• Top Tens: The greatest Australian Open matches

Most memorable Melbourne moments

Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis nearly saw the sunrise after their epic third-round match in 2008 © Getty Images

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With the Australian Open not yet into its second week, we have already enjoyed a feast of tennis, with a host of wobbles, upsets and five-set marathons. Justine Henin's second-round victory over Elena Dementieva was a match worthy of a women's final, while James Blake and Juan Martin Del Potro's epic five-set second-round clash is undoubtebly the match of the tournament so far. We take a look back at some of the most memorable Australian Open matches over the years.

Lleyton Hewitt v Marcos Baghdatis - 2008 men's third round
In a match described as having 'more pendulum swings than a US presidential election', home favourite Lleyton Hewitt got the better of Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in a marathon five-setter. The match started shortly before midnight, but after five thrilling sets Hewