To mark the end of another thrilling season, ATPTour.com is unveiling our annual ‘Best Of’ series, which will reflect on the most intriguing rivalries, matches, comebacks, upsets and more. Today, we are looking at the best Grand Slam matches of the year.
The game’s biggest stars shined bright on the Grand Slam stage this season, with the best-of-five-set format serving up a slew of memorable matches in 2024. Each of the dramatic encounters listed below went the distance, with twists and turns throughout each of the five frames.
There were plenty of matches to choose from, with standout encounters like Daniil Medvedev’s Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev (read more) just missing out.
Wins for Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe feature in our selection of top major matches, with Sinner, Alcaraz and Tiafoe all appearing twice.
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5) US Open R3, Frances Tiafoe d. Ben Shelton, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3
Almost one year to the day after their electric 2023 US Open quarter-final encounter, Americans Tiafoe and Shelton produced another classic at their home major. In an Arthur Ashe Stadium battle of top servers, it was Tiafoe’s returning and net play that made the difference in this match of razor-thin margins.
After three sets, the scoreboard looked similar to 2023: Shelton won the first and third sets, taking the latter in a tense tie-break. But the sets were closer in the sequel, and Tiafoe felt the tennis was better, too.
Avenging his previous New York defeat and a three-set loss in April’s Houston final, Tiafoe carved out 21 break points against the electric Shelton serve, with that number nearly matching the lefty’s ace count. Tiafoe converted five — one in each set — on his way to his second US Open semi-final appearance.
“Since I’ve been on Tour, today was probably the best that anyone has returned my serve that I have seen,” Shelton said. “From early in the match, there was one where I went big out wide, like 130 [mph], and he cracked it down the line clean, hit the baseline, and I was, like, ‘Oh, one of those days.'”
“I think the level was a lot higher this year than we played last year, throughout the five sets,” he said.
It was not just about the tennis, either. The clash felt like a spectacle, with the fans inside the world’s biggest tennis-only stadium thrilled throughout. Even in defeat, Shelton could not help but smile as he approached the net to greet Tiafoe.
<img alt=”Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/11/27/05/08/tiafoe-shelton-us-open-2024.jpg?h=1280&w=1920″ />
Photo credit: Al Bello/Getty Images
4) Wimbledon R3, Carlos Alcaraz d. Frances Tiafoe, 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2
Two of the game’s greatest entertainers combined for one of the must-see matches of the 2024 season. Competing for the first time since their five-set epic in the 2022 US Open semi-finals, Alcaraz and Tiafoe once again went the distance in a show-stopping affair on Wimbledon’s Centre Court. Like in New York, Alcaraz emerged victorious and went on to lift the title.
Tiafoe had been slumping entering Wimbledon, but with nothing to lose against the Spanish defending champion, he hit fearlessly off both baseline wings to build a two-sets-to-one lead. At 4-4 in the fourth set, Tiafoe threatened at 0/30 but could not make the crucial breakthrough. Instead, Alcaraz took back control of the match by racing to a 5/0 lead in the ensuing tie-break.
The American opened the deciding set with a confident hold, but Alcaraz cruised through five straight games to stop Tiafoe’s upset bid.
“It is always a big challenge playing against Frances,” Alcaraz said. “He is a really talented player and tough to face. We saw it once again that he deserves to be at the top and deserves to fight for big things. It was really difficult for me to adapt my game, find solutions and try to put him in trouble, but I am really happy to do it at the end of the match.”
<img alt=”Carlos Alcaraz, Frances Tiafoe” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/11/27/05/06/alcaraz-tiafoe-wimbledon-2024.jpg” />
Photo credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images
3) Roland Garros SF, Carlos Alcaraz d. Jannik Sinner, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
In what he called one of the toughest matches of his career, Alcaraz outlasted Sinner in a battle of attrition on Court Philippe-Chatrier. On the way to his first Roland Garros title, the Spaniard twice surged back from a set down and overcame a slow start that saw him trail 4-0 in the opening set.
“You have to find the joy suffering,” said Alcaraz, who dominated the winner count (65-39) but won two fewer points than the Italian (145-147). “That is the key, even more here on clay at Roland Garros. Long rallies, four-hour matches, five sets. You have to fight, you have to suffer — but as I told my team, you have to enjoy suffering.”
Sinner struggled with cramp midway though the third set but still found a way to take a two-sets-to-one lead, breaking serve immediately after receiving treatment. There were 10 breaks in the first three sets, but neither man could create a single break point in the fourth until Alcaraz broke through in its final game to force a decider. The Spaniard kept his foot firmly on the pedal to start set five, winning the first three games to cash in on his momentum.
As both players struggled to find their very best tennis for sustained stretches, this was a battle of heart and will as much as it was a test of skill. The drama continued until the final ball, with Alcaraz fighting through deuce in each of his last three service games. On his third match point, he sealed his place in the final.
2) Australian Open Final: Jannik Sinner d. Daniil Medvedev, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
Known for thinking through matches like a chess player, Medvedev knows a thing or two about opening gambits. The all-out attack he sprung from the first ball of this Grand Slam final was one of the more surprising tactical moves of the season, and the unconventional approach took the third seed to the brink of his first Australian Open title.
“I was expecting something different from his side,” Sinner said. “So I had this feeling that he might come out a little bit more aggressive. But not this aggressive.”
Medvedev had played three five-setters on the way to the final and decided to let it rip in an effort to shorten points. The typically methodical baseliner unleashed the aggressive side of his game in the first two sets.
With Sinner searching for answers, Medvedev fought to deuce on return at 4-4 in set three. But Sinner survived that game then broke for the first time in the match to snatch the set, flipping the match on its head. Medvedev created another break chance at 3-3 in the fourth, but again Sinner escaped before closing out the set with a break in its 10th game.
The Italian pulled back in the rallies as the match wore on, inviting lengthier exchanges as he shifted the direction of the match with patience and poise. He finished as a worthy winner, and his first Grand Slam title paved the way for a historic season that saw him debut at World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings and earn ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours for the first time.
<img alt=”Jannik Sinner” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/01/28/13/03/sinner-australian-open-2024-sunday-final-celebration-zoom.jpg” />
Photo credit: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images
1) Roland Garros R3: Novak Djokovic d. Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0
The first of two consecutive comeback, five-set wins for Djokovic, this third-round thriller twisted and turned late into the early morning hours in Paris. The Serbian started well and, after leading by a break early in set two, had a set point on serve in the second-set tie-break. But the complexion of the match quickly changed when Musetti rattled off three straight points to level at one set all. Though midnight had already struck, the 25th-seeded Italian continued what could have been a Cinderella story with a dominant third set.
Musetti’s majestic one-handed backhand began to get the better of Djokovic’s rock-solid two-hander, and the Italian was firmly in the ascendency entering set four. Both players used every bit of Court Philippe-Chatrier, mixing in a steady stream of drop shots and angled attacks that kept the crowd entertained until a record-late finish at 3:07 a.m., breaking the event’s latest previous finish of 1:25 a.m.
“It didn’t feel great playing him that third set [and] at [the] beginning of the fourth,” Djokovic said. “The crowd definitely got me going. I really needed that push, I really needed that energy. At two-all in the fourth, they start chanting my name and I just felt a great new wave of willpower and energy. And I think I was a different player from that moment onwards. I think from that moment I probably lost only one game the rest of the match.”
The one-sided ending was reminiscent of Djokovic’s five-set win against Musetti at Roland Garros in 2021. In their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, the Serbian stormed back from two sets down, winning 16 of the last 17 games before Musetti retired late in the fifth set. On this occasion, the Italian soldiered on but could not stop Djokovic from crossing the finish line after four hours, 29 minutes of memorable all-court action.
“That was perhaps the best match I ever played here,” Djokovic added, addressing the crowd in French. “The most exciting. Thank you so much. And now, who’s going to sleep? It’s impossible to sleep now with all this adrenaline. If you’re going to celebrate, I’m coming too!”
<img alt=”Novak Djokovic celebrates his five-set comeback win after 3:00 a.m. win over Lorenzo Musetti.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/06/02/01/32/djokovic-roland-garros-2024-saturday-2.jpg?h=1080&w=1920″ />
Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images
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