[Voo de Mar]

The most interesting events of 2011 in chronological order. In my opinion four major finals, 'Masters' final and the Davis Cup final are always obligatory in such a listing, the rest is a matter of subjectivity, but I'm curious which events were more interesting from your point of you. I've put this time-line into my blog, but I assume most of you don't walk up there. I enjoyed an idea I saw in Martijn's thread recently to join tennis names with flags, thus I divided the thread into 4 opening-posts (not more than 20 images per post allowed).

Juanuary 5th - Brisbane, the quarterfinal.

38-year-old

Daniel Nestor establishes a new record, beating along with his new partner

Max Mirnyi, the German duo

Benjamin Becker and

Michael Kohlmann in straight sets. It is Nestor’s 783rd doubles win in his career, surpasses the previous record of Todd Woodbridge.

January 25th - Australian Open, the quarterfinal.

In a Spanish duel

David Ferrer [7] spoils

Rafael Nadal's [1] dreams of becoming the first man since Rod Laver to win four consecutive majors. Ferrer snaps Nadal's 25-match winning streak in Grand Slam events with a shocking 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory. "I think he played at a very high level," Nadal says. "I don't have to tell you about what I felt on the court because I tried my best all the time. But is obvious that I didn't feel at my best."

January 30th - Australian Open, the final.

Third best player of the last four years,

Novak Djokovic gains his second Aussie Open title outplaying

Andy Murray [5] 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 in a match highlighted by a 39-stroke rally which gave the Serb a set point at 5:4 in the 1st set. He later explains: “Maybe there was a turning point in the whole match, that 5-4 game. I was a bit fortunate, I kind of anticipated well and read his intentions and played some great shots and great moments." Djokovic waited three years for his second major title...

February 10th - Rotterdam, the second round.

Curiosity:

Philipp Kohlschreiber [36] has a match point to beat

Robin Soderling [4] for the third time in career saving a match point in the deciding 3rd set tie-break, but ultimately the Swede prevails 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 and a few days later gets the title.

February 17th - Memphis, the second round.

20-year-old

Milos Raonic [59] arouses interest around himself. The young Canadian, who clinched his first title a couple days before in San Jose (becoming the first man born in the 90's to win an ATP title), fires 38 aces in three sets against

Radek Stepanek [65] during a 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 victory. It is the fourth highest number of aces delivered in a 3-set encounter (he finishes the tournament with the highest number of aces served in a 32-draw tournament).

March 5th – Zagreb, Davis Cup – the first round.

Ivo Karlovic creates a new record in the fastest serve, delivering a 251 kph (156 mph) serve in a Davis Cup doubles rubber between Croatia and Germany. Karlovic along with

Ivan Dodig, loses to the German pair,

Christopher Kas and

Philipp Petzschner 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 4-6. Strangely enough, Petzschner almost returned the fastest serve ever without an effort.

April 3rd – Miami, the final.

Novak Djokovic [2] rallies from a *5:6 (15-30) in the 3rd set to beat 4-6, 6-3, 7-6

Rafael Nadal [1] in a 3-hour-21-minute battle. It is the second consecutive ‘Masters 1000′ shield for the Serb, who two weeks earlier had beaten Nadal also in the Indian Wells final. “It was such a close match. To win against the No. 1 player of the world in a tie-break in the third set, it’s just incredible.” admits the in-form Djokovic.

​

 

[Voo de Mar]

April 17th – Monte Carlo, the final.

“The King of Clay”

Rafael Nadal [1] avenges the Australian Open loss, outlasting his compatriot

David Ferrer [6] 6-4, 7-5, producing a new record of the most consecutive titles in one tournament – seven. The No. 1 in the world says after the final: “[To] win seven times in a row any where is almost impossible I think. But to win Monte Carlo, all the best players in the world are here, you always have tough matches, is impossible to imagine for me.” Nadal defeats Ferrer also one week later in the Barcelona final.

May 15th – Rome, the final.

