25 Greatest Tennis Rivalries of the Open Era

More so than any other professional sport outside of perhaps boxing, tennis thrives on rivalries. As an individual sport, tennis can produce some of the most intense rivalries in all of sports, which is what draws in fans. Since computer rankings began, there have been 25 different players that have reached the pinnacle of the sport. These 25 players have spanned across 46 years of tennis now, meaning many of those 25 players reached their primes at the same time, creating rivalries of epic proportions. Many rivalries are between two of the all-time greats, who peaked at the same time. However, many great rivalries have been created by a world No. 1 preventing a challenger from ever claiming the top ranking. Since tennis is so driven by rivalries, I put together a list of the 25 best rivalries in the last 46 years, since there have been 25 different world No. 1s.

25. John Newcombe vs. Ken Rosewall - These two Aussies met 15 times in the last 46 years, but many of their best meetings came before 1968, which is why they aren't higher on the list.

24. Roger Federer vs. David Nalbandian - This is the only rivalry on the list that never met in a grand slam. However, Nalbandian's eight wins against the greatest player of all time is the fifth most of any of his rivals.

23. Stefan Edberg vs. Michael Chang - These two contested one grand slam final, but their best match came a round earlier, producing one of the best matches of 1992 in the US Open semifinals.

22. Roger Federer vs. Juan Martin del Potro - Del Potro pulled off one of the biggest surprises at a grand slam final in the last decade with his five-set win over Federer at the 2009 US Open final.

21. Bjorn Borg vs. Guillermo Vilas - Both of these players are two of the best clay courters in tennis history. Of their 22 meetings, 13 were on clay, including the 1975 and 1978 Roland Garros finals.

20. Pete Sampras vs. Goran Ivanisevic - These are two of the greatest servers in tennis history. Ivanisevic never reached the top ranking, largely because of his 12 losses to Sampras.

19. Pete Sampras vs. Jim Courier - They met at least three times on every surface except grass, where their only meeting was at the 1993 Wimbledon final, which Sampras won 7-6(3), 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-3.

18. Rod Laver vs. Ken Rosewall - This is another rivalry amongst Australians that would be higher on the list if their best matches hadn't come before 1968. They did play two grand slam finals in the Open Era.

17. Roger Federer vs. Lleyton Hewitt - These two had great careers, an exciting rivalry, and amazing matches, but even if they only played one point against each other, they would still make the list. The point they played at Indian Wells remains one of the greatest single points of all time.

16. Andy Murray vs. Roger Federer - The Brit is one of only two players on this list with a favorable record against Federer. After losing his third grand slam final to Federer, Murray won the Olympic Gold Medal in front of his home crowd with a straight-set victory over his rival.

15. Roger Federer vs. Andy Roddick - There are many players who can claim that they would have had amazing careers if not for Federer, but none more so than Roddick. The former world No. 1 had his top ranking stolen by the Swiss, who never gave it back and went on to beat him in four grand slam finals.

14. Stefan Edberg vs. Ivan Lendl - This rivalry played a big part in putting the Australian Open on the same tier as the rest of the grand slams with three five-set epics down under. However, their most famous match may be the last one they ever played, which Edberg won in a fifth set tiebreaker at the 1992 US Open quarterfinals.

13. Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray - This rivalry took a back seat in the tennis world while Federer and Nadal dominated, but it finally took center stage in 2011. In the last three and a half years, four grand slam finals have been between these two, including Murray's win at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships that ended the British drought.

12. Ivan Lendl vs. Jimmy Connors - These two met 35 times, which is tied for the third most of any rivalry in the Open Era. Connors may have won the first 17 sets these two played and consecutive US Open titles in 1982 and 1983 over Lendl, but the Czech still finished with 13 wins in the rivalry that spanned three decades.

11. John McEnroe vs. Bjorn Borg - Their 14 meetings is the least of any rivalry on this list, but that didn't stop them from playing some of the most memorable matches in tennis history. Their most memorable was the 1980 Wimbledon final, which Borg won 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7(16), 8-6.

