Wimbledon's greatest moments – pick your top three
| Wimbledon’s Greatest Moment |
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| Coverage: BBC Radio 5 live counts down the top 10 moments in a special programme on Wednesday, 28 June starting at 20:30 BST |
Over the past 90 years, the BBC and Wimbledon have served up some incredible sporting memories.
And now we are giving you the chance to pick your top three moments.
Our panel of BBC tennis experts have narrowed it down to 10 moments – you can watch them all below (UK users only) and then make your choice, but please remember to pick your top three in order.
It closes on 14:00 BST on Tuesday, 27 June and the results will be counted down from 10 to one during a BBC Radio 5 live special on Wednesday, 28 June starting at 20:30.
Wimbledon's Greatest Moment
The BBC is celebrating 90 years at Wimbledon by giving you the chance to vote for your favourite moment from the All England Club.
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1975: Arthur Ashe beats Jimmy Connors
Forty two years ago, Arthur Ashe made history by becoming the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles championship. During his career, the American struck up an intense rivalry with compatriot Jimmy Connors and in their three previous meetings, eight-time major winner Connors had come out on top. But this was Ashe’s day.
The 31-year-old took the first set in just 19 minutes and secured a second 6-1 rout almost as quickly. Connors recovered to take the third 7-5 but Ashe saw out the deciding fourth set to secure an unexpected title.
1977: Virginia Wade wins her first Wimbledon title
Virginia Wade won three Grand Slam singles titles and it was her victory in the 1977 women’s final at Wimbledon that became the pinnacle of her career. Three days before her 32nd birthday, and on her 16th attempt, Wade beat Betty Stove in three sets to lift the trophy.
Her victory was even more memorable because it came in the Silver Jubilee year, and the prize was presented by Queen Elizabeth II herself.
1980: Borg v McEnroe
Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe’s epic fourth-set tie-break has gone down in tennis history. It lasted 22 minutes and saw McEnroe save five match points before taking the final to a deciding set. Borg won it to prevail 1-6 7-5 6-3 6-7 (16-18) 8-6 and secure his fifth title in a row.
The following year, it was finally McEnroe’s time to shine, ending the Swede’s 41-match winning run at Wimbledon with victory in four sets.
1985: Boris Becker wins first Wimbledon aged 17
At just 17 years of age, West Germany’s Boris Becker became the youngest player to win Wimbledon. An unseeded outsider before the 1985 tournament began, Becker displayed his flamboyant and aggressive style to overpower eighth seed Kevin Curren, a South-African-born American, 6-3 6-7 7-6 6-4 in the final. It was the first of his six Grand Slam titles – and the first of three at the All England Club.
1990: Martina Navratilova wins record ninth title
Martina Navratilova – arguably Wimbledon’s greatest female player – won her final Grand Slam singles title at SW19 in 1990. The Czech was made to wait a while for her record ninth crown, having lost to Germany’s Steffi Graf in the final for the previous two years.
She finally achieved the feat, aged 33, when she beat first-time finalist Zina Garrison 6-4 6-1 in 75 minutes.
2001: Goran Ivanisevic wins on People’s Monday
A Wimbledon final on a Monday? It happened in 2001. The rain had severely delayed the schedule and wildcard Croat Goran Ivanisevic – who beat Britain’s Tim Henman in the semi-finals – had to wait until the third Monday of the tournament to face Australian Pat Rafter in the final.
Thousands of people queued up overnight for the unreserved seats on Centre Court and the raucous crowd got to witness an epic five-set encounter. Ivanisevic, who had lost three previous finals, won 6-3 3-6 6-3 2-6 9-7 – and he remains the only man to have won a Grand Slam as a wildcard.
2002: Serena v Venus
The defending champion against her kid sister. In 2002, Wimbledon hosted its first all-Williams final. Eldest sister Venus had beaten Serena in the semi-finals on her way to winning the previous year’s title, meaning this represented an opportunity for 21-year-old Serena to avenge that defeat. She did exactly that. A 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 victory clinched her maiden Wimbledon title and started to move Serena out of the shadow of her sister.
2008: Nadal beats Federer in the dark
Rafael Nadal’s Wimbledon final against Swiss Roger Federer nine years ago was thrilling and intense – and went on even after the sun went down over the All England club.
In a rain-affected battle between two tennis heavyweights, the Spaniard missed two championship points in the fourth set only to recover to win 6-4 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-7 (8-10) 9-7. It remains the longest Wimbledon men’s singles final in history at four hours, 48 minutes.
2010: Isner v Mahut – Wimbledon’s longest match
What looked like an unremarkable first-round match on court 18, turned into a Wimbledon classic. At 18:13 on Tuesday, 22 June, American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut stepped out on to the grass. Three days later – after 11 hours and five minutes on court – Isner finally prevailed, winning the fifth and deciding set 70-68.
There is now a blue plaque on the wall outside the court to commemorate the longest match in Wimbledon history.
2013: Andy Murray wins his maiden Wimbledon title
There were tears on court in 2012 when Britain’s Andy Murray lost in his first Wimbledon final against Roger Federer.
Fast forward a year and it was a very different story. Murray ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s champion with a straight-set victory over Serb world number one Novak Djokovic. Cue bedlam on Centre Court – and celebrations up and down the country.