7.  1998 Pete Sampras d. Goran Ivanisevic 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2

If only breaking Sampras were always that easy

Pete won due to shots like these

Goran also lost the 1994 Wimbledon Final to Sampras, but this was a much better match.  Both men served exceptionally well.  Pete survived a scare in the second set tiebreak after Goran took the first set.  Goran won his semifinal match over 1996 champion Richard Krajicek 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-7, 15-13 and seemed a bit spent in the 5th set of this final.  Pete got a break early in the 5th set and let out a cry of joy.  He knew he had won his 6th Wimbledon title.

6.  1985 Boris Becker d. Kevin Curren 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4

Becker’s entire style of throwing himself all over the court and being 17 at the time made this a landmark match.  Curren had overpowered John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds only to be overpowered by a kid.  Curren was runner-up at the 1984 Australian Open and the 1985 Wimbledon championships.  Players such as Curren had huge serves but lacked an all-court game.  Becker ushered in an era in which big servers were not limited to just hammering bombs.

5.  2009 Roger Federer d. Andy Roddick 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14

A great match but hard to see anyone lose

Andy Roddick had chances in the 2004 Wimbledon final versus Roger Federer.  In 2005, Federer simply outclassed Roddick.  2009 was a different animal.  Pete Sampras returned to Wimbledon to see Roger Federer break his Grand Slam singles title record.  With Sampras, Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver watching, it felt like Roddick was a sacrificial lamb.  Roddick instead fought off a break point at 5-5 in the first set and then broke Roger to take a 1 set lead.  In the 2nd set Roddick had four chances to take a 2 set lead only to have Federer escape trouble and level the match.  Roddick did not fold.  He kept holding serve despite dropping the 3rd set in another tiebreak.  Roddick banked an early break in the 4th set to force a 5th.  Federer finally broke Roddick’s serve for the first and only time of the day to claim his 15th major. Roddick never got his Ivanisevic moment to improbably win Wimbledon after three losses in the final.