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 highlight five standout ATP Tour matches (not including Grand Slams) from this season.
The sport’s purest theatrics came alive at this year’s major tournaments, with marquee names stepping into the spotlight under the pressure of five-set combat. Across the four Grand Slams, fans were treated to several standout epics. ATPTour.com has selected five major thrillers to highlight as the ‘Best Slam Matches’ from 2025.
[ATP AWARDS]
5) Wimbledon R4, Norrie d. Jarry 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(7), 6-7(5), 6-3
Cameron Norrie’s reaction said it all. Clinching match point on a 15-ball rally, during which the home hope played mostly in defence, Norrie dove to the ground and then laid on his back, gasping for air. It was the look of a man who just had everything thrown at him and then some. And indeed, Nicolas Jarry did just that for the best part of a four-hour, 27-minute fourth-round clash at Wimbledon.
Norrie witnessed Jarry unleash a barrage of 103 winners, but the lefty remained composed and skilfully absorbed the Chilean’s pace before striking back with his own thunderous winners. Norrie let slip a match point on return in the third-set tie-break, but Jarry survived to clinch the set and soon found himself level after also prevailing in the fourth-set breaker. With the roof closed above Court No. 1, however, Norrie channelled the raucous atmosphere and deflated Jarry’s hopes of a two-sets-to-love comeback.
“Honestly I don’t know how I did that,” said Norrie. “Nico played better than me in both tie-breaks [that he won]. I had to keep fighting. I forgot to get my coach a birthday present today, so I had to get the win for him!”
With his five-set win, Norrie became just the fourth British player in the Open Era to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon on multiple occasions, joining two-time champion Andy Murray, Tim Henman and Roger Taylor.
<img alt=”Cameron Norrie” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/07/06/18/31/norrie-wimbledon-2025-sunday3.jpg” />
Photo Credit: Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images
4) US Open R1, Bonzi d. Medvedev 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(5), 0-6, 6-4
The word ‘unprecedented’ is perhaps overused in sports settings, but for the US Open first-round meeting between Benjamin Bonzi and Daniil Medvedev, it might just fit.
Bonzi was on the brink of completing a comfortable upset in the third set when he stepped up to serve on match point at 5-4, 40/30, but an unexpected interruption acted as a catalyst for dramatic scenes.
A photographer ran onto the court just as Bonzi missed his first serve on match point, prompting umpire Greg Allensworth to grant the Frenchman another first serve. Medvedev approached the umpire’s chair to protest and fans seized on the drama to make as much noise as possible, sparking a five-minute delay. The sustained roar created a ‘city-that-never-sleeps’ type atmosphere. Medvedev levelled the match at 5-5 and again, Louis Armstrong Stadium erupted.
A nerve-rattled Bonzi appeared set for a heartbreaker after not winning a game in the fourth set. Medvedev twice held a break lead early in the decider and then let slip five break points at 3-3. Bonzi somehow regrouped amidst the chaos and earned a repeat upset against Medvedev, who the Frenchman also beat in the first round of Wimbledon. “I gave all my heart on the court,” Bonzi said. “I’m very proud of myself, the scenario of the match, the match point in the third. It’s kind of crazy, this match. For me it’s like my best victory ever.”
Medvedev, frustrated with his 1-4 record at the majors this season, shook hands with Bonzi and then tossed six racquets from his bag to fans courtside, signaling the end of his disappointing year at the majors.
Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images
3) Roland Garros R2, Fils d. Munar 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 2-6, 0-6, 6-4
In a moment of pure emotion, Arthur Fils ripped off his shirt in celebratory fashion post match and hurled it into the crowd, sparking a tug-of-war among courtside fans. It was a memorable moment of glory for Fils, who struggled to move and looked on the brink of defeat in the latter stages of his Roland Garros second-round battle with Jaume Munar.
The Frenchman relied on his home crowd to pull him through the pain barrier and survive the five-setter, but initially, Fils began the rollercoaster of a match by winning each of the first two sets in a tie-break. Then, things began to change.
“It’s a funny story,” Fils told Tennis Channel after the four-hour, 25-minute victory. “After the end of the second set, I went back to the locker room to change my clothes and I saw [Gabriel] Diallo and he’s saying, ‘It’s a physical battle’! He told me, ‘It’s all right, you can still play five hours like this’. And I listen to him and say, ‘Yeah! I can still play five hours’!
“And then my coach came to give me the drinks and I tell him, ‘It’s okay, I can keep playing for five hours’! 20 minutes later, I was cramping.”
From a break down in the decider — and then trailing 0/40 when serving at 4-4 — Fils played with ultra aggression and dug into his deepest reserves to advance, creating an unforgettable, electric environment inside Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
<img alt=”Arthur Fils” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/05/29/13/47/fils-rg-2025-thur-1.jpg?w=100%25″ />
Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
2) Australian Open QFs, Djokovic d. Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
For a man who has played more than 1,300 tour-level matches and won 24 major titles, Novak Djokovic’s standard for greatness is higher than anyone’s. Yet even by those lofty standards, the Serbian’s Melbourne clash against Carlos Alcaraz stood apart.
“It’s one of the most epic matches I have played on this court, on any court really,” said the 38-year-old Djokovic during his on-court interview at Rod Laver Arena.
Adding to the intrigue, in the player’s box for Djokovic was his former rival turned coach, Andy Murray, the very man the Serbian beat in the Australian Open final on three occasions. Djokovic and Murray worked together for six months.
Djokovic countered an early physical issue by red-lining the ball for large periods. He received a medical timeout at 4-5 in the first set and returned with his upper left leg taped but did not let the issue get the better of him.
Crushing the ball off both wings to gain the upper hand in brutal baseline exchanges, Djokovic put his body on the line to outlast his younger rival after three hours and 37 minutes, sending the Serbian through to his record-extending 50th major semi-final.
1) Roland Garros Final, Alcaraz d. Sinner 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-2)
It was not just the best major match of the season, but one of the best of all-time. A five-hour, 29-minute epic that showcased sport at its absolute peak. In the Roland Garros championship match, Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner produced a spectacle that will echo for years, pushing each other to the limit while trading dramatic momentum shifts and otherworldly shotmaking.
Alcaraz rallied from two-sets-to-love down and became the third man in the Open Era to save at least one championship point en route to a Grand Slam trophy. The Spaniard stared down three consecutive championship points at 3-5, 0/40 in the fourth set, yet summoned his trademark grit to hold serve. He then broke Sinner in the next to send Court Philippe-Chatrier into a frenzy.
As the match extended to a fifth set, the tennis world seemed at a standstill, bracing for the next theatrical twist. Alcaraz and Sinner’s top-notch level never wavered, in fact, it only increased. In the first Roland Garros final ever decided by a fifth-set tie-break, a near-perfect Alcaraz rose to the moment. On championship point, he crushed a forehand pass winner on the run and instantly fell on his back in disbelief.
“When the situations are against you, you have to fight and keep fighting,” Alcaraz reflected in his post-tournament press conference. “It is a Grand Slam final. It’s no time to be tired. It’s no time to give up. It’s time to keep fighting, trying to find your moment, your good place again, and just go for it.
“I think the real champions are made in situations when you deal with that pressure, with those situations, in the best way possible.”
<img alt=”Carlos Alcaraz” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/06/08/19/14/alcaraz-roland-garros-2025-final-celebration.jpg” />
Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images
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