Top 10 Tennis Matches of 2025 FAN VOTE | Served with Andy Roddick

Summary

Served with Andy Roddick

Episode: Top 10 Tennis Matches of 2025 FAN VOTE
Date: November 25, 2025
Host: Andy "Techie Sean" Roddick
Co-host: Jon Wertheim (JW)
Producer: Producer Mike

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Andy Roddick, Jon Wertheim, and Producer Mike count down the top 10 tennis matches of 2025 as voted by the fans. The hosts are in the dark about the match selections until they’re revealed, providing genuine reactions, commentary, and some good-humored skepticism. They discuss not just the drama on court, but also the narratives, resilience, and context that elevate these matches into memorable moments for the sport. Listeners are taken through the year’s biggest stories, from epic comebacks and ground-breaking triumphs to demonstrations of absolute dominance.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Subjectivity of "Best Matches"

• (05:23) The team opens up a thoughtful debate: is the “best” match about drama, high quality, context, or story?
• Techie Sean: “There’s such a thing as a dramatic match with a good story, but where the level was pretty bad... I would like to have a ‘best matches’ list and a ‘best performances’ list, because a lot of times those are different.”
• JW: “Context matters a lot... a certain threshold of stakes.”

Honorable Mentions

• (04:04–05:08)
  • Paolini vs. Gauff
  • Draper vs. Alcaraz (Indian Wells SF)
  • Mboko vs. Osaka (Canadian Open Final)
    All narrowly missed the cut.

Fan Voting Mechanics

• (05:08–05:19) Producer Mike explains the process: a list plus write-in options; final votes determined from fan submissions.

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Top 10 Matches Breakdown

10. Iga Swiatek vs. Belinda Bencic – Wimbledon SF

[08:44]

• Swiatek dismantles Bencic 6-2, 6-0 in 71 minutes, serving as a “masterclass.”
• Hosts question whether dominance without drama should make the list.
• Techie Sean: “Half of our audience just left.”
• JW: “Does IGA’s mom know we only like one vote per entry?”
• Producer Mike: “So dominant that Bencic admitted she had no answers.”

9. Amanda Anisimova vs. Iga Swiatek – Cincinnati Final

[10:13]

• Anisimova avenges her double bagel loss at Wimbledon just 53 days earlier, winning 6-4, 6-3.
• Discussion centers on redemption, psychological storylines, and how context matters.
• JW: “This is a context match, not a classic tennis match, but I could see why this would be in our top 10.”

8. Valentin Vacherot vs. Arthur Rinderknech – Shanghai Masters 1000 Final

[13:23]

• Vacherot, ranked 204, upsets the field (including Djokovic and Holger Rune) and beats cousin Rinderknech in an all-family, all-underdog final.
• A genuine Cinderella story and highlight of perseverance.
• JW: “This is like tennis at its best. This is one of my favorite—never mind the eighth best match.”
• Techie Sean: “Preparation meets opportunity. You better be prepared when the opportunity presents itself.”

7. Madison Keys vs. Iga Swiatek – Australian Open SF

[22:25]

• Keys battles through to win in a third-set tiebreak, 10–8, launching her to her first Grand Slam crown.
• Discussed for both nerve-wracking theater and high quality of play.
• Techie Sean: “This was a great match. Not just a great story, like Shanghai, but a great match for every reason.”
• JW: “You could make the case, at the time, this was the biggest match of her career.”

6. Iga Swiatek vs. Amanda Anisimova – Wimbledon Final

[26:36]

• Swiatek delivers the most ruthless slam final of the era, winning 6-0, 6-0 in 57 minutes.
• Lively banter on whether a lopsided score deserves to be called a great match.
• Techie Sean: “The match was pretty gross, too.”
• JW: “Great achievement. God bless Iga. How in the world is this the best match? I'm not quite sure.”

5. Novak Djokovic vs. Carlos Alcaraz – Australian Open QF

[29:28]

• Djokovic, 37, rallies from a set down and a hip tweak to defeat Alcaraz in over 3.5 hours.
• Weighing the old guard vs. the new, and Djokovic’s ability to “complete tennis.”
• Techie Sean: “The aging boxer getting into the ring and finding a way... This was one of my best 10 matches of the year for sure.”
• JW [31:27]: “He sort of disappointed at the Open, went out early to Poppy. If he loses this match, it's possible he retires on the spot... But he goes into Novak gear against the mighty Carlos Alcaraz.”

4. Coco Gauff vs. Aryna Sabalenka – French Open Final

[36:29]

• Gauff rallies from a set down to become the first American woman to win Roland Garros since Serena.
• The match is remembered for adverse conditions, Coco’s grit, and Sabalenka’s post-match drama.
• JW: “Coco took her second major and it was a strange day. A great win for her, a comeback win, a disappointment for Sabalenka.”
• Techie Sean: “There’s a certain beauty in its ugliness if you’re a true sports fan.”

3. Madison Keys vs. Aryna Sabalenka – Australian Open Final

[44:12]

• Keys ends Sabalenka’s 20-match Melbourne Park streak 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, claiming her maiden Slam.
• Highlights mental fortitude in late-career breakthrough.
• JW [45:54]: “During the tournament, everything’s going to change...Here you go, two out of three sets to completely change your legacy. This was cold-blooded. Let’s focus for a minute on the tennis: such clean ball striking, no double faults, and then at 5-all, she just played two games to seal it.”

2. Jannik Sinner vs. Carlos Alcaraz – Wimbledon Final

[48:37]

• Sinner defeats defending champ Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, ending Alcaraz’s 24-match win streak on grass.
• Narrative around mental resilience following Sinner’s French Open heartbreak and the emerging rivalry.
• Techie Sean: “The professionalism getting over that Roland Garros loss, heartbreak, and going back to work—props.”
• JW: “It’s not just contrast, it’s swinging... he loses the first set, time to go to work, starts dialing in his serve. Wimbledon champion.”

1. Carlos Alcaraz vs. Jannik Sinner – French Open Final

[53:56]

• Five hours, five sets, three match points saved; Alcaraz comes back from two sets down to claim his first Paris crown, ending Sinner's 30-match Slam streak.
• Lauded for peak athleticism, mental strength, and mutual sportsmanship.
• Techie Sean [54:14]: “An absolute force of mental anguish, athleticism, drama, peaking at the right time—everything you could ever want in a match.”
• JW [55:31]: “The match was obvious to anyone watching for its physicality... Yet I don’t recall an injury timeout. The match was not tainted... Clutch tennis, crazy winners, extraordinarily high level.”

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the subjectivity of “best”:
  • “A Wimbledon final that goes five sets is probably going to make the list, and a brilliant second-round match in Charleston... probably doesn’t.” — JW [06:10]
• On Iga’s dominance:
  • “This is for as much respect you have for IGA for dropping an oh at Wimbledon, you’re a psychopath if you don’t have empathy for Anisimova in that moment.” — Techie Sean [10:57]
• On the Vacherot family fairytale:
  • “You couldn’t write this. If I’d gotten a script a month before it happens... I’d say that’s not, that’s so far.” — Techie Sean [19:52]
• On Keys’ breakthrough win:
  • “There’s like a match a year, maybe two, where you don’t really have a dog in the fight, and then someone’s victory causes emotion for you. Right? This one broke me, in the most beautiful way possible.” — Techie Sean [44:31]
• On Alcaraz–Sinner at RG:
  • “He had to turn into Superman. He had to go into the phone booth.” — Techie Sean [56:29]
  • “Watching the athletes, we understood the extraordinarily high level... This wasn’t some great emotional passion play and drama that was going to wreck them—they were enjoying the competition. We did as well.” — JW [57:31]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:06: Introduction and fan-voting concept
• 04:04: Honorable mentions and close calls
• 05:23: “What is a best match?” discussion
• 08:44: Countdown begins — #10: Swiatek v. Bencic
• 13:23: #8: Vacherot v. Rinderknech — the underdog family story
• 22:25: #7: Keys v. Swiatek — AO SF
• 29:28: #5: Djokovic v. Alcaraz — AO QF
• 36:29: #4: Gauff v. Sabalenka — French Open Final
• 44:12: #3: Keys v. Sabalenka — AO Final
• 48:37: #2: Sinner v. Alcaraz — Wimbledon Final
• 53:56: #1: Alcaraz v. Sinner — Roland Garros Final
• 60:54: Andy’s honorable mentions and closing thoughts

