tbh i thought that final was incredibly boring when i watched it live with halep exhausted from two incredibly long matches against davis and kerber. but when i watched it back a few years later, i thought why did i ever think that match was boring lol
Her semi final with Kerber was best, maybe that’s why final looked less entertaining to you.
Anyway that Simona Halep run is my favourite WTA run EVER.
The Kerber match was amazing also. In their respective pressers, they both said, "I was fighting for every ball!" Wasn't that the truth! Halep did an amazing job in her red dress to hold off Angie. That match went 9-7 in the 3rd, in scorching heat, what a battle & masterclass. (Halep's match v Lauren Davis was in R3, she likely had time to recover.)
I heard after the final, btwn the SF v Kerber & final v Wozniacki, Halep had to go to a local ER for rest & fluids, thats dedication!! Amazing!!
I can't remember a better one. There's maybe been more dramatic ones, but the quality of that was amazing. Don't remember a more powerful hitting display for a long time from a woman than Sabalenka's today.
Davenport v Venus in 2005 remains the best I’ve ever seen, but this is right up there.
Wozniacki v Halep in 2018 was another classic, can’t remember if the quality was quite this high but the context gives it a slight edge in my mind
May be the best since Venus-Davenport Wimbledon 2005 (imo the best women’s grand slam final in history)
This final was phenomenal, best I’ve seen in a long time. Super high quality from both, and 3 close sets
oh come on, this final was great, but you're saying none were better since 2005? serena vs sharapova 2007 AO, serena vs azarenka 2012/13 USO, sharapova vs halep RG 2014, serena vs kerber 2016 wimbledon, halep vs stephens 2018 RG, just to name a few.
I mean that Serena vs Sharapova 2007 AO match was probably on the greatest individual women's grandslam performances on Williams' part but I imagine OP is referring to truly competitive matches.
that last bit about OP referring to truly competitive matches made it potentially sound like the whole list was a wash
"chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, are great ice cream flavors."
"chocolate is OK, but I was asking for truly great flavors."
it sounds ambiguous the way you wrote it.
You are all such products of your gen. As if tennis didn’t exist before 2000
The most epic rivalry in the sport and finals EVER was between Evert and Navratilova.
Actual books written about it
That’s a stretch. We’ve had better finals - Serena vs Henin AO 2010, Sharapova vs Halep RG 2014, Serena vs Sharapova AO 2015, Kerber vs Serena AO 2016 and arguably Wimbledon 2016 as well, etc. Osaka vs Kvitova AO 2019 was another one.
For contrast of styles, fearlessness from the winner and some clutch play, I loved RG 2017. At least as exciting. But even then, I don’t think the overall quality was as good as today
So you're telling me that you'd rather watch Barty slice to death than the hard hitting that we witnessed in this final? 🤔 Slice is the laziest shot in tennis!
I don't want to be that guy, but even after discounting all those retired long times ago, every final with Serena, Osaka, Azarenka and Kvitová are better.
It's just that WTA overall has, well, you know... So comparatively speaking, it's pretty good compared to finals in 2021 and 2022
>every final with Serena, Osaka, Azarenka and Kvitová are better.
There's a difference between favourite players and high-quality matches. Kvitova def. Bouchard at Wimbledon was a shit final in terms of entertainment. So was Osaka def. Brady.
Even if you don't like the players involved, which I didn't here, it's clear that the quality was extremely high. Just look at the stats of the match.
I mean, even a high percentage of Serena's finals were pretty meh. She had some great ones vs. Azarenka, Kerber, etc. But virtually all of the ones vs. Venus were very low quality. Huge amount of UEs. The matches had drama due to the sister dynamic but the tennis itself wasn't clean. The stats of this match were probably some of the best we've seen in a final.
Osaka had one good final where both players played well at same time. She dint have much problem against Serena or Brady and against Vika she played terribly for a set and half and then hit Vika out of the match afterwards.
2018 Final Aus open. Halep. Wozniacki. That was a masterclass.
tbh i thought that final was incredibly boring when i watched it live with halep exhausted from two incredibly long matches against davis and kerber. but when i watched it back a few years later, i thought why did i ever think that match was boring lol
Her semi final with Kerber was best, maybe that’s why final looked less entertaining to you. Anyway that Simona Halep run is my favourite WTA run EVER.
Not to mention the R3 with Lauren Davis. One reason why I'm sad to see advantage 3rd set go, 15-13 omg
The Kerber match was amazing also. In their respective pressers, they both said, "I was fighting for every ball!" Wasn't that the truth! Halep did an amazing job in her red dress to hold off Angie. That match went 9-7 in the 3rd, in scorching heat, what a battle & masterclass. (Halep's match v Lauren Davis was in R3, she likely had time to recover.) I heard after the final, btwn the SF v Kerber & final v Wozniacki, Halep had to go to a local ER for rest & fluids, thats dedication!! Amazing!!
Halep’s AO run in her unsponsored red dress was what got me really into following tennis. Such fight. My heart broke for her when she didn’t win that.
Agreed. Was my favourite final as well. Definitely a classic that had all the drama!
That was amazing. Halep (in between clothing sponsors) wore that great red dress with no logos. Awesome! And Caro's serve was on that day!!
I can't remember a better one. There's maybe been more dramatic ones, but the quality of that was amazing. Don't remember a more powerful hitting display for a long time from a woman than Sabalenka's today.
…when another redditor plagiarises your inner thoughts. 👍🏼
Davenport v Venus in 2005 remains the best I’ve ever seen, but this is right up there. Wozniacki v Halep in 2018 was another classic, can’t remember if the quality was quite this high but the context gives it a slight edge in my mind
"Great match" and Wozniacki should never, ever be in the same sentence.
Spoiler: it wasn’t.