Novak Djokovic [2] empowers his supremacy over

Rafael Nadal [1], defeating him for the fourth time in the year! In an almost copy of their final one week before (Madrid), Djokovic wins 6-4, 6-4 and celebrates the triumph lying on the Italian clay. He knows that this win very likely may give him dethroning Nadal at the top of the men’s tennis. “I am definitely amazed with my playing,” Djokovic said. “But there’s no time to enjoy it – I’ve got to get ready for Roland Garros.”

May 29th – Roland Garros, the fourth round.

Playing with cramps and extreme risk, 24-year-old

Fabio Fognini [49] wins the most dramatic 5-set match of the season as he battles past

Albert Montanes [38] 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 after 4 hours 22 minutes! Fognini comes back from a *1:3 (30-30) deficit in the 4th set and fights off five match points in two service games mixing foot faults with astonishing winners. Fognini isn’t able to play the quarter-finals and gives a walkover in the last eight or onwards in Paris for the first time since 1965!

June 3rd – Roland Garros, the semifinal.

The former No. 1

Roger Federer [3] reminds his greatness stunning

Novak Djokovic [2] 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 in the latest match finished at Roland Garros – 9:38 p.m. local time. It is Djokovic’s first defeat of the year, and his first loss after 43 consecutive wins! “It was best five months of my life, my tennis career,” claims Djokovic, “I cannot complain. It was definitely an incredible period. It had to end somewhere. I knew it was coming. Unfortunately, it came in the bad moment“. Longer streaks of being unbeaten in the Open era notched only Bjorn Borg (49 wins in 1978), Guillermo Vilas (46 in 1977) and Ivan Lendl (44 in 1982). “I would think it is the best match I played this year,” Federer said. “I did really well, a top start when I was able to break. But I know he has always got something in his racket to break me as well“.

June 5th – Roland Garros, the final.

A record-tying in majors,

Rafael Nadal‘s [1] fifth win on Centre Court in Paris over

Roger Federer [3]. The Spaniards saves a set point at 2:5 in the 1st set and clinches his record-tying (with Bjorn Borg) sixth Roland Garros crown with a 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1 victory. Nadal states: “It’s a big personal satisfaction to win this tournament, especially when you started without playing your best. My mind was open to change the situation, so that makes the victory probably more special“.

June 21st - Wimbledon, the first round.

One year after playing the longest match in the history of tennis,

John Isner [47] and

Nicolas Mahut [94] meet again at the Wimbledon first round, this time on Court No. 3 (Court No. 18 a year ago). The American giant prevails 7-6, 6-2, 7-6. It is the eight time in the Wimbledon Open Era history that players met in the first round in back-to-back tournaments.

June 23rd – Wimbledon, the first round.

The Colombians

Juan Sebastian Cabal and

Robert Farah serve fifteen times to stay in the match to finally beat

Rohan Bopanna and

Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 2-6, 6-2, 21-19 – it’s the longest doubles deciding 3rd set in the Wimbledon history. Bopanna and Qureshi squandered five match points in the process.

July 3rd - Wimbledon, the final.

Novak Djokovic [2] two days after becoming a new No. 1 in the world (25th in the Open era), dispatches

Rafael Nadal [1] in four lopsided sets 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 snapping a 20-match winning streak of the Spaniard at Wimbledon. “It has been the best day of my life, most special day of my life. I always dreamed of winning this tournament. I think I’m still dreaming. When you are playing the best player in the world, Rafa Nadal, who has won two of last three Wimbledons, I had to be on top of my game and I think I played my best grass-court match ever.” declares Djokovic, who never beat Nadal in six previous "best of 5" meetings. The Serb improves his 2011 record to a magnificent 48-1 - no-one before had such an impressive record after first six months of a season!
​

 

[Voo de Mar]

July 8th - Glasgow, Davis Cup.