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Memorable Episode Moments

• Roddick recounts Mary Carillo’s candid “fuck yes” after her Hall of Fame nod [03:19]
• A running joke about Iga Swiatek’s mom voting repeatedly for her matches [09:41]
• Genuine awe and emotional resonance at Madison Keys’ major breakthrough [44:31]
• Comparing tennis greatness to LeBron, George Clooney’s ‘late break,’ and more [32:47; 19:03]
• Hot take (and not-so-subtle threat):
  • “If number one doesn’t say Roland Garros, I’m quitting. This is our last show.” — Techie Sean [48:55]

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Honorable Mentions Section

• Lerner Tien vs. Medvedev (Australian Open)
• Iga Swiatek vs. Rybakina (Roland Garros 4th round)
• Sabalenka vs. Pegula (US Open SF)
• Alcaraz vs. Fognini (Wimbledon 1st round)
• Taylor Townsend vs. Krejcikova (US Open)

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Episode Tone & Language

The conversation is candid, lively, and peppered with friendly teasing. Andy and Jon strike a balance between analysis, storytelling, and humor, always bringing attention to the humanity behind the athlete and the singular drama that only tennis provides.

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This episode is a must-listen for anyone who values storylines as much as shot-making and who enjoys tennis discussions with authenticity, warmth, and wit.

Transcript

[Techie Sean]

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[JW]

Foreign.

[Techie Sean]

Welcome to Served. I'm Andy Techie Sean. JW Producer Mike in the house. This is gonna be one of those weird ones. This is the one where we have top 10 matches for 2025. JW and I do not know what they are. Producer Mike does. You all listening have dictated these matches to producer Mike. So we are just basically providing commentary on your choices. Maybe a hint of judgment might be sprinkled in. Who knows?

[Producer Mike]

I'm just a messenger. Please.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah. Remember, we can all still be friends. I might judge you. You can judge me every week if you'd like to. Any other notes? No, no.

[Producer Mike]

I was just really grateful to all the checkers, all the followers, all the subscribers, everyone on social media that weighed in, filled out the form multiple times and helped us whittle this list down from. I think it was something like 20, 25, all the way down to the top 10. And you know, I think there's some really good ones on here. I think we'll probably start out with one that you'll be shocked with.

[Techie Sean]

You know what I was shocked about? Just before we get into this list? You know what I was stunned about this week? Something happened this week what floored me.

[Producer Mike]

What?

[Techie Sean]

Federer got voted into the hall of Fame?

[Producer Mike]

No. Frickin no.

[Techie Sean]

I know.

[JW]

Breaking.

[Techie Sean]

I didn't have my first ballot.

[Producer Mike]

I didn't have it in my prediction markets.

[Techie Sean]

I know only one person voted against and I'm sure I don't know who it is.

[Producer Mike]

You can't let him be unanimous.

[Techie Sean]

I don't know. Undeserving. I mean.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah, maybe you'll do something with his life someday.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah. Anyways, that'll be.

[JW]

That'll be far as high for the speech, right? Hey, hey, let's, let's give Mary Carilla.

[Techie Sean]

I was just going there.

[JW]

I feel like she's gonna get. She's definitely gonna be the, you know, a little bit of a B side. I think she knows that. But good for Mary.

[Techie Sean]

That was, I joke. The two people I voted for, Mary Carrillo also. I've obviously voted for Roger. Mary Carrillo is one of my favorites though. She's so good at her job and never really makes a mistake and is so good. And I sent her a message and I just basically said, I look forward to celebrating you. She says, I like the podcast. I said, we'd love to have you on anytime.

[JW]

And.

[Techie Sean]

And then Mary Carrillo goes, fuck yes. Obviously she's so professional on air and has been the voice of so many matches that when she just throws out, throws out the, the F bomb with enthusiasm, I appreciated that much more. It's like, you know what it is? It's a little bit like you remember, like, have you ever watched Bob Saget or Rest in Peace? You ever watch his stand up specials?

[Producer Mike]

Oh, yeah.

[Techie Sean]

Where he went from Danny Tanner to like just a filth pot.

[Producer Mike]

Just filthy.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah. Mary Carillo is not filthy. But just because she is so good. She's a little filthy just because she's so good at her job. Fuck yes. So hopefully we can make that happen. I think that would be fun for us anyways. All right, without further ado, let's get to the top 10 matches of 2025 as decided by the chuckers.

[Producer Mike]

So before we get into it, I want to give you guys a few honorable mentions because it was, was pretty tight here. For number 10, we had Paolini Goff sitting on the outside. We had Draper Alcaraz from the Indian well semifinals sitting on the outside. And we had Mboco Osaka. That was the Canadian open final. Number 11.

[Techie Sean]

Number 11.

[JW]

Yeah.

[Producer Mike]

So didn't make the cut into the top 10.

[Techie Sean]

Okay. Because I, I came into this, I got to be honest, I came into this thinking, like, obviously over the course of a year there are great matches. Right. And also there weren't a ton of.

[JW]

Like early.

[Techie Sean]

Slam third round, two set, like the, the drama factor might have been a touch low, but I feel better if Umboko and Osaka did not make the list.

[JW]

That was a final too.

[Techie Sean]

Could be wrong. And it was like in your home country. I mean, it was, that was a, that was a big Matt. That. That's bad. That's an honorable mention. I look forward to the list.

[Producer Mike]

All right.

[JW]

Hey wait, before, wait before we, before we get to number 10, do, do we want to like do an overview of what? Like do we give people any guidelines or any kind of dealers parameters?

[Producer Mike]

Yeah, this was dealer's choice. People there, there, they chose from a list or there was a write in option. So and then we triangulated the write in options and then put those out on the list and then we did like a final list for everyone to vote on.

[Techie Sean]

That's right. We can triangulate.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Techie Sean]

Jw, I got a question for you. Just generally speaking, and let's, let's, let's hit this off the top because we all value best matches differently. It's completely subjective. You could just be voting for your favorite, the best match your favorite player played. Right. Like who knows how do you break down best matches? Just generally jw and obviously there's allowances here but like generally how do you value it?

[JW]

I say this not knowing what I think. Context matters a lot. You can have an amazing flawlessly played match. But if it's on a Tuesday night in Youngstown, Ohio between someone ranked 78 and someone ranked 86 probably doesn't qualify. I mean I think you need to have a certain threshold level of stakes, don't you think?

[Techie Sean]

Yeah, tree falling in the quarterfinal on.

[JW]

I, I think outcome in doubt. I mean there, there, I'm sure there's some brilliant performances where one player had flawless tennis, but I'm not sure it's a great match if it's one way traffic. And I think, you know, I think stakes, stakes matter. That could be personal stakes, that could be a rivalry, that could be a Wimbledon final. But yeah, I mean a Wimbledon final that goes five sets is probably going to make the list in a brilliant second round match in Charleston that 6, 7, 7, 6, 7, 6 probably doesn't. I don't know, what do you say?

[Techie Sean]

10 year old. I literally saw a kid walking. This is a diver. And I'm gonna tell you what I think about the best matches. I saw a kid, it was like three, just randomly running around a restaurant the other day for an hour and the only words that he could say was the seven. It's gone too far. Here's what I think. I think I keep finding myself like there is such thing as a very dramatic match with a good story that is close where I watch it and go, the level of tennis was pretty bad. Like the number one of all time. Like we're drama and obviously there's nerves and it's a weird situation. And no one was there but team and Zverev in the finals of the US Open. That one year was a. Couldn't have had more drama, but it was. I mean, neither one of them played their best match they've ever played. The great, great players and also like, they were kind of like falling to the finish a little bit. So it's like in my mind and I don't know what's on the list. So if I'm, if I'm bearing one, but like, I don't know, I'm going there and I'm. IGA goes out and completely turns a Grand Slam final upside down. On the first 20 minutes of the match, I'm going, that's a dominant performance. Not one of the best matches. But like, I would like to have a best matches list and a best performances list because performances listed would oftentimes be different. I'm going, man, if I'm a coach and I'm coaching that player, that's one of the three best matches of the year. That's great, right? Like, I executed, everything was fine. Like, I understand we like drama, but without going into this list, a lot of times when I see these best ofs, it's basically when was I the most entertained? And that's not always how I value it. So let's, let's, let's get going.

[Producer Mike]

All right, well then, with all that said, John was a bit of a Nostradamus. Number 10. We have igisvotech putting on an absolute masterclass on center court, dismantling Belinda Bencic 6260 in just 71 minutes. The Polish star was completely on fire.

[JW]

Just, just invalidating everything we've said for the last.

[Producer Mike]

Winning 83% of the first serve points and 90% of the returns en route to her first Wimbledon final performance.

[Techie Sean]

Seriously, what's number 10.

[Producer Mike]

So dominant that Benjamin admitted she no answers? I think I. Again, nobody, nobody wrote a criteria, but they're saying this is one of the best matches of the year. And maybe it is because she just completely dominated with ridiculous stats.

[Techie Sean]

Half of our audience just left.

[Producer Mike]

Well, luckily it's number 10.

[Techie Sean]

Oh my goodness.

[JW]

This had more votes.

[Techie Sean]

Thank of final according to our steadfast.

[Producer Mike]

Team of one person.

[JW]

All right. Does IGA's mom know that we only like one vote per entry?

[Techie Sean]

Yeah. Is there. Okay, so all nine of our Polish listeners. So I'm assuming that if a semifinal can do that, a final will do that as well. Right? Because it'd be crazy to have a Semifinal dominant performance on there.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Techie Sean]

And then for the exact same reasons, not have a Wimbledon final that was. Oh, and.

[Producer Mike]

Oh, I just work here, man.

[Techie Sean]

Same, bro. All right, let's see. Let's see you triangulate a better match for number nine.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah, let's go on to number nine. The ultimate revenge performance came 53 days after the ultimate humiliation. Amanda Anisova revenged her 6060 Wimbledon final loss by stunning IGA 6463, proving that yesterday's disaster can fuel tomorrow's greatest triumph.

[Techie Sean]

I'll tell you what I didn't expect. I didn't expect. I didn't expect the first two matches of the best of list for the losers of the matches to have won a total of nine games. Everything I just said about the drama overtaking the performances, apparently I was wrong on. This is, this is great. And it also gets to the point, which we should have said off the top if there is a good story behind it.

[JW]

Right.

[Techie Sean]

I'm sure we're going to have some match from a guy who was 200 plus in the world and had some dramatic wins somewhere along, along the way. But yeah, this is for as much respect as you have for IGA for dropping an zero at Wimbledon, you also are a psychopath if you don't have empathy for Anisimova in that moment. So to then fast forward and to have Anna Samova kind of turn that scar tissue into a victory over, you know, arguably the best player of her generation along with Sabalenka. Yeah, I get that. There was an emotional investment from a lot of tennis fandom in this match and Amanda Anisomova played great. Remember, we forget that IGA Sviatek wins Wimbledon, plays great in Cincinnati, wins it is going into the Open. I don't know if she's not the favorite over Sabalenka, she's maybe next in line.

[JW]

Jw, I think you're right. I think everyone that watched that Wimbledon final knew iga's really good. She had a Wimbledon breakthrough. Congrats to her. Anisimova. That did not reflect her game, how good she is, and to come at the very next major and exact revenge. And remember, Anisimova backed that up as well. But this is one of these matches. I'm not sure this goes down as one of the classic, you know, let's preserve it in amber tennis matches. But I think context matters. And for a player playing at her home slam, who the previous encounter was at the Wimbledon finals and you lost by the worst tennis Score you could put up to, then come and completely not just win that match, but win an additional match in the semifinals. Good for Amanda and Amanda Anisimova. Good for her. And yeah, I think that's again, this is a context match and not a classic tennis match, but I could see why this would be in our top 10. All right, first one, mystified.

[Techie Sean]

Let's just level set here though, because we don't know the list, we don't know what's coming. But the first two matches, are you sensing a trend? No. Well, okay, let's break it down, right? The first one is like, okay, maybe there's a bench. It's hell of a run at Wimbledon. One of the stories of the year going from, you know, having a kid coming back playing great. So maybe we're, we're, we're suckers for an underdog. Maybe there's like a run. We want to include benches in the situation. Anna Simova turns it. Congrats, listeners. I was wrong. Your empathy is shining through.

[Producer Mike]

Well, that empathy is going to continue because at number eight, we have cousins and former Texas A and M teammates squaring off in a fairy tale final. With Vachero ranked 204, entering as a qualifying alternate, defeating his Cousin Rinder Kanesh, 466363. The triumph made Bashero the lowest ranked ATP Masters 1000 champion in history and the first player from Monaco ever to win an ATP title.

[JW]

JW Story of the year. I love this story. Remember we were at Labor Cup. Boy, that wasn't so long ago, was it? We had a good time. We did some shows that week. Vachero was playing in Santro Pay and losing to a player outside the top 300. This was a guy who wasn't eligible for the US Open qualifying draw. Goes to Asia, probably at great personal expense, great financial expense. Remember, he had to qualify. He lost his first set of qualifying. I think it was about looked at the Bassett Verretti from, from Indiana via Stanford. So Vachero loses the first set of qualifying at this tournament and then absolutely catches a gear. He beats Holgaruna, he beats, he beats Novak and then he gets to the final. We have this crazy story and who is on the other side of the net? Only his first cousin and former college teammate. And not only did Bashara win to complete the Cinderella story, it was a really good match and Vachero and they rematched a month later in Paris. But no, this is one of my favorite tennis stories of the year. Just a great sort of parable. About persistence, the fact that he would win this event out of nowhere and the guy he had to beat in the final is his first cousin on the other side of the world. This is like tennis at his best. This is one of my favorite, never mind the eighth best match. And I certainly see why this got votes. It was a good. It was a three set. I don't have the score in front of me. Three set or two. Right. It was a pretty competitive map.