10. Ivan Lendl vs. Mats Wilander - These two met in five grand slam finals, which was the Open Era record at the time. They also battled each other for the No. 1 ranking in tennis throughout their careers. Wilander won their first meeting in five sets, which was the 1982 Roland Garros fourth round. Wilander went on to win his first grand slam title that fortnight.

9. Ivan Lendl vs. Boris Becker - Lendl is the greatest tennis player to have never won Wimbledon and he gets that distinction thanks to Boris Becker, who beat him three times at Wimbledon, including an epic five-set match in the 1989 semifinals. Also, their meeting in the 1988 Masters final, which Becker won 5-7, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 ended that season with arguably the greatest match of the year.

8. Bjorn Borg vs.  Jimmy Connors - This is one of the few rivalries in tennis history that spans across all surface types. The head to head record on hard courts was 3-3 and on clay courts was 3-3. Borg led 5-2 on carpet and 4-0 on grass courts, but Connors took him to five sets twice at Wimbledon, including the 1977 final.

7. Roger Federer vs. Novak Djokovic - Federer won the first four matches of this rivalry and has never let the lead slip even though Djokovic had two chances to tie the head-to-head this season. These two met in five straight US Opens, and after Federer won the first three, Djokovic won in 2010 and 2011, coming back from down two match points in both matches. The pair met in 20 semifinals, which is an Open Era record.

6. Boris Becker vs. Stefan Edberg - These are two top 10 players all time that peaked at the same time, creating the perfect conditions for an incredible rivalry. They met in three consecutive Wimbledon finals and played 19 finals against each other in total. The draws pitted them against each other frequently early in their careers and when their rankings rose, they were frequently the last two left in the draw. It may be the second most lopsided rivalry on the list with 15 more wins by Becker, but there was rarely a lopsided match in their 35 meetings. Their six meetings at the year-end finals event remains tied for the record.

5. John McEnroe vs. Jimmy Connors - This pair was the first rivalry that battled for the No. 1 ranking with each other on almost a weekly basis. Connors was the third player to be ranked No. 1 by a computer and McEnroe was the fifth as the pair exchanged the rankings between each other 10 times. The most famous match between the two Americans came in their home country as they met in the 1980 US Open semifinals, which was decided by a fifth set tiebreak. In total, the two played five five-set matches.

4. Pete Sampras vs. Andre Agassi - This is the second all-American rivalry in the top five, and is one of the most dominant duopolies in the history of the sport with a combined 387 weeks at world No. 1 and 22 grand slam titles. The two produced several of the best matches in American tennis history with 16 of their meetings coming on home soil, including three US Open finals. However, arguably their best match came in the US Open quarterfinals of 2001. After Agassi won the first set 9-7 in a tiebreaker, Sampras won three consecutive tiebreak sets, 7-2, 7-2, 7-5. The following year, Sampras got the final title of his career with a 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over Agassi in the US Open final.

3. Ivan Lendl vs. John McEnroe - In just 13 seasons these two met 36 times, which was the record for the most meetings in a rivalry until last year. Their 20 finals contested against each other also was a record until just a year ago. The one record they do still have is the 11 times that they traded the top ranking in the world between each other. Until just a few years ago, this was the best rivalry in tennis history because they met more times than anybody else and with more on the line in each one of their matches than any other rivalry. In every match, they battled for both titles and the No. 1 ranking. At the end, they finished with a combined 440 weeks at No. 1 and 171 titles. Both men were one title away from a career grand slam. Ivan Lendl was missing the Wimbledon title, and in their one match at SW19, McEnroe won in three sets. Meanwhile, McEnroe needed the Roland Garros title, but lost to Lendl three times in Paris, including the 1984 final, which McEnroe led by two sets to love before Lendl came roaring back for a narrow 3-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 victory. That is the essence of a great rivalry: having to go through your rival to get what you want most.

2. Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer - This was my top rivalry just a couple weeks ago. When these two have both retired, they will likely be the greatest players in all of the Open Era. Even though their peaks weren't exactly at the same time, these two had several incredible matches in their 33 meetings, including a record eight grand slam finals. Their 2008 Wimbledon final is considered by many to be the greatest tennis match ever played. Like 22 other matches they played, Nadal won this one. After taking a two-set lead, 6-4, 6-4, Federer fought back into the match with two incredible tiebreak sets. However, Nadal claimed the fifth set in fading light for a 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7 win and his first Wimbledon crown after losing the final in five sets to Federer the previous year. For several years, Nadal prevented Federer from winning Roland Garros, but a fourth-round upset to Nadal in 2009 gave Federer an open path to the title and a career grand slam. Though Nadal dominated much of the rivalry, Federer's accomplishments still outnumber Nadal's. However, the Spaniard just turned 28 and still has plenty of time to catch a few of Federer's records.

1. Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic - After setting their seventh grand slam final between the two, this rivalry moved up to No. 1 on my list. They have met 42 times and in 22 finals, both of which are records. Djokovic's 19 wins against Nadal are the most against any single player while not leading the head-to-head. This is the only rivalry that has completed the career grand slam: meeting in the final of all four majors. Djokovic's four wins over Nadal in clay-court finals are the most wins against the King of Clay on his surface of any player. However, the Spaniard is still a perfect 6-0 at Roland Garros against Djokovic, who lacks only that trophy for the career grand slam. The two have already traded the No. 1 ranking twice and could do so for a third time as soon as Wimbledon. This rivalry has already met six more times than any other rivalry in the Open Era and the two players are 28 and 27 years old, meaning this could keep going for a long time. The pair averages about five or six meetings every year, so they should have well over 50 meetings when they both decide to retire.

Players of Interest in Miami

These 12 days in Key Biscayne are some of the most interesting days on the ATP world tour this year. It is a 96-player field, which is tied with Indian Wells for the most of any non-slam tournament, so you know you are going to get a wide variety of players just like in the slams. However, the big difference from this tournament and slams is no Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. This leaves a lot of room for some of the players outside the top four to make a mark on the Masters Series event. So let's take a look at some of the players who have done just that in the first week.

Janko Tipsarevic (Srb)- To say that Tipsarevic is having a disappointing 2013 would be a massive understatement. The No. 9 player was riding a five-match losing streak going into Miami. Tipsy finally snapped the streak with a straight-set victory over Dudi Sela on Friday. Tipsarevic backed up that win with a three-set victory over Kevin Anderson (4-6, 7-6(5), 6-0), but not without a little bit of controversy.

After holding at love in the opening service game of the deciding set, Tipsarevic took a medical timeout to have his heel checked, which has been an issue since he was in Melbourne. Fans have been quick to criticize Janko for taking the medical timeout before Anderson's serve, but I would argue that Tipsarevic's decision to call the trainer wasn't a dirty move.

During a changeover is always the best time to get an medical timeout regardless of who is serving. That way it interupts the flow of the match as little as possible. Also, Anderson is one of the best servers on tour. To say that a little time between games caused him to get broken is obsurd.

Anderson got broken in the second game and eventually lost the set to love, because he was still thinking about the second set. The South African had several oppurtunities to break in the second set and was up a minibreak in the tiebreaker. That is hard for any tennis player to let go of. This isn't the first time in tennis that a player lost a close set and then got bageled in the following set. In sports, people talk all the time about the importance of having a short term memory. Clearly Anderson was still thinking about the missed oppurtunities in the second set.

Even if Tipsarevic's medical timeout was the reason that Anderson's serve was broken, it doesn't explain why Kevin lost the set to love. Anderson came recovered from getting broken early in the second set. If Anderson surrenduring his serve in the second game of the decider was just because of the trainer, why wasn't the world No. 29 able to recover.

Anderson played a great match today, but didn't take adavantage of the many oppurtunities he had in the second set. Eventually, that cost him the match. Clearly this was a big win for Tipsarevic. He showed a lot of emotions on the court after the match. Hopefully the heel issues are behind him, so he can stay in the top 10. He will play Gilles Simon in the round of 16 on Tuesday.

