There are 119 days between the end of the Australian Open and the start of the next major, the French Open.
Yes, other tournaments and tennis matches are going on all over the world between those dates, but none of them can captivate audiences like the Slams can.
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When you consider how many different sports events are on from January to May, chances are, the more casual tennis fan would opt to watch something else over the current slate of tennis matches/tournaments.
So, what better way to keep an audience engaged than with a good old-fashioned documentary?
Emphasis on 'old-fashioned' as the current trend of sports documentaries is to use the 'fly on the wall' behind-the-scenes style.
There is nothing wrong with this method, but there are only so many of these we need to see, plus nowadays, they feel like a gamble, where the creators will pick a handful of players and hope for the best.
If it pays off, then it makes for great viewing, but on the flip side, if an athlete who ends up having a relatively uneventful year is picked, then either it feels a little anti-climatic, or the creators bend the truth a little and through clever editing, make it seem as if the player was closer to success.
Considering tennis has a rich history, there is nothing wrong with looking back on it, hence why fans are spoilt for choice when it comes to documentaries.
When you google 'best tennis documentaries', the fair majority of them have something in common. That is, they are all focused on a single player or multiple players, which is fair since the highest level of tennis is the singles format, but the highest-rated tennis documentary on IMDb isn’t about just one player.
While the focus of it is on two players, the main emphasis is actually on the game itself, but not just any game, arguably one of the greatest games of tennis ever played - the 2008 Wimbledon final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Featuring interviews from Nadal and Federer themselves, as well as several notable tennis legends and figures, 'Storke of Genius' is widely regarded as one of the best documentaries in all of sports.
So, considering how successful it was, you have to wonder why we haven’t seen another documentary centred around a game instead of a player.
It got me thinking though, what are some of the other great tennis matches in recent times worthy of having their story told?
2019 Wimbledon Men’s final
It may feel like a bit of a copy of the other documentary, but there is no doubt that the Roger Federer v Novak Djokovic 2019 Wimbledon final deserves to be given the same treatment.
At the time, Federer was regarded as the greatest men's player of all time, but at 37, it felt like this could be his last real shot at winning the All England Club.
On the other side of the net, 31-year-old Djokovic was a real challenger to the GOAT throne, and now at the height of his powers, it sure seemed like the Serbian was unbeatable.
Both players were in ridiculous form going into the decider, as Djokovic had only lost two sets in the tournament, while Federer had only dropped three.
So, it was hard to pick a winner with your head, but with your heart, well the difference in how loud the cheers were for one player over the other, it was pretty clear who everyone wanted to win.
You’re reading this on a tennis website, so there is a high chance you know exactly what occurred in this match, so there's no point delving in-depth, but the back-and-forth chess match over the four hours and 57 minutes was one of the greatest sports moments we’ve ever witnessed.
It went the full five sets, with the fifth going into a tiebreak after it got to a crazy score of 12-12. It felt like the game may never end, and even though it was in the early hours of the morning in Australia, no one wanted it to.
Federer won nearly every major statistical category and had championship points, but as we know, Djokovic somehow walked away with the trophy.
The fifth set is worthy of its own documentary, let alone the whole game.
2022 Australian open men’s final
Everyone loves a comeback story, it’s why so many sports movies always have the main athlete and/or team end up behind the eight ball, just to turn things around out of nowhere and pull off a miracle.
When Nadal took on Daniil Medvedev in the 2022 Australian Open final, all hope looked lost for the Spaniard after he trailed two sets to love.
At 35, Nadal would need to become the first player in the Open era to win the Australian Open when being down two sets.
History was also at stake as he had the chance to win his 21st major, which back then would have set a record.
A quick turnaround saw Nadal win the third and fourth sets 6-4, and despite holding all momentum, Medvedev didn’t roll over.
After five hours and 24 minutes of intense action, Nadal would reign victorious at Melbourne Park for the first time in 13 years after taking home the fifth set 7-5.
We will always associate Nadal with the French Open, the previously mentioned 2008 Wimbledon final or even the 2009 Australian Open final, but this match is one of his best accomplishments due to the adversity he suffered beforehand.
Two months prior, there were fears Nadal would retire from the sport after doctors discovered a degenerative bone disease in his left foot.
Asked how he achieved the unthinkable after the final, Nadal confessed his body "was not ready" for a gruelling five-set battle which he somehow came out the other side unscathed.
2009 Wimbledon Women’s semi-final
It’s only fitting since the three best men’s players of the last 20 years are all featured above, the best women’s player should too.
In this instance, it’s the Wimbledon semi-final match between Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva, which is regarded as the best match of Williams’s career.
Up until the semis, both players had yet to drop a set throughout the tournament, so everyone was eager to see who would take out the first.
As expected, neither player budged, leading to a tiebreaker, where Dementieva would ultimately win 7-4.
The second set was no different, with the score being 6-5 in William’s favour, and now she was serving to tie the match up.
Things didn’t go to script though, as she was down 15-40 and it looked like once more the match was heading to a tiebreak.
Williams then served up an ace to make it 40-30, followed by winning a rally to get to deuce.
Dementieva would win the next point, so again, she had the chance to break, but Williams would ace the serve.
An unforced error meant Williams would be facing her fourth break point of the set, but Dementieva would miss a golden chance to win the game. The 24-time major winner would then go on to win the next three points to take out the set.
The third set went just like the first two, and again we were tied at 6-6.
This time, Williams would break Dementieva to go up 7-6 and was then serving for the win.
After nearly three hours of action, an unforced error saw Dementieva’s backhand sail out, leading to Williams winning the match and setting up a final against none other than her sister Venus.
This match had so many ups and downs for both players and at no point was it clear who had the upper hand until the end, which is why it deserves a stand-alone documentary.
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