[Producer Mike]

Yep, exactly.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah. This was going to be on the list. Right. This would have been malpractice if this wasn't on the list. I don't know. And I want to spend some time on Vachero too, because I think there's a couple of parts of this that are super impressive that haven't been talked about enough. Right. So just the happenstance of Rinderkanish making a final of a Masters 1000, having his own breakout year, and then playing his cousin who's 204 them literally doing it the same day. Do you remember when, during the Andre episode when he was talking about Andre Medvedev and it's like they're in each other's corner, they're like cheering each other on. Then it's like, oh, then the quarters comes and you start kind of thinking, well, no, there's no way after the last month of support that we've given each other, semis comes now. I mean, it's not going to be Novak. Right. And then like, I don't know if maybe they will and I hope they do. There's a not nothing chance that these guys don't make a Masters 1000 final again. Right. I hope I'm wrong. They're seemingly great dudes, great story. But just like you can't beat sports, you cannot beat the storylines that are created with sports. Just the random nature of what happens, the momentum of you win, I win. Oh, that's funny. High five. All those little kind of momentum moments, I think matter. Two things that need to be said about, about Vachero, not just the 204 and how crazy it was. I think we all have a general understanding of that. The amount of time that he put in that week, the field that he went through. Do we remember that Jannik had to retire because of cramps? The first three days or four days of that tournament, of the main draw, all you heard of was how extreme the conditions were. Like people, it was so hot, this guy. And this is a lesson for young players, for parents, for anyone that has anything to do with tennis had he not been ready physically in shape, he would not have had this moment. So the tennis is one thing. Preparation meets opportunity. You better be prepared when the opportunity presents itself. That has not been talked about enough. Right. Going through qualifying, it was a million degrees in Shanghai. The fact that this guy had taken his lumps and JW mentioned he lost to a guy outside the 300. I think he lost to someone outside of the top 800 in the previous three months before he did this. To keep the motivation and be professional and keep yourself in shape enough to rip off 10 days or 14 days of tennis at the highest level is an undersold part of this story and.

[JW]

I'll keep going with that, which is you lead this life when you're really sort of trolling for points and going all over the world and you need durability, you need to deal with conditions, but you also have to back it up. So Vachero wins this. I mean if this is me, if this is most of us and you win a million bucks and you're suddenly in the big time, you're halfway bottle of Maker's Mark on the flight home. This guy goes to Basel, plays Taylor Fritz in the first round and gives him a really, I think it was like 7:5 in the third, gives him a really good match. Then he goes to Paris, beats his cousin again and wins more points. Finally loses to Felix and suddenly so, so not only is he like doing cartwheel, I mean he's not doing cartwheels. He's going and backing this up. And now listen to this. He's going to be seated in Australia. This is a guy who at the previous major was not eligible to qualify and now he's not going to play a player ranked higher than him to the third round. I mean this is kind of the best of tennis. And we all want to be Carlos and we all want to be Yannick and we all want to be Sabalenka. For a lot of players, this is the guy to emulate. This is the inspiration.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah. And that was. You hit it on the head, jw. That was the second point I was going to get to is actually maintaining momentum. Like there's no chance this guy wanted. Vachero did not want the season to end, by the way. The last thing he wanted was a six week speed bump. Like he didn't, didn't want that. But season's too short like mass in the season. He's going to do a couple of things. He's going to give hope to a lot of people. Who are 200 in the world. A lot of people are going to play a year longer than they probably should. Also, like, this is. This is like George Clooney making it at 47 years old for the first time. Like, this is one of those. Like, this is. This is a massive, massive story. But, yeah, I mean, listen, you couldn't write this if you would have written it. If I would have gotten a script a month before it happens. Like, I wrote this great ending. It's the two cousins playing. The final one's 200. I'm like, that's not. That's so far.

[Producer Mike]

Like, this. Challengers two.

[JW]

Get out of here.

[Techie Sean]

But to your point, jw, like, we can say it was a surprise. We can say all this. He backed it up. So did Render Knish, by the way. Like, he's played great. He beats Verav at Wimbledon. Like, we forget about a lot of his accomplishments this year. Both of them, I think, fully understood the interest. Fully understood the moment. Were class acts all the way through. Rinder Kanesh had to be. If you tell him that he makes a Masters 1000 final, loses to a guy outside the top 200 in that opportunity, that's tough, right? I understand it's a big jump, but also that's tough. He was a class act throughout the way. I cannot wait to see what happens with Vachero next year. Like, you get out of that momentum build and then you show up and there's like, maybe expectations for the first time in your career. I'm cheering for him. I thought it was a great thing and I again, I admired how prepared he was to actually execute on that moment. Well done.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah. The crazy thing is they had never faced each other before, and then they faced each other again, like, two weeks later. And so Bashero is actually 20 against his cousin, so maybe we'll see some redemption.

[Techie Sean]

I've never lost to my cousin either.

[JW]

Big deal.

[Producer Mike]

There you go. There you go. All right, let's get on to number seven after we get back from this break.

[Techie Sean]

Dun, dun, dun.

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[Techie Sean]

All right, welcome back to Served. Thank you for your submissions for the top 10 matches of 2025. What do we got next, Mike?

[Producer Mike]

Up next at number seven in Australian Open semifinal, American power meets Polish precision in a three set thriller that launched Keys title run. Madison Keys stunned second seed IGA winning a nerve wracking deciding tiebreak 108 to reach the AO finals.

[Techie Sean]

This so obviously that means there's another one of these matches on, on this list because I think these were probably two of the best matches of the year on the WT tour and I won't say the next one. We all know who Maddie beat in the final. I'm sure that's coming up so we'll focus on this. But as far as consuming theater, JW and someone who I think has been to the late stages and we had Madison on. If you haven't listened to that interview that we had post Australian Open this year, go listen to it. Talk about being honest and self aware. 12 out of 10 for her for that, but also erasing the question marks, leaning into the question marks, not only getting over it mentally, but you have to be pretty good physically to beat IGA Wiatek and Areida Sabalenka back to back. IGA played well. I'm just telling you like there were some matches throughout the year. The first, you know, we kind of forget about the first six months now post Wimbledon title. But there were some struggling parts. You know her losing to Coco in Madrid was like shocking.

[JW]

Right?

[Techie Sean]

You're going what is? What is what? Not just because you know, obviously Coco won the French Open but the scoreline was, was, was so lopsided. This was everything you wanted. It was a storyline you were cheering for Maddie, one of the most liked players on, on either tour, going up against one of the greats. Can she finally do it? The electricity and then the tennis actually matched it. Right? They both played great. This is a no brainer for this list in my mind Biases. I understand my bias. I think EGA is great. I think Matty's great. So I probably enjoy it more as. As a fan. This. This was a. This was a great match.

[JW]

Yeah. And I think. I think you're. I'm glad you hit on them because this is one of these things where, yes, the context means a lot. And here's Maddie. I think she was like, maybe in the top 20 to start the event. 19, maybe. So this is. This is not a player who people had going to the latter rounds of this tournament. She's towards the end of her career. She's had. We all know about the power, we all know about the athleticism, but she's had trouble in her career closing. She knows that she, of course, is sort of team nice, and now she is locked in this battle against the younger, more accomplished player, and she just did not retreat. And I think you're right. I remember this match being actually the. Probably qualitatively the better of the two wins for her. But in some ways, you could make the case at the time, this was the biggest match of her career. Yes, she was in a US Open final, but that was sort of an awkward affair almost a decade earlier at this stage in her career. I would make the case this was the biggest match of her career, and she absolutely stepped up. And it was a third set tiebreak. Right.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah. And I'll tell you, jw, to your point, I felt way more nervous when I didn't know how many chances I had left at Slams. Right. I would feel the weight of what if can I get there? Like, the anxiety kind of consumed me more than, you know, the first Slam you play or the second one or a semifinal or a quarterfinal, you know, early on in your career. So I think for sure, if you get the opportunity and you have, you know, a fair amount of years of potential scar tissue and having to listen to your own narrative and, you know, agreeing with maybe certain parts of it, knowing you have to overcome it. Yeah, absolutely. You're squeezing a little bit tighter. There's no doubt. I mean, we talked about it with Zverev, last week's show. Like, there absolutely is an element of that and to kind of. You can't push it to the side because that's not realistic, but to deal with it in real time and still be able to push the chips forward. This was. This was a great, great match. Not, not just a great story like the Shanghai, but a great match for every reason.

[Producer Mike]

On to number six, the Wimbledon final between IGA and Amanda Anisimova. IGA delivered the most ruthless performance in modern Grand Slam history. 6, 060 double bagel in just 57 minutes. The dominance gave IGA her first Wimbledon title and six major title and six finals appearances, and also introduced the world to strawberries and pasta as a superfood.

