Famous rivalries in Wimbledon 

 As players attempted to clinch the title and climb to the pinnacle of the sport, the spirit of a competition initiated several duels between players who went on to become legends of the game. Here is a list of five compelling rivalries of the Wimbledon in the Open Era.

Martina Navratilova v Chris Evert

The rivalry between Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, two of the best female players to have ever graced the sport of tennis, is widely talked about. They have squared off 22 times, and 9 times out of those have been at Wimbledon. Evert reigned as the supreme player in their first encounter at the semi-final of Wimbledon ’76, but Navratilova proceeded to win seven of their next eight meetings. The only time Evert defeated her opponent was in the semi-final of Wimbledon ’80. They played five Wimbledon finals against each other, and Navratilova won all of them.

Bjorn Borg v John McEnroe 

Sweden international Bjorn Borg was an incredible all-court player and is the only player in the Open Era to win six French Open titles along with five Wimbledon titles. The late 1970s and 1980s could have nurtured the greatest rivalry in tennis had Borg not departed from the game at the age of 26. The most memorable moment between Borg and his rival John McEnroe was the 1980 Wimbledon final which lasted five sets. The fourth set tie-break, won by McEnroe (18-16), continued for 20 minutes but he would end up losing the final set 8-6 and the Championship to Borg. He then lost the next year’s Men’s final to McEnroe in four sets failing to clinch six titles in a row. 

Steffi Graf v Gabriela Sabatini

The rivalry between Gabriela Sabatini and Steffi Graf was popular enough for fans to taunt Gabriella by saying “Oh Oh Oh Gabby is dying” whenever Graf was the better player in the match. They faced each other thrice in Wimbledon: the quarterfinal in 1987, the semi-final in 1992, and the most memorable one was the final in 1991. Graf won all three matches. They also partnered with each other to sack the 1988 Wimbledon Ladies’ Doubles title once.

Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal 

The open era has been blessed with terrific encounters between both players with a record tally of 55 meetings. Their matches are famous for their nail-biting rallies and the most interesting one happens to be the 2012 Australian Open Final which lasted nearly six hours. Novak won the match which is the longest men's Grand Slam final recorded in history. The match pushed Novak to the top of the rankings. 

Roger Federer v Rafael Nadal 

A pair known by the acronym “FEDAL," Federer and Nadal's rivalry was witnessed several times on the court. The most memorable match between the duo is the 2008 Wimbledon final. Nadal shocked everyone by defeating Federer, in his prime. Nadal tried to win the previous year too but understandably lost in five sets. The king of clay wasn't expected to outclass Federer on the grass in the Wimbledon Final but he achieved that by beating Federer in five memorable sets, in a five-hour match, pocketing the last set 9-7.