Things that go ace in the night: 2008 night matches

Is there anything scary about tennis? Before this year, I would have said no. Then Mikhail Youzhny unleashed this tirade at the Miami Masters in March:

While no other highlight from 2008 was alarming as Youzhny’s “racquet abuse,” a number of tennis matches this season made fans say, “Did that really happen?” And like many things supernatural, these all took place under the cover of night.

Lleyton Hewitt def. Marcos Baghdatis 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3.
Australian Open – Third Round

Green-and-yellow-clad fans packed Rod Laver Arena to see Lleyton Hewitt, the only Aussie in the Top 80 (a scary fact itself for the former tennis powerhouse), take on 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis. But because of the extended duration of the day’s earlier matches, this featured meeting didn’t start until 11:47 pm local time.

The fans, though probably irritated, were rewarded for their patience. Hewitt dropped the opening set but took control of the match by winning the next two. His most valiant effort came when, trailing 5-3 in the third, he fended off two set points and proceeded to break the Cypriot’s serve twice thereafter, stealing the set 7-5.

At around 3 a.m., Hewitt was ready to deliver the knockout blow when he served for the match in the fourth set at 5-1. Baghdatis broke him. Hewitt tried again, this time leading 5-3. Once again, Baghdatis broke him. Now Hewitt, who had squandered a match point during this stretch, was in trouble. Riding the momentum of his unlikely comeback, the resilient Baghdatis prevailed in the tiebreaker and forced a fifth set.

To the delight of the many hometown fans who stayed up into the wee hours of the night, Hewitt saved face by winning this match in the end. After breaking Baghdatis in the fifth game of the final set, Hewitt managed to hold serve the rest of way, finally winning the match with a service break. Hewitt knelt to the ground in disbelief, Baghdatis walked off the court with tears in his eyes, and the clock above the players read 4:33 a.m.

Andy Roddick def. Roger Federer 7-6, 4-6, 6-3.
ATP Masters Series Miami – Quarterfinal

Death, taxes, and Roger Federer beating up on Andy Roddick – these are three certainties in life. Heading into 2008, Roddick had won just one of his 16 matches against his Swiss adversary – a win that came four years ago at the Canadian Masters. Since then, Federer has given Roddick nightmares, defeating the American in close matches (like the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, where Roddick squandered three match points), in blowouts (like the 2007 Australian Open, where Federer obliterated Roddick 6-4, 6-0, 6-2), and everything in between.

It stood to reason, then, that the 17th encounter between the two would wind up in Federer’s favor, despite the Swiss star’s early-season struggles. Early on, the match went according to form. Roddick was unable to earn a break point against Federer in the first two sets of the match, but to the American’s credit, he served well enough to take the first in a tiebreaker. Federer won the second 6-4.

In the third set, Federer continued to roll through his service games. That is until the eighth game of the set. Out of nowhere, Federer dropped the first three points of his service game, giving Roddick three break points. He would need just one, as Federer dumped a forehand into the net on an approach to give Roddick the elusive break. Roddick went on to close out the set and the match, improving his still lopsided career record against Federer to 2-15.

Afterwards, Federer acknowledged his head-to-head dominance over Roddick: “Maybe this is one of the matches I should have won against him because he's had some other ones where I think he was supposed to win. This time around it went his way.”

Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7.
Wimbledon – Final

Though this epic match started in the early afternoon, it was nearly dark when it was completed. The culprit: Mother Nature, who interrupted play on three different occasions. But the rain delays did not dampen the quality of play in what many experts consider the greatest match of all time.

Heading into this year’s Wimbledon final, Federer had won 65 straight grass-court matches, including five consecutive Wimbledon titles. In 2006 and 2007, Nadal was his final opponent. The Spaniard had certainly proved that he could hang around with Federer, but whether he could actually beat him on the lawn was an entirely different question. After a scary-good daytime match that extended into dusk, Nadal delivered his answer.

The match’s drama quotient never stopped climbing, hitting its peak deep in the fifth set. Tied at 7-7, Nadal broke Federer’s serve – the first break for either player since the second set – giving the Spaniard a chance to serve for the championship. Federer, who had saved two match points back in the fourth set, could not save another when, past 9 p.m., in near darkness, the five-time defending champion struck a forehand into the net.

“It's rough on me now, obviously, you know, to lose the biggest tournament in the world over maybe a bit of light,” said Federer afterwards. Nadal, though infinitely happier, also touched on the darkness.

“In the last game, I didn't see nothing,” the emotional Spaniard said afterwards. What he did see was the Wimbledon trophy in his hands for the first time.

Serena Williams def. Venus Williams 7-6, 7-6
U.S. Open – Quarterfinal

Men’s night matches at the U.S. Open regularly stretch past midnight, while the women’s featured match (which precedes the men’s) rarely goes that late. But this year, tied 8-8 in career meetings, Venus and Serena Williams came close to burning the midnight oil -- battling until 11 p.m. in the latest episode of their on-court sibling rivalry (and delaying the start of the Nadal-Mardy Fish quarterfinal to 11:30).

Billed as the de facto final of the U.S. Open, Williams vs. Williams lived up to all the hype. Tiebreakers were needed to determine both sets in the match, though Venus probably never should have let it reach that point. She led each set 5-3 and held 10 set points in total (including eight in the second set alone), but amazingly lost both sets to her little sister. “I’m a very good closer,” a subdued Venus said afterwards. “So today was, um – I’ve never had a match like this in my life.”

The match featured baseline play at its finest, with many a power-infused double-digit shot rally. By the latter stages of the contest, the crowd was in awe – not sure which sister to root for, but appreciating the quality of the tennis.

Though it ended with Serena taking a 6-5 lead over Venus in their Grand Slam event meetings, the match showed how evenly matched, and competitive, the sisters are when at their best.

“It’s really just unfortunate it had to be in the quarters,” said Serena, the eventual tournament champion. “I mean, I feel like I should have a trophy now.”