5 best men's matches of 2020: Dominic Thiem & Novak Djokovic dominate the list

The 2020 ATP season has well and truly ended, so now is a good time to look back at the best matches of the year. Despite the start-stop nature of the calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was some high quality tennis on offer - especially from Dominic Thiem and Novak Djokovic.

Rafael Nadal appears once on the list, while his arch-rival Roger Federer - who played just six matches all year - also produced some thrilling entertainment while he was on the court.

Here's the list of the top five, in ascending order of quality:

5. Roger Federer vs John Millman, Australian Open 3r

Roger Federer celebrates his win over John Millman.

Scoreline: Roger Federer def. John Millman 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (10-8)

At the Australian Open this year, John Millman proved that his win over Roger Federer at the 2018 US Open was not a fluke. The Aussie has what it takes to push Federer to his absolute limit, even when the Swiss is on his game.

Roger Federer wasn’t physically compromised in Melbourne the way he was at the US Open, but he still couldn’t dictate the play like he usually does. Millman controlled his own share of the rallies early on and also retrieved quite well, to take the opening set 6-4.

But his level dropped a little after that, and the Swiss took full advantage. The momentum swung Federer's way as he won the second and third sets, and at that stage many believed he would wrap up the match in four sets.

Except that he didn't. Buoyed by the home support, Millman’s gears began clicking once again as he took the match into a fifth set. He even broke the mighty Swiss’ serve early in the decider, bringing back flashes of New York 2018, but Federer broke back immediately.

The match was headed to a final set tiebreaker, and it seemed impossible to predict the outcome.

John Millman and Roger Federer

John Millman, sensing another famous win, went for the jugular and amassed a seemingly unassailable 8-4 lead. The Australian needed just two more points for a victory.

But Federer then showed why he is considered the GOAT by so many in the tennis community. The Swiss legend summoned all of his experience and skills, anticipating everything that Millman sent his way to turn the tiebreaker around.

Federer reeled off five points in a row to find himself match-point up at 9-8. He then thumped a forehand winner far beyond Millman's reach, reminding everyone that even at the age of 38, he should never be written off.

4. Dominic Thiem vs Novak Djokovic, ATP Finals

Dominic Thiem after defeating Novak Djokovic

Scoreline: Dominic Thiem def. Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (5)

Dominic Thiem produced two of the best wins of his career in the space of one week. After downing Rafael Nadal in an epic round-robin clash, the Austrian outlasted Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Nitto ATP Finals.

This was a match decided by very fine margins, as evidenced by the fact that there was only one break of serve throughout the clash.

In the second set tiebreaker, Novak Djokovic came back from 0-2 down to build a 4-2 lead. At that point it seemed that the Serb had all but guaranteed a deciding third set, but Thiem had other ideas.

The Austrian produced a series of stinging forehands and sharp first serves to set up his first match point at 6-5. Djokovic saved that with a gigantic serve, but Thiem's next match point was on his own serve.

The World No. 3 chose that moment to let his past ghosts come to the surface, as he served up a big double fault. Nerves had clearly caught up to Thiem, and the Serb promptly manufactured a set point opportunity for himself - which he squandered with a forehand that sailed wide.

Novak Djokovic

Dominic Thiem set up another match-point with some crushing forehand missiles, but once again failed to convert. Novak Djokovic eventually won the second set after what seemed like ages, which had to be a crushing blow for Thiem. He had come excruciatingly close, and yet was still a whole set away from victory.

A year or two ago, the Austrian might have struggled to recover from such a situation. But now his improved mental strength came to the fore, and he showed the world how to outdo Djokovic at his own formula.

Up 4-0 in the deciding set tiebreak, Novak Djokovic was just a few racquet swings away from making yet another final. And given the way he had been serving in the last set, his victory seemed like a foregone conclusion.

But Dominic Thiem decided to do a Novak Djokovic on the Serb. He found a way out of the trickiest of spots in the most thrilling fashion possible, unleashing a barrage of jaw-dropping groundstrokes.

Thiem reeled off six points in a row to stun Djokovic and create two more match points. The Serb saved one - his fifth overall - with an ace, but Thiem finally clinched the win with his sixth match-point of the evening.