Kevin Anderson (RSA)- Coming into the ATP Masters Series event in Miami, Anderson is one of the hottest players on tour. At 26 years of age, he is playing the best tennis of his career and he is just one spot below his career-high ranking achieved at this time last year. Anderson has compiled a record of 13-4, reaching the final in Sydney, round of 16 at the Australian Open, and the quarterfinals in Delray Beach and Indian Wells. After beating Horacio Zeballos in the second round, he was two points away from collecting his second win this season over a top 10 foe before losing in a deciding set. Going into the clay season, things are about to get tough for the 6-foot-8 South African. He has a career record of 15-19 on clay. Anderson is going to have to find away to turn things around on clay if he wants to keep moving his ranking up. He only has to defend 290 points from now until the end of Wimbledon. If he finds a way to win on clay and performs better at SW19 than he did last year, the world No. 29 has a great chance to move into the top 25 or better in the world.

Bernard Tomic (Aus)- Once again, Tomic was booed by fans for a lack of effort on the court. He has had issues in Miami before. Last year, he asked to receive a point penalty for coaching, so his dad would stop talking. I was hoping his character issues were in the past after a good start to the year with a title in Sydney, but it appears that Tomic is still just as immature as ever. I don't understand how a player would ever tank a match when they have an opportunity to play against one of the best players in the world in Andy Murray on a center court. Isn't that what you go through all the training and tough futures and challengers matches all your life for? A lot of people are expecting amazing things from Tomic, but before he can do amazing things, he needs an amazing amount of change to his character.

Tommy Haas (Ger) and Lleyton Hewitt (Aus)- These two have a combined age of nearly 67. It has been over 10 years since either of them were at their peak. However, they are still both going at it. Hewitt defeated Joao Sousa before losing to Gilles Simon in Miami. Meanwhile, Haas defeated Igor Sijsling and got revenge on Alexandr Dolgopolov Jr., who beat him the final in Washington DC. It is incredible to see two of the greats in the sport still competing at such a high level still. I do my best to always watch these two when they are on court, because they aren't going to be out there much longer.

John Isner (USA)- Isner is another player who has had issues this season becuase of injuries, but his injuries have also affected him mentally. After Indian Wells, the 6-foot-9 American's ranking dropped to 23, which is the lowest it has been since late in the 2011 season. After defeating Novak Djokovic and cracking the top 10 in the 2012 Indian Wells semifinals, Isner has had a lot of struggles to meet the expectations that come with being the No. 1 American and being in the top 10. Isner has a record of 37-22 after beating Djokovic with only two titles. Isner was 8-14 in his last 22 matches before coming to Miami. Analysts have identified many potential reasons why the big man has struggled and I believe it is a little bit of all of them. First is the injuries.When you are 6-foot-9, you are a little bit more susceptible to injuries and it takes longer to recover. Second is the pressure of being the top ranked American and a top 10 player. That pressure is now gone now that he is outside the top 20 and Sam Querrey passed Isner in the rankings, but dealing with that pressure can be tough. Third is he isn't having fun anymore. Rob Koenig suggested this one yesterday and this goes along with the second reason why he is struggling. Winning isn't as fun when you are expected to win. If he beats a top 10 player now, it is no big deal and not really a surprise. That takes a lot of the fun and excitement out of the game. At this point in the season, Isner simply needs to press the reset button and start anew with new goals. He already has a new coach, now it is time for him to start to turn things around. Hopefully his comeback win over Ivan Dodig will be the spark he needs to get his season going.

Tobias Kamke (Ger)- Kamke knocked out Indian Wells finalist Juan Martin Del Potro in the second round in Miami. It was Kamke's second career top 10 win (other was Tomas Berdych) and put him into the third round against an unseeded Jurgen Melzer. Currently, Kamke leads Melzer 7-6(3), 3-45 This is already a career-best effort for Kamke in Miami, but a win over Melzer would add 72 points to his ranking, as opposed to 27 if he loses. The German's ranking has been oscilating between 64 and 110 in the last 31 months, but a good week in Miami could be the key for him to crack the top 50.