The Top 10 Women's Matches Of The Decade
Tennis|November/December 2019
Ten years’ worth of memorable marathons and top-shelf tennis from the WTA’s boldest and bravest
The Top 10 Women's Matches Of The Decade

10. Petra Kvitova d. Angelique Kerber

7–6 (5), 4–6, 6–4

2014 Fed Cup final

> It’s fitting that the best team player of the decade would also win the best team match of the decade. In 2011, Kvitova led the Czech Republic to its first Fed Cup since 1988, and then did it five more times. The peak moment in that dominant run came in the 2014 final, when she sealed another title for the Czechs in a three-hour thriller, in front of a delirious audience in Prague.

Played on the final day of the season between two top-tier champions with starkly contrasting styles, it was a highly anticipated match that lived up to all of its possibilities. Kvitova, like a hockey player with a killer slap shot, fired rocket after rocket across the net; Kerber, like an all-star goalie, did all she could to fend them off.

Spurred on by their teams and the moment, each woman staged a desperate, unlikely comeback. Kerber trailed 0–3 in the second set before winning it 6–4. Unfortunately for her, Kvitova turned the tables in the third set, when she also came back from 0–3 and used the crowd’s support to lift her to a 6–4 win—and the Fed Cup title—on her fourth match point.

“It’s for your country,” Kvitova said, “but always when you are not feeling great and you don’t have enough energy, you always find something and I’m not sure where I found it. I’m just glad that I found it.”

Kvitova’s decade will be recalled for her two Wimbledon titles, but her ability to find it in Fed Cup, time and again, was as impressive.

9. Naomi Osaka d. Petra Kvitova

7–6 (2), 5–7, 6–4

2019 Australian Open final

This story is from the November/December 2019 edition of Tennis.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the November/December 2019 edition of Tennis.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM TENNISView All
The Tennis Conversation: Jenson Brooksby, a piano man
Tennis

The Tennis Conversation: Jenson Brooksby, a piano man

Billy Joel may be a New York City icon, but the fans in Queens should start getting to know this piano man

time-read
4 mins  |
September - October 2021
The Five-Step Sit-Down Plan
Tennis

The Five-Step Sit-Down Plan

Don’t neglect the value of a smart changeover routine

time-read
2 mins  |
September - October 2021
MAKING THE TURN
Tennis

MAKING THE TURN

Six years after saying goodbye to the protour grind, Mardy Fish may be more active than ever—on the court, on the course, and helping combat a struggle anyone can encounter

time-read
9 mins  |
September - October 2021
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Tennis

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Queens is known for its gastronomy as much as its tennis. Daniil Medvedev, equal parts sugar and spice, hopes to add a unique flavor to the borough as he vies for his first major

time-read
9 mins  |
September - October 2021
SUMMER IN THE CITIES
Tennis

SUMMER IN THE CITIES

Broadway may not re-open until mid September, but tennis offers its own brand of live theatre in the preceding months

time-read
2 mins  |
September - October 2021
REOPEN SEASON
Tennis

REOPEN SEASON

The pandemic halted tennis as an up-close experience— but is now giving way to pandemonium among crowds. As the pro game reopens this summer and fans gather again, we’re realizing what we’ve been missing for so long

time-read
10+ mins  |
September - October 2021
Court of Appeals
Tennis

Court of Appeals

Resolving Your Rules Questions&Quarrels

time-read
3 mins  |
September - October 2021
An Open Mind: New York's Slam has no shortage of history, but it always evolves
Tennis

An Open Mind: New York's Slam has no shortage of history, but it always evolves

In the last decade, Arthur Ashe Stadium got a roof, and a new Grandstand and Louis Armstrong Stadium debuted.

time-read
2 mins  |
September - October 2021
Those Fall Feels
Tennis

Those Fall Feels

The end of summer may be bittersweet, but getting lost amid the backroads of NEW ENGLAND adds a silver—and golden—lining to the season change. Pack a few sweaters along with your tennis kit and prepare for leaf-peeping, scenic drives and delicious autumnal ingredients to pair with your forehands

time-read
6 mins  |
September - October 2021
Tennis

Court of Appeals

Resolving Your Rules Questions & Quarrels

time-read
3 mins  |
May - June 2021