3. Nick Kyrgios vs Karen Khachanov, Australian Open 3r

Nick Kyrgios after defeating Karen Khachanov

Scoreline: Nick Kyrgios def. Karen Khachanov 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-7(6), 6-7(7), 7-6(10-8)

Nick Kyrgios needed 97 winners and 266 minutes to douse the challenge of Karen Khachanov in the third round of the Australian Open this year. Those are mind-boggling figures for any tennis match, but they still don't do justice to this titanic, belief-defying contest.

With the home favorite working up a 6-2, 7-6, 4-2 lead, the match had seemed like a done and dusted affair. Kyrgios was serving up missiles and unleashing 150kph winners at will; what chance did a misfiring (and fatigued) Khachanov stand?

But the Russian flipped the script in spectacular fashion, clawing his way back into the match to take it to a decider. He saved a match point in the third set tiebreak and another in the fourth set before finding himself a mini-break up at 8-7 in the deciding set tiebreaker.

But Kyrgios somehow found his spots both on the return and serve, and ended one of the points with a stunning backhand down the line winner that took everyone's breath away. The Aussie is known for fading away when the going gets tough, but on this day he refused to blink; he kept going for his shots, and kept making them.

Khachanov eventually missed one of his backhands, to hand Kyrgios arguably his career-best win. A couple of days later the Aussie would again produce a special performance, pushing Rafael Nadal to his limit in a highly competitive four-set loss. But even though he couldn't go deep at his home Slam, Kyrgios' win over Khachanov in the third round will linger in memory for a very long time.

2. Novak Djokovic vs Dominic Thiem, Australian Open final

Novak Djokovic with his 2020 Australian Open crown

Scoreline: Novak Djokovic def. Dominic Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4

This was Dominic Thiem’s first-ever hardcourt Major final. Understandably, not many expected him to topple the King of Melbourne, Novak Djokovic, in his own backyard.

But some ferocious hitting by Thiem coupled with Djokovic's physical issues saw the Austrian grab a two sets to one lead. All of a sudden, it seemed like we were staring at one of the most surprising results in recent Slam final history.

Novak Djokovic struggled to produce his tennis, and it was later revealed that the Serb was dehydrated through much of this encounter. But he recovered - like he almost always does - just in time, and came out all guns blazing to assert himself in the final two sets.

The World No. 1 seemingly improved with every game he played, and he kept asking questions of Thiem - who suddenly felt the ghosts of his two previous Major final defeats.

Dominic Thiem would have been disappointed by the fact that his prized weapon - his forehand - misfired for much of the last two sets. It lacked its usual venom, and missed its mark a lot more than usual. But that doesn't take anything away from the fact that Novak Djokovic hung around long enough for the Austrian's game to fall away.

The Serb was helped greatly by his serve, winning several big points by producing a timely ace or service winner. When Novak Djokovic’s return game is working well, your chances of winning automatically go down. But when both his return and serve are firing, even the best in the business can do nothing much except pray.

1. Rafael Nadal vs Dominic Thiem, ATP Finals

Dominic Thiem after defeating Rafael Nadal at the Nitto ATP Finals

Scoreline: Dominic Thiem def. Rafael Nadal 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4)

You'll rarely find a straight-setter at the top of the ‘best matches of the year’ list, or any tennis list for that matter. But don’t be deceived by the scoreline here, because Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem ensured that every second of this match was worth its weight in gold.

Thiem and Nadal were unyielding on the court throughout the contest, measuring each groundstroke with the perfect amount of precision and an even greater amount of power. If you closed your eyes and merely listened to the match, you would think that Thanos and Thor were going hammer and tongs at each other in the O2 Arena; such was the intensity in Nadal and Thiem’s shots.

Rafael Nadal did have his chances in the opening set, at one point leading the tiebreaker 5-2. But he lost both of his next service points, which allowed Dominic Thiem to get back in it.

Rafael Nadal in action against Dominic Thiem

The Mallorcan did manage to set up a set point for himself at 6-5 - on his serve - but produced an uncharacteristic backhand error to let it slip. The margins were so fine that every point seemed like it was the last one for each player.

Thiem saved another set point with a titanic forehand winner that was clocked close to 100 mph. And when the Austrian got a chance of his own, he grabbed took full toll by unleashing another big forehand.

As the match progressed, it felt like the two players would perhaps tire out from all the exertion they were going through just to win individual points. But that wasn’t the case as Thiem and Nadal continued producing rally after rally of absolutely breathtaking quality.

They stopped only when the Austrian clinched the match by going up another level in the second set tiebreaker, but that left everyone watching wishing it could have gone three sets.