[Techie Sean]

Gross. Not the match. The, the, the, the strawberries and pasta. Hey, listen, the match was pretty gross, too. I didn't, I didn't think you were. I, I didn't think the checkers were going to go this direction.

[JW]

Right.

[Techie Sean]

They are valuing performances.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[JW]

Right.

[Techie Sean]

You go and smother someone. Oh, and. Oh. In a, in a Grand Slam final, especially in the Slam that everyone on earth rightfully agrees, that is your least likely to win.

[JW]

Right.

[Techie Sean]

Like you, you, you. Igash Realtek was not supposed to win Wimbledon. She didn't play her best during the clay court season. She was not the dominant force on her best surface. So obviously that means she's going to go onto her worst surface and be dominant.

[JW]

Right?

[Techie Sean]

Right. Bueller, anyone? Great performance. I'm happy we are valuing performances, even if it's at the expense of two and a half hours of entertainment value. Jw. Too high.

[JW]

Yeah. I'm, you know, God bless. We all stand in great admiration of ego. What she's done. Big picture, what she did at Wimbledon, as you say, coming back from this sort of very strange, you know, this was not a great year for her. She did not defend enrolling Garros. Then she goes to this tournament where she's had the least success. It seems almost kind of as though she's psyched herself out by the surface and she absolutely conquers it. Great story. As matches go, this was a rough watch. And IGA was great. I mean, she lost two games in the last two rounds of Wimbledon. Like, hats off. But it was so obvious, even to the casual fan, how paralyzingly nervous Anna Samova was. I'm baffled that this makes its way on again. Great achievement. God bless Ega. How in the world is this the best match? I'm not quite sure.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah, I don't disagree with your points. I will say, when you are nervous going out for a Grand Slam final and then from the word go, someone has a game plan and the ability to execute it immediately, guess what that does to your nerves? Doesn't make them better. You feel lost. And you saw about five, six, seven, eight games in, you could see the narrative shift to like, oh, I don't know if I'm actually still in this match. But please let me squeeze a game like also honorable mention. We need it. You said most dominant, you know, in Grand Slam history. All that. Steffi Graff, 1988. Natasha Zveraba also won zero in a grand Slam final. Probably also not one of the best. Top, top 10 matches of that year.

[Producer Mike]

Let's move on to number five. The Ageless Wonder battled the wonderkid three hours and 37 minutes of Melbourne heat.

[Techie Sean]

Good.

[Producer Mike]

After dropping the first set and tweaking his hip, 37 year old Novak Djokovic rallied to defeat Carlos Alcarez 466-466-3364, earning his record 12th Australian Open semifinal appearance.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah, this one, I was drive, driving over here and I was hoping this would make the list. And if it didn't, this was going to be a tangent for me. The aging boxer getting into the ring and finding a way to, you know, take the, take the uppercut out of Tyson. I think is this should have been one of the best matches of the year. Right. And it was. People will say, well, Carlos didn't play that well. Yeah, there's a reason for that. His name's Novak. Right. Came out. Can he still do it? I don't know if he can still do it for seven matches. I don't think any of us do. Maybe he doesn't. We wouldn't stun me, right. It wouldn't be the, it wouldn't be Vachero in Shanghai. But to kind of walk into the arena where you've built a massive part of your legacy, you know, and take out the new kid on the block who's you've played in Grand Slam finals and Wimbledon finals. And to dismantle him technically, physically, emotionally, the most drama, probably not, but one of the peak performances in like kind of shutting down naysayers and kind of pointing to your goat trophy and all that, like this was one of my best 10 matches of the year for sure.

[JW]

There was a lot of buzz at this tournament. I remember about, is this the sheet cake and the gold watch? Is this it? And Novak had that 20, 24. He won the gold medal. Amazing. That was sort of the last possible element of his resume.

[Techie Sean]

He completed tennis that day, by the way.

[JW]

Yeah, complete, exactly.

[Producer Mike]

I'm done.

[JW]

I'm out. Yeah, that's well put. And then remember he, he sort of, you know, he kind of disappointed at the Open. He was a defending champion. He went out early, I believe, to Poppy. And there was sort of this question of, you know what, like, eventually even the great ones have to step away and is this going to be it for Novak. I don't know if there had been some. Some tip off or if this was just bad gossip, but there was a real sense if he loses this match to Carlos Alcaraz, it's very possible. He takes the mic and says, thanks, Scott. It's been a great career, guys. I can't think of a better place to call an end to it. He loses the first set and then just goes into Novak year. And this is a rematch of the previous Wimbledon final. It's a rematch of the goal. I mean, there's all we're talking about, context and weight and history and hefty. And here he is in the quarterfinals of this event that he has owned for the better part of the last 15 years, and he takes down the mighty Carlos Alcaraz, 15 years his junior. This would end up being really the signature win of Djokovic's season. But in the. In the old guys still got it department, this was just a takedown.

[Techie Sean]

There's a. There's a couple of things here that we just need to. Again, we talk about this a lot on this show, but I think we need to continue talking about it. We tend and tend to in sports to take greatness for granted.

[JW]

Right?

[Techie Sean]

Like, okay, look at last week. LeBron comes back after not having played for a month, and then he didn't play and then has 12 assists that night. Like, that's a. That's absurd. At his 23rd NBA season, coming out knowing how to be the best version of himself. Is he the same guy that he was 20 years ago? Does he have the same athleticism? Does he have the same toolbox? No, I had 12 assists and contributed 11 points in my first runaround of the year. Absurd. That's what we are seeing with Novak. Four semifinals of Grand Slams a year. Remember what a big deal we made about, and rightfully so, about Connor's run in 91 to the semis to one semifinal. My favorite tournament of my entire life was that run. Novak did it. He's a year younger. Year and a half year and change younger and did it four times this year, beating Alcaraz in this match. Like, we just need to, like, not take it for granted and not like, you watch, it's like, well, he's not moving as well. Yeah, well, no shit. He's almost 40. Like, obviously, right? Like, it's just amazing. I was going to throw a fit if this wasn't on the list.

[JW]

Did you just. Two digressions real quick, and then we'll move on one of them, Martina has this great quote, Martina Forlova has this great quote of when you get older that the first thing to go is the consistency. Okay, I buy that. But you know what that means? That means you still have some ups. Like inconsistent is mercurial. Right. I mean it still means you get some good moments. And this was one for Novak. You can live with inconsistency if the good parts mean beating the number one player in the world. I don't know if you heard his interview with Piers Morgan. I recommend everyone. I mean, this is not a tennis fan. I mean, I think you and I were probably may have been some missed opportunities to follow up and that kind of thing. But boy, Novak, there is no athlete who's done more, I would say A for sports psychology and B for just kind of general self reflection. He's just become this joy to listen to and listen to that interview. And it sort of tells you a lot about, into what we were talking about where the mindset is when you still, on some days you've still got it. Some days you look like a 38 year old man and you're losing matches you shouldn't be or you're losing to Vachereau in China and other days you're making major semifinals. And that day, that, that, that, that night in Australia was, was one of the good days.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah, I think something else we need to think about because obviously we're end of the season finally. And then going into 2026, a year ago, there were question marks. He loses the next round, Asverev because he gets hurt. I don't think it's a stretch to say the physical toll of three out of best of five Grand Slams. And this is, save your comments because this is his, this is what he's saying after the US Open, like I don't know if I can go the distance. Seven three out of five set matches. That toll is big. That's a big ask. Especially you know, you take out Alcaraz and what's your reward? You have the guy who's three in the world and then you got to play center. Right. That is a brutal ask physically when you're close to 40, it just is something to watch going into 2026. The consistency for semifinals is there, but that's not the consistency of finals and winning that it was before that but like a superhuman effort year. I know Zverev is ranked 3. You know, I went off last week on people, you know, questioning if he's a good tennis player. That's so Stupid. But I also don't think it's controversial, to say by a pretty clear margin and not based on volume. Novak was the third best player in the year.

[Producer Mike]

This year at number four, America's golden girl conquered Roland Garros in a battle of the world's top two. Coco Gauff rallied from a set down to defeat Arena Sabalenka, becoming the first American woman to win the French Open since Serena Williams.

[JW]

It was a fun one. Yeah, I know this was a bit of a wacky match. I mean, Coco had been to a Roland Garros final before, so I don't think this was. In no way was this an upset. It was a strange match. It was a rematch, ironically, and actually played out quite similarly to the US Open. Coco won. Unfortunately, this match is probably best remembered for Sabalenka's post match and she's walked it back and apologized. We should all move on. It's a great win. I mean, ironically enough, I probably got Coco into the hall of Fame. I don't think anyone was thinking about this while the ball was in play. Coco loses the first set and kind of take takes, you know, and you know, I mean I, I'm trying to remember, I mean I, I watched that match from, from inside the stadium and I don't remember the great turning point. I can't even remember a great point. I just, you know, Sabalenka couldn't lifted her foot off the gas pedal and Coco seized it. And I remember Corey Goff wearing an exotic animal shirt to represent his daughter's fighting prowess, watching the match from a back room because he couldn't be there live. But Coco took her second major and it was a strange day. A great win for her, a comeback win, a disappointment for Sabalenka. Happily, this would not. I mean, I think with a lot of these matches it's kind of nice, you know, Anderson Mobile was not absolutely gutted and put up a play by the Wimbledon final. Right. I mean, Rayner Nash got back on his fear. So one nice thing about all these matches is the play. Alcaraz recovered just fine from that Australian Open defeat. He lost. He won the next major. And similarly, it was nice that Sabalenka had this tremendous disappointment and then sort of the, the embarrassment that came after it. And Stephen A. Smith swaying in.

[Techie Sean]

Oh, thank God.

[JW]

Yeah, exactly. You wouldn't want to have anything happen in the world in any sphere that didn't have.

[Techie Sean]

I'll tell you, I'll tell you what, I'm always tell you what I'M always waiting for is Stephen A. Smith's opinions on tennis matches.

[JW]

The Ombudsman of the world. Nothing from, from interest rates to Coco Gauff to the NBA trade deadline, nothing is allowed to happen on earth without a weigh in and a hot take. But anyway. But point being Sabalenka, it was nice that she recovered and won a major a few months later. It was a strange, I just remember kind of thinking like great for Coco. What a strange day for tennis.

[Techie Sean]

Conditions matter, right? You rarely see the greatest matches of all time when the wind is blustery and you know is going between 15 miles an hour and 35 miles an hour, right? Like, and you're chasing it, you don't know what it. So I will, I will say this and it's like a testament to Coco Golf. And we've covered the serving situation, we've covered the forehand situation. To be dealing with two shots like that and then to take a kind of gross day and somehow being able to manipulate this match into a street fight, a battle of wills where it's not just Sabalenka's dominance on both sides and she's done it in both of the slam finals that she's won. Right? She is a two time major champion who makes the semis of most events that she enters. And there is still so much upside with her game. We always view it as a negative. It is amazing what her base offering even while trying to negotiate around certain parts of her game that aren't working twice. She's won grand slams and beaten Sabalenka in the final. Like there is a skill to making a match gross, ugly however you want to define it and there's a certain beauty in its ugliness if you're a true sports fan, right. We would celebrate the pistons in the early 90s, right? We would celebrate a lot of. There's no reason why we shouldn't celebrate Coco Golf the same way. She is so good at manipulating the energy of a match. And also like we all know what we're good at. We all know what we're not good at. Is there anyone better at avoiding what they're not good at?

[JW]

JW Good way to look at it. That's a skill.

[Techie Sean]

That is a, that's an absolute skill, right?

[JW]

And it's, and it's strategic, it's. It's setting up points that way. But it's all. I love the word manipulation because it's really what it is. You have to do a lot of engineering. You have to do A lot of. So sort of outwitting of both yourself and the opponent to win major titles and overcome what everyone knows. You know, this is not a. This is not a secret in tennis. And she still has two majors and again got into the hall of Fame that Saturday in Paris.

[Techie Sean]

Do you know? Okay, so it's really easy to look at a matchup, and we'll, We'll. We'll go to number three after this. But it's really easy to look at a matchup, and you're going into that matchup, and we, we all check weather, we all check conditions, we all check heat. We all know all of the factors going in to matches, going in against the number one player in the world who's been on a heater has not lost before the finals since, you know, Indian Wells or Miami. No, sorry, in Miami.

[JW]

Whatever.

[Techie Sean]

It was early in the season on an absolute heater and saying, okay, my best chance to win this is to bring this match into the gutter.

[JW]

Right?

[Techie Sean]

We need. If it's. If it's. If we're both playing perfect tennis, I probably don't win this match against Arena Sabalenka. Eyes wide open. To be able to actually do that against the number one player on earth is borderline impossible. And then to deliver on one of the biggest stages. Unbelievable. Like, listen, it wasn't the prettiest match of all time, but there are so many great lessons for, like, a champion's mindset that were exhibited that day. I respect this being on the list, even if it wasn't one that you want to go rewatch on YouTube. Oh, hey, welcome to gift wrapping.

[JW]

Whoa.

[Techie Sean]

So we sell Donna.

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[Producer Mike]

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[Techie Sean]

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[JW]

You splurged.

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[Techie Sean]

I'm the worst. I only got my mom a robe.

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[Techie Sean]

So I have to trade in my old phone, right?

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[Producer Mike]

Incredible.

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[Producer Mike]

Forget that.

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[Techie Sean]

Sounds like my family drama.

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Oh, I got it. I'll give it to my abuela. I'll take reindeer paper with.

[Techie Sean]

Hey, where are you going?

[JW]

To T Mobile. Thanks, Zol. The holidays are better. AT T Mobile get four iPhone 17s on us.

[Techie Sean]

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[Producer Mike]

Next up, a 29 year old American finally breaks through by defeating both the world number two and world number one in consecutive matches. Matty Key stunned Sabalenka 632-6775, ending her 20 match Melbourne park winning streak on her way to claiming her first Grand Slam crown.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah, no brainer like this. This is three. I will see what we'll see. I mean we know what number one is. Obviously I don't want to bury the lead here, but this wouldn't have angered me at number two and I suspect I know what that one is too. But this was one of the best matches of the year. There's like a match a year, maybe two, where you don't really have a dog in the fight, right? Like you're not really attached to it and then someone's victory causes emotion for you. Right. I remember watching Novak win the Olympic gold medal and I was like overcome. I had goosebumps. I was over. Like it was like respect, like it was overwhelming, like the respect and watching and knowing how hard it is. This one broke me in the most beautiful way possible. I was so happy for Matty. Obviously, you know, at that point you think, okay, Sabalenka probably wins the next one and she had to work for hers, you know, to win it at the US Open. But again, meeting the moment, overcoming it. I don't know where her career goes from here, but the what if game is going to be a lot less for Matty moving forward. On the heels of beating Wiatek, beating Sabalenka, amazing. This was one of the best matches of the year. No doubt.

[JW]

So you were what, you were 20 or 21? I could do the math in my head if I were so lazy. You're 21 when you.

[Techie Sean]

I turned 21 during the tournament.