Andy Murray [4] serves a triple bagel to an unranked

Laurent Bram in a tie where Great Britain easily beats Luxembourg 4-1. “It was good fun, it’s nice to be back in Scotland." says the Scot, who three weeks earlier at Wimbledon won two "bagel" sets in a row against Daniel Gimeno-Traver.

July 17th - Bastad, the final.

Robin Soderling [5] clinches the title playing arguably a tennis of his life as he destroys two Top 10 opponents in the last two matches (loses just five games in total against Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer!). It becomes his last tournament of the season, he has to pull out of the following tournaments due to a right wrist injury.

August 16th - Cincinnati, the first round.

The Kazakh

Andrey Golubev [101] snaps an inglorious 18-match losing streak surprisingly overcoming No. 14

Stanislas Wawrinka 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. It is the third biggest losing streak in the Open era, only Vincent Spadea and Gary Donnelly suffered more defeats in succession. Golubev slips 112 positions in the ATP ranking within the year (from No. 36 to 148).

August 21st - Cincinnati, the final.

"The unbeatable"

Novak Djokovic [3] loses the second match of the season as he is forced to retire due to a shoulder injury against

Andy Murray [4] being a set and two breaks down. “I just could not serve. I served an average 90 miles per hour the first serve, and I could not play forehands,” says the new No. 1 in the world. Nevertheless Djokovic established a new record of the most 'Masters 1000' wins in a row - 31.

September 10th – US Open, the semifinals.

Amazing coincidence on Arthur Ashe Stadium –

Novak Djokovic [1] second straight year overcomes

Roger Federer [3] in the US Open semifinal saving two match points! This time, the Serb makes it in more dramatic circumstances as he faces a double match point on return, only to fight off the first match point with an extraordinary cross-court forehand return, described by John McEnroe as “one of the all-time great shots”! Nole wins 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 and jokes: ”Yeah, I tend to do that on match points.” In the second semifinal,

Rafael Nadal [ [2] beats

Andy Murray [ [4] in four sets, and they join the Djokovic-Federer rivarly as the seventh pair to play matches in three consecutive majors (Nadal won all these encounters against Murray in the semi-finals).

September 12th - US Open, the final.

Novak Djokovic outlasts

Rafael Nadal for the sixth time (!) in 2011 after a breathtaking final 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 in 4 hours 10 minutes – it is Nadal’s first defeat in a 4-hour match! “I had an amazing year and it keeps going. It’s an absolute pleasure to be a part of the very few players that have won this trophy throughout history.” states Djokovic, who becomes the sixth player to win three majors within a season, joining Rod Laver (won Grand Slam in 1969), Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, Roger Federer and the beaten finalist Nadal.
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[Voo de Mar]

October 16th – Shanghai, the final.

Andy Murray [4] wins his third tournament of the Asian swing (after Bangkok and Tokyo) beating

David Ferrer [5] 7-5, 6-4. The Scot with 15 victories in a row, removes Federer from No. 3 in the world – the lowest ranking of the Swiss since July 2003!

November 12th – Paris, the semifinal.

After almost 3-hour battle of two players, who served the most aces within the season, No. 7

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (825 aces in the year) fights back to defeat No. 25

John Isner (811 aces) 3-6, 7-6, 7-6. Isner squanders three match points leading 6:5* in the 3rd set, it is his sixth defeat of the season despite holding a match point – no-one lost so many matches of this kind since 2002 (Ivan Ljubicic). For Tsonga it is the first match point-down victory at the main level.

November 20th – Sao Paulo, the final.

Cedrik-Marcel Stebe [103] wins an inaugural ATP Challenger Tour Finals, defeating

Dudi Sela [95] 6-2, 6-4 in the final, to whom he lost his first group match in straight sets. “I can’t believe it yet. I started a little weak (this week) but I kept trying to do my best and get back to my game and it worked out in the end. I was more aggressive and that’s how it should be.” states the 21-year-old left-handed German, finishing a breakthrough season (jumped 294 places within the year; from No. 375 to No. 81).

