Best Grand Slam Matches of 2015 – Top 2

2. Stan Wawrinka d. Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, Roland Garros final
Novak Djokovic was on a date with destiny. Only seven players – three in the Open Era – had completed the career Grand Slam by winning all four majors, and the World No. 1 was one match win from cementing his place in the club when he squared off against Stan Wawrinka in the Roland Garros final.

The Serb had routed nine-time champion Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals and fended off a late charge from third seed Andy Murray in the semis. With Roger Federer also eliminated, the stars appeared to be aligned. Djokovic was on the doorstep of history, but an inspired Wawrinka stood tall. The Swiss captured a second Grand Slam championship, denying Djokovic on the terre battue.

Wawrinka was rewarded for playing lights-out tennis for much of the three-hour, 12-minute contest. He struck 59 winners, almost twice as many as Djokovic, and never let his head drop as the Serb relentlessly fended off break points. After rallying from 0/40 down in the eighth game of the fourth set – having already been a break down – Wawrinka fired a backhand winner to break Djokovic and served out the contest, saving a break point before finishing with another lethal backhand.

“I’m still surprised the way I played, because I think I played amazing today,” said Wawrinka. “I was really nervous, but I didn’t really choke. I was always going for my shots, always going for the right play. I was trying to have longer rallies, trying to play more deep, trying to play more aggressive from baseline, and little by little, I started to be the player inside the court.”

The Lausanne native added to the Australian Open crown he won in January 2014 (d. Nadal), making him just the sixth active player to win multiple major titles. The 30-year-old Wawrinka, who won the boys’ singles title in Paris in 2003 (d. Baker), became the first former junior champion to lift the men’s singles trophy since Mats Wilander in 1988. It was the third time that Djokovic, who was moved to tears during the trophy ceremony, had finished runner-up in Paris, having fallen to Nadal in the 2012 and 2014 finals.

“You go through emotions,” Djokovic added. “Of course I was more nervous than any other match. It’s the final of Roland Garros. We both were aware of the importance of this match, and that’s why you tend to have these particular situations. But at least I’m proud of the fight that I put into this match. I tried my best. It wasn’t to be.”

1. Fabio Fognini d. Rafael Nadal 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, US Open third round
In one of the more drama-filled rivalries of the 2015 season, sparks flew whenever Rafael Nadal and Fabio Fognini squared off this year. The Italian dethroned the Spaniard in Rio de Janeiro and upset Nadal on his home soil in Barcelona months later, before the former World No. 1 exacted revenge in the Hamburg final. Their sudden rivalry would reach a thrilling climax in September, on the hard courts of the US Open.

With Tiger Woods in attendance, under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium, Fognini produced a stunning comeback win from two sets down that sent shockwaves throughout Flushing Meadows. He fired 70 winners to reach the Round of 16 in the early hours of the middle Saturday in New York, with the match finishing around 1:30am. Fognini’s dazzling shot-making ended Nadal’s streak of winning at least one Grand Slam title a year for 10 straight years.

Nadal had been a perfect 151-0 at Grand Slam level after winning the first two sets, while Fognini’s record of winning from two sets down at the majors was 4-19. He had never beaten a Top 10 player on hard courts in 17 previous attempts.

After dropping the first two sets, Fognini turned in one of the most breathtaking shot-making displays of the year. He clubbed forehand and backhand winners from all parts of the court with exquisite timing. He also attacked the net regularly, winning 39 of 52 approaches. In a rollercoaster final set, the players held their opening serves but then exchanged seven consecutive breaks before Fognini served out the match from 5-4.

“With Rafa you have to try something different,” said Fognini. “It’s not easy. It is a really special win. If you want to play against him and if you want to do something different, you have to take risks. That’s the only thing. Probably I made a lot of unforced errors, but it doesn’t matter. You have to do that with a great player who runs a lot on the baseline.”

“He played great,” Nadal said. “It was not a match that I lost, even if I had opportunities. It’s a match that he won. So I accept that.”

More: Best Grand Slam & Davis Cup Matches Of 2015 Nos. 5-3