That's what I thought, though I didn't watch it. Woz, bless her soul, was genetically incapable of producing quality tennis.
I remember that one.. Absolutely crazy gets, crazy length... Huge shots. Madness.. It was a looong match almost 3 hours I reckon
It was extremely good. I remember Halep v Wozniaki was pretty crazy too
Osaka v Kvitova here in 2019
my exact thought
Oh man I have to rewatch that now. I loved that match.
Definitely glad I stayed up late to watch this
Halep Wozniacki 2018
May be the best since Venus-Davenport Wimbledon 2005 (imo the best women’s grand slam final in history) This final was phenomenal, best I’ve seen in a long time. Super high quality from both, and 3 close sets
oh come on, this final was great, but you're saying none were better since 2005? serena vs sharapova 2007 AO, serena vs azarenka 2012/13 USO, sharapova vs halep RG 2014, serena vs kerber 2016 wimbledon, halep vs stephens 2018 RG, just to name a few.
I mean that Serena vs Sharapova 2007 AO match was probably on the greatest individual women's grandslam performances on Williams' part but I imagine OP is referring to truly competitive matches.
serena vs azarenka at the USO wasn't competitive? sharapova vs halep RG?
Did I say they weren't? I specifically pointed out the Aus 07 final for a reason
that last bit about OP referring to truly competitive matches made it potentially sound like the whole list was a wash "chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, are great ice cream flavors." "chocolate is OK, but I was asking for truly great flavors." it sounds ambiguous the way you wrote it.
You are all such products of your gen. As if tennis didn’t exist before 2000 The most epic rivalry in the sport and finals EVER was between Evert and Navratilova. Actual books written about it
They said since 2005
Of course people are products of their gen!
Yes but I’ve noticed that gen z seem to completely dismiss any human cultural knowledge before 1997
That’s a stretch. We’ve had better finals - Serena vs Henin AO 2010, Sharapova vs Halep RG 2014, Serena vs Sharapova AO 2015, Kerber vs Serena AO 2016 and arguably Wimbledon 2016 as well, etc. Osaka vs Kvitova AO 2019 was another one.
W2016 was such a clean match. Kerber hit maybe 2-3 loose shots the whole match and that was all it took. Such high quality.
Wasn't that voted best Women's final on BBC?
I think a lot of experts would agree this is the best woman’s final of the past 20 years in terms of quality, rallies and drama.
You clearly never watched a Navratilova vs Evert final
You clearly didn't understand the question that was asked.
Ever, that was intense. Both deserve top 3 places
Osaka Kvitova AO Serena Kerber AO
Capriati coming back from the dead 6-7 times against Hingis in 2002 i'd rank number 1. Hingis never recovered from that loss.
she saved so many match points!
Halep vs Wozniacki.
Serena sharapova AO final
Halep Ostapenko 2017
2022
Clijsters vs Li Na (2011).
Serena V Henin 2010 AO final
For contrast of styles, fearlessness from the winner and some clutch play, I loved RG 2017. At least as exciting. But even then, I don’t think the overall quality was as good as today
Capriati-Hingis 2002 when Capriati saved 7 Chsmpionship pts
Which one. Guess it doesn't matter. They were both classics
Us open final last year. I loved that Iga vs Ons final. Both matches only let down by being bo3
Kerber vs Serena 2016 AO
Unfortunately, people on the U.S. East Coast (North America Eastern Time Zone) missed out. (The match started at 3:30 AM ET.) ☹️
Well some things are worth setting the alarm clock for....Maybe next year?
I’m over 40. No way in hell am I waking up at 3am for a tennis match
You snooze you lose
Sabalenka played a really good semi-final as well. She is surprisingly good to watch.
Her performance against Mertens in the 3rd round was also very solid
It was close I guess, but how good is a match really when neither player will slice, volley, or move forward?
So you're telling me that you'd rather watch Barty slice to death than the hard hitting that we witnessed in this final? 🤔 Slice is the laziest shot in tennis!
Do you even play? Spoken like someone who has never held a racquet
No, but the lack of variety is noticeable when every point is basically identical.
Not sure but in a long time
A very long time
I don't want to be that guy, but even after discounting all those retired long times ago, every final with Serena, Osaka, Azarenka and Kvitová are better. It's just that WTA overall has, well, you know... So comparatively speaking, it's pretty good compared to finals in 2021 and 2022
>every final with Serena, Osaka, Azarenka and Kvitová are better. There's a difference between favourite players and high-quality matches. Kvitova def. Bouchard at Wimbledon was a shit final in terms of entertainment. So was Osaka def. Brady. Even if you don't like the players involved, which I didn't here, it's clear that the quality was extremely high. Just look at the stats of the match.
Ok I admit "every" is a too big of a stretch here. Brady and Bouchard were definitely horrendous in the finals.
I mean, even a high percentage of Serena's finals were pretty meh. She had some great ones vs. Azarenka, Kerber, etc. But virtually all of the ones vs. Venus were very low quality. Huge amount of UEs. The matches had drama due to the sister dynamic but the tennis itself wasn't clean. The stats of this match were probably some of the best we've seen in a final.
Well you just became THAT guy! Congratulations! 😜
No we don't do anything but recency bias here
Osaka had one good final where both players played well at same time. She dint have much problem against Serena or Brady and against Vika she played terribly for a set and half and then hit Vika out of the match afterwards.
The dawn of time
Iga vs Ons USO 2022
2024
i havent seen a good one
Keys and Stephens
That was a garbage final
2022
Last I remember was Serena - Henin AO 2010
People just saying random boring finals in recent years.
Probably Osaka-Kvitova in 2019. I remember Kvitova's fight back keeping me engaged in the match pretty much the whole way through
In terms of quality, since the AO 2019 Final. In terms of excitement and buzz, since the USO 2021 Final.