[JW]

During the tournament, yep. Right. So you're 21. You know, this is the biggest match of your career. And if you win this match, if you beat Juan Carlos Ferreira, everything's going to change and people are going to talk about you as a major champion. Now imagine going through that a few days from turning 30. All right, you got to the final, you played a great semi, and here you go, two out of three sets to completely change the way you are perceived in this line of work. This next 90 minutes, next two hours is going to define you and your legacy and your sphere of employment. We all love this story. I think we all know sort of Maddie and what she's been through in sports psychology. And the kindness wins. I'm not sure kindness won. This was cold blooded. I mean she stood there and went forehand to forehead. So I was thinking we all love the story and it's a great sort of, it's a heartstring story. But I think let's focused for a minute on the tennis. I remember that being such clean ball striking. She went, you know, she often drew first blood. I mean she, she got the first strokes in. I don't think she double faulted that entire match. And then at five all, she just played two games to seal it. And I think it's such a strange, I mean, boxing maybe notwithstanding, I can't think of too many other lines of work where it's basically like, all right, it's five all in the third set. You've got the two time defending champion on the other side of the net. You played a great match and the next 10 minutes are going to completely, potentially rewrite your entire career. Yep, that's a lot to confront.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah. Listen, I had the benefit of having won one, but as you're walking through this, I can understand a little bit what she must have been feeling. Right. I had a flirtation with winning Wimbledon for a long time. 09. I go in, I don't know if I'm going to do it again. It wasn't exactly, you know, like I was, it was a given that I was making slam finals every year anymore. And one of my proudest moments was like I went in and played one of the best matches I've ever played.

[JW]

Right.

[Techie Sean]

Like I didn't he out served me and we still had a shot. Like the ending was different but for Maddie to go in with those expectation sets that you're talking about and there were, there was just, you could see the mentality. She was not going to strike out looking, she was going to take a swing. Right. And props to Her, I mean this was a victory on the basis of the quality of tennis. This was a victory for a human. It was just all parts of it were why we love sports. Madison Keys if we needed a reminder, she reminded us why we love sports.

[Producer Mike]

On to number two. It comes only 35 days after obviously number one. In the Wimbledon final, Jannik Sinner defeated defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 466-464-6464. Ending Carlos's 24 match win streak on grass and becoming the first Italian ever to lift the Wimbledon trophy.

[Techie Sean]

I probably put the matic just, just on the basis of, you know, but, but the lesson that we are consistently getting to and maybe what our listeners value seemingly is, is perseverance, right. We talk about Matty on the heels of, you know, however many years of perseverance. We talk about Anisimova. Maybe these are the stories we like. Maybe these are the best matches because of it. Anna Samova coming back and beating, beating IGA and like right on down the list. Coco dealing with certain parts of it. Yannick Sinner in like we getting over that Roland Garros final to come back and recover from like he was on his way out of the tournament against Dimitrov to come into what has become Carlos's house at Wimbledon. Right. Two time defending champion going into that match and put on that performance clinical head down while trying to exercise the demons from a month earlier. I don't know that I would have this as high and maybe that's just because it's a victim of its own shadow with, with what we saw Roland Garros which if it's not number one, I quit this podcast. Just so we're clear, like if number one doesn't say Roland Darrows, I'm quitting. This is our last show. But yeah, it's fantastic. I mean anytime these two go against each other, especially in a major final, I honestly would have put the US Open performance in there too.

[JW]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

[Techie Sean]

Like Carlos, that was one of the best performances I've ever seen. Not in the top 10 because of Bencic and Wiatek at 10. Yeah, I think this is the biggest part of this was one an era of greatness just established over and over and them going at it for the first time at Wimbledon. But the biggest story of this match, aside from the greatness of Yannick Sinner and the consistency of Yonek center is the professionalism with getting over that Roland Garros loss, heartbreak and going back to work. Props. This, this, this this rivalry will not happen quickly if they are able to deal with the mental losses, the physicality, all of that, and then circle back and also be in peak form a month later. Again, we're going to be able to enjoy this one for a while.

[JW]

Yeah, don't we love that about rivalry, too? It's not just contrast and it's not, I mean, the fact that it is swinging that it's sort of this pendulum. So you're Yannick Sinner and you have a two sets to love lead at Roland Garros, and you let that get away. Then you go to Wimbledon and this guy is the defending champion, and then he wins the first set and you're thinking, I've lost four straight sets now I'm still. Five weeks ago. The guy came back two sets to love, and we'll talk about what we all think is going to be number one in a second. But you lose that first set and then he just says, you know, what time to go to work. And he started serving better and he got a couple of breaks. And again, I mean, one thing about center, we, we. You look at the numbers and you say, holy shit, Guy won whatever, 83% of his first serve points. I mean, you sort of look, statistics. There are not necessarily. There's no controversy, there's no flashes. I mean, it's just solid workman like tennis. I can't think of a single. He won those last three sets to win Wimbledon and take down the defending champion and take down the guy that beat him five weeks earlier. And I'm having a hard time, like visualizing a single point, but it was just, you know, he loses the first set and goes to work and starts dialing in his serve. And, you know, I, I think he, I, I think what we see in that match too was Carlos's, that we talk about this a lot. You know, Sinner is much more of the blue chip and Carlos is much more variance. And I remember Carlos had sort of some, some silly tactical errors, some sort of strange times to serve in volley and center just sort of got to work and turned around that, that first set and what was it? I don't have a score. It was like 4, 4 and 4 in the last three, which is like a typical. I mean, is there a better Jannik center scoreline than just 4, 4 and 4. There's no crazy drama. There's, there's no super tiebreak mania. Just get my break, protect my serve. Wimbledon champion.

[Techie Sean]

I'll tell you this, and this should also not be a controversial Statement. Even though I'm sure I'm going to get smoked for it. He is the best at his stock offering in the world. His stock offering on a day to day basis is so good. The ball striking, the ability to smother you, the serve is only getting better apparently. So he's improving also. Whereas Carlos has the most options right when he's in full flight, it's the most entertaining because we don't know what's going to happen. That doesn't mean we should take credit away from Jannik Sinner because we know what's going to happen. Most days that is a sign of greatness. I think he has the single best stock offering in the world of tennis right now.

[Producer Mike]

All right, well, I think we all know what number one is.

[Techie Sean]

Unless after number 10, I honestly like.

[JW]

I think it's the Phoenix number one.

[Producer Mike]

At number one we deliver a five set, five hour pure Parisian drama. Alcaraz and Sinner traded body blows. Alcaraz comes back from two sets down, surviving three match points and capturing the longest French Open final ever. Ending Sinner's 30 match slam win streak.

[Techie Sean]

I simply went on air the next week and got us into a bunch of trouble because I said tennis players are the best athletes in the world and I felt like I was going to get the least amount of pushback ever for a moment in time because that match had been played two days earlier. An absolute force of mental anguish, athleticism, drama, peaking at the right time. Everything you could ever want in a match. This was. And also that's before we get to the sportsmanship, that's before we get to the humanity. That's before we get to the fact that both these guys do things the right way. You're not cheering for, against maybe you are, but you're cheering for them together. Right? They are going to make each other better. They have made each other better. We want this rivalry. This was. I came on and said I think this is one of the best matches I've ever seen. I didn't want to be hyperbolic. However many months later. This is one of the best matches I have ever watched with my own.

[JW]

Eyeballs are to disagree with any of that. I would say two on the physical front, I mean I don't. It was 5, 5, 20 or what was the time of match? It was 5 and a half hours, right?

[Producer Mike]

5 hours and 29 minutes.

[JW]

So not only to your point about being the best athletes, the physicality of this match was obvious to anyone watching and yet I don't recall an injury Timeout. I don't recall anyone sort of limping around and having any sort of. Like, the. The match was tainted a little bit because of the pulled hamstring these guys held up. I mean, it was. It was such a physical match, but it wasn't to the detriment of the tennis. The scoreline speaks for itself. I do think one thing about this match was that the fourth set was, you know, center had his chances, and we had a tie break. And then I think this was the first major final ever decided by the match tiebreak on the men's side. It was like. Wasn't it like 10, 2.

[Techie Sean]

The match tiebreak. The match tiebreak. And what Carlos did in that match tiebreak was some of the most insane shit I've ever seen. It was like he was playing Xbox. It was like, you mastered Xbox.

[JW]

But at least. But what if the stakes were high? If the stakes. If the stakes were high, it might.

[Techie Sean]

Have been, you know. You know what else? And this is. This is rightfully this way. How many people did you say, oh, you know what? Normally, if someone blows that lead, guess what, I've blown that lead. Not quite to that extent, but, like, that person choked without even understanding. No one says that because the quality of tennis was so high. Like, it's not as if this guy, maybe he misses one backhand or something, but like, it wasn't as if, like, oh, shit, he's letting this go. And then Carlos was able to turn it. He had to turn into Superman. He had to go into the phone booth, right? Imagine two sets, five, three, and people say, oh, he lost that tough one. Can you believe it? Got away fine. But it wasn't because of anything he really did, tennis wise, you know? Does he want a shot back? Sure. Is it because he fell to pieces? No, absolutely not. And I can't think of another match that kind of got turned in that dramatic of a fashion that actually doesn't have that narrative over time. Jw, any nominees there?

[JW]

I love that point. I mean, I reflexively. It's in my. To go to the 2008 Wimbledon final, but it was very similar in the sense, too, that I feel like, as fans, you take your cues from athletes, and there was never a sense that sinner was saying, oh, fuck. I had the French Open. I had Roland Garros on my racket, and I choked. He was locked in. He was completely. He. You got the feeling he was. You know, it was intense. It was stressful. He was enjoying the battle of it all. You can't Not Emote with Alcaraz. I mean, again, he, so he won the fourth set. He won. Is this right? 17. He won 17 out of 22 points in the fourth and then fifth set, tie breaks. So this was clutch tennis, but it was also crazy. Winners as well. And I think watching the athletes, we as media and fans understood the extraordinarily high level and the fact that these were just two guys giving it their best. And this wasn't some great emotional passion play and drama that was going to wreck them. They were enjoying the competition. We did as well. We talked the other day about how you had this crazy stat where they've played whatever it is, 3,300 points, and they have the exact same number of points. You watch a match like this and you're like, okay, now I get how that could happen. This was great theater. Again, I take the fact that the losing player on that day won the next major five weeks later, I think gives it this sort of, that only adds to the heft in a weird way. I love this match. I think the drama was high, but the quality may have been higher.

[Techie Sean]

It was absurd. Even you let the third set go, you still felt like Sinner was in the driver's seat in the fourth set, he had, was knocking on the door. And also there's, there's something about when, like Alcaraz, I, I, I'll, I'll say I, I use this story, and it's only to prove a point, right? Like, Roger was, Was great. Was great. Was great. Was great. Was great. Everyone knows our history. I remember playing him in Madison Square Garden in a, an exo. He was coming from Dubai. It was my last year on tour. I wasn't playing that great. Like, I, I was a bit of a dumpster fire. I somehow win the first set. Roger and I are friends, right? Always had a great relationship. You know, I'm on this card because he decided to play Madison Square Garden and probably threw me a bone, right? Like, that's why I'm on this thing. And I remember he fought off like, four or five match points in this Madison Square Garden exhibition. I eventually win, but I'm going, this motherfucker, like, he has all the gifts in the world, and he's also in survival mode for an exo that doesn't like, news flash, we don't get paid extra if we win exos, right? I'm going, oh, he, it's, it was like that. I walked off and I'm like, it's, it's just like, it's absurd. The way, the way that. And my point is to see someone who normally doesn't have to go into survival mode. Seeing them go into survival mode and adapt and do it like an Alcaraz. That's another element of the myth of Alcaraz and the myth of Sinner is like them being uncomfortable going into a Wimbledon final on a surface that's not native yet. And beating Alcaraz, Alcaraz being in survival mode until, you know, this, this, this magic of a fifth set breaker. Those are all the moving parts that make these matches phenomenal. And the greats who they are. Can I give you a couple honorable mentions?

[Producer Mike]

Yeah, yeah, please.

[JW]

What do you got?

[Techie Sean]

Lerner, TN and Medvedev in Australia. I do like a little early week drama and a little upset. Special 130 coming in. And Medvedev obviously didn't play that well after that, but has been one of the best players in the world for a decade. Plus. Seeing that go, the physical toll, all of that. Can a young player keep it together? That's one. I thought that was a great match. Iga Rabakin, our fourth round of Roland Garrulos. We forget about it because no one won. That was a phenomenal match. I thought at that moment, I go, oh, this is what switches IGA's year. I think she's going to win Roland Garros. After that. I was wrong. Fantastic match. Sabalenka Bagula, US Open semifinal was a great match. It was fantastic. And one more that I like for weird reasons. Alcaraz, first round of Wimbledon, Fabio Fognini.

[Producer Mike]

Oh, wow.

[Techie Sean]

Takes him, takes him to.

[Producer Mike]

I forgot about that match.

[Techie Sean]

Takes him to five sets. Like, literally, Fognini had job applications out for, for like three weeks after this. To take a guy who, obviously the sunset is there because he said, this is my last tournament. And then finding a little, a little bit of magic, getting that little bit of talent. And Alcaraz obviously didn't. He didn't play great. Like, if they, you know, all things the same, they both play great. That's probably a straight set match, but that is the drama of tennis that I love. And we talk about Alcaraz in survival mode again, like getting through those matches and then by the time the finals comes, we, we talk, we talk as if he didn't struggle at all that tournament. He struggled a lot during that tournament. I couldn't take my eyes off of that one. Not the greatest quality match. We'll. We'll see. But, like, can the guy do it one more time? Can, like I love those storylines. Those are my honorable mentions.

[JW]

Ooh, those are good. I can't now, man. You're catching me off guard. I mean, Taylor Townsend Krajikova at the US Open. Remember that?

[Techie Sean]

That was a great match.

[Producer Mike]

Great one.

[JW]

That was a great match. Kurdjeekova pulling through, staving off all those match points. Taylor had a great tournament, great doubles players. I gotta say, I'm surprised the US Open final didn't make the list between. Between Carlos and I remember. I mean, again, it's sort of. It's sort of the exact reverse of Roland Garros where, you know, you're wondering, Alcaraz comes here and then center, you know, they wins that, they're a set apiece. And you wonder Alcaraz thinking, like, oh, man, this guy's got my number. And then Alcaraz is the one that turns it on that match, unlike Roland Garros, I think Alcaraz won, like, 20 more points.

[Techie Sean]

Like, levels, really.

[JW]

He started serving better.

[Techie Sean]

That was the best tournament I've ever seen Carlos play, by the way. And Sinner is the best on hard courts for the last however many years. I think it's great for the rivalry that he goes and takes his lunch at Wimbledon, then he reverses it on the other. Like, I think this is fantastic. I don't know that we could have chosen the elements of this rivalry for 2025 and had them go any better. I think it was fantastic start to finish the draw, like, unfortunately, but the drama of the three months and then still going after the number one ranking. Like, there are so many storylines where you don't know what to say because what you're watching is so impossible to value. Like, props to these guys. Another great year in tennis. It is. It's our pleasure to watch these matches. I am endlessly entertained by a million different parts of every match, but it starts with the players. It starts with putting it on the line. The person in the arena taking shots like this is what it is. You know, I think sports is the best reality show on earth. And I am, in my very biased opinion. I think tennis players are the best athletes in the world, and they did not disappoint in 2025. Techie Sean JW producer Mike and his triangulation. Way to go.

[JW]

Yeah.

[Techie Sean]

Best triangulator of 2025. Thanks for watching served. We'll see you next week. AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built on. With the ServiceNow AI platform. Your AI data and workflows all work together, connecting every corner of your business. To see how you can put AI to work for people, visit servicenow.com AI agents.