felt down,” Dimitrov explains. “Even though I was working, I still didn’t have a good perception of myself. I was like, ‘OK, I’m working hard but nothing is coming, nothing is paying off’.

“But that’s part of the game and right about now I’m starting to understand what happened to me this year and all of the mistakes I made. In a way, as negative as it has been, I think it’s good that everything happened to me that way. I’ve experienced both worlds now. One day you’re Top 10 – I was No. 8 in the world – next day I was No. 28. So it’s a great contrast for me and I’m looking at things in a different way right now.”

A learning curve it may well prove to be, but at a time when he was expecting to push on in his career and begin to challenge for major trophies, 2015 presented Dimitrov with obstacle after obstacle, disappointment after disappointment. It was too much frustration in one season for the Bulgarian to digest at times.

“I wish I could say it’s only been character building for me this year, but too many things happened” he reflects. “The main thing on and off the court was structuring a team, which is one of the toughest things. I think that took a lot out of me.

“When things are not in place, I tend to get a little bit impatient and I just want to do what’s right for me. In doing so, I felt like I neglected my game a lot with the way I’ve been practising and the way I’ve been doing things. I can only blame myself for that and no-one else.”

But it is with a sense of excitement and hope that Dimitrov finished his 2015 campaign. You only need to scroll through his Instagram account to see that Dimitrov is a young man who loves life. And it’s hard to keep that spirit and energy subdued for long.

The Haskovo native installed Juan Martin del Potro’s long-time coach and mentor, Franco Davin, in his team just before the Asian swing. After just a few weeks together, Dimitrov’s self-perception has already taken a big upswing.

“It’s good to finally feel alive again a little bit and I think that’s been happening to me in the past weeks,” Dimitrov reveals. “I feel like I’ve got the spark again and I’m feeling motivated, which is a pretty good feeling.”

The Bulgarian closed the season with a run to the third round at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, where he claimed his biggest win since May when he upset No. 11-ranked Marin Cilic in the second round before falling in a close contest to David Ferrer.

While such testing draws could be a source of frustration now that his ranking has dropped, Dimitrov is almost revelling in working his way back to his best and challenging himself against the world’s best.

“[A big win] happened in the last tournament of the year, which is fine. Better late than never, I guess! It was a good test for me to see where I’m at, how I’m moving physically and where my game is. I have to struggle a little bit now as well, playing Cilic in the second round is no fun. But that’s the beauty of it I feel.”

Having begun his pre-season preparations in Monte-Carlo, Dimitrov will now continue his work with Davin in the sunnier climes of Florida. With a more settled foundation off the court, the Bulgarian is excited at what next season could bring. Whatever happens, it won’t be for lack of hard work or honest self-reflection.

“I’m really looking forward to a long-term approach now, for whatever I do,” says Dimitrov. “It took me so long structuring a good team. It’s always hard finding the right people around you, but once you have it, you’ve got to treasure it and work.”

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5 Best Matches: Grand Slams, 3-5
5 Best Matches: Grand Slams, 1-2
5 Best Matches: ATP World Tour, 3-5
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5 Biggest Grand Slam Comebacks

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