November 25th - London, ATP World Tour Finals, round robin.

Heroes are exhausted after the demanding season... Sensational solution in the last day of the group stage when an alternate Serb

Janko Tipsarevic [9] stuns 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 his compatriot

Novak Djokovic - he joins Rafael Nadal, who was eliminated a day before – two best players in the world, champions of all majors in 2011, have lost their last two matches of the season (considering ATP tournaments)! “I had an unbelievable year,” comments Djokovic, ”Nothing can really ruin that. I will always remember this year as the best of my life. I just want to prepare well for 2012.” The Serb had a magnificent record as the US Open was finished: 64-2 (.969), but only an average 6-5 (.545) in the last quarter of the year.

November 27th - London, ATP World Tour Finals, the finals.

On third straight Sunday, 30-year-old

Roger Federer [4] met

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [6], whom had beaten in the last two weeks in Parisian final and in the opening match of the 'round robin' stage. The Swiss blows a match point in the 2nd set but beats his opponent once again by a 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 margin, improving his outstanding record in ATP finals to 70-30. It is his 17th consecutive win and a record 6th ‘Masters’ title, surpassing Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras, who both won five titles at the season-ending event. Federer and Tsonga create a first pair to play eight times against each other within a season!

Daniel Nestor becomes the first man to win 'Masters' with three different partners as he (along with

Max Mirnyi) beats the Polish duo:

Mariusz Fyrstenberg /

Marcin Matkowski 7-5, 6-3 earlier in the day. Nestor had previously won the tournament teaming with Mark Knowles (2007) and Nenad Zimonjic (2008, 2010).

December 4th - Seville, Davis Cup, the final.

Argentina loses its third Davis Cup final in the last six years as its best player Juan Martin del Potro [11] suffers two 4-hour defeats within three days. Rafael Nadal [2] gives

Spain an insurmountable 3-1 lead as he beats Del Potro 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 in a match featured by eight breaks of serve in the 4th set. Nadal is a part of the winning team for the third time just like his teammates David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez as well as Albert Costa, who captured the first Davis Cup for Spain as a player (2000) and another two as a captain (2009, 2011). Nadal would have collected four triumphs, but was injured when Spain overcame Argentina three years ago, he contributed then anyway, winning two vital singles rubbers en route to the final.​

 

[viruzzz]

I would add Fed winning Paris and all that it means.

Also Nestor winning Shanghai. He's the first player ever to win all the current masters series (Also Hamburg), all the slams, the YEC and the Olympics gold.

And maybe Nalby - Hewitt in the AO.

And why not Roddick, winning his 30th title, only behind Fed and Rafa.

 

[n8]

Love your work!

 

[Orka_n]

Excellent reading. Thanks

 

[Action Jackson]

The King and Gaudio retired.

Great work Voo.

 

[Hewitt =Legend]

Bloody brilliant mate, top notch stuff.

 

[Voo de Mar]

Also Nestor winning Shanghai. He's the first player ever to win all the current masters series (Also Hamburg), all the slams, the YEC and the Olympics gold.

That's good idea :yeah:

 

[tennizen]

Raonic started at AO making 4th round?

Also, Tomic's QF run at Wimbledon.

Donald Young's 5 setter against Wawrinka at USO.

 

[tennizen]

Pospisil's post USO DC performance.

 

[samanosuke]

Also, Tomic's QF run at Wimbledon.

QF

 

[tennizen]

QF

Too late

 

[Omnipotence]

I'm bumping this because it deserves to be reviewed further and respected.

 

[arm]

:worship: great job, as always

 

[BodyServe]

Soderling blowing Ferrer off the court on a very slow clay was the most impressive feat on a single match this year. Wouldn't be surprised to hear Ferrer say it was the most impressive performance he has ever faced.

 

[Chirag]

great job

 

[Pirata.]

Voo is the diamond in the septic tank that JG mentioned in masterclass' thread. Top notch poster, amazing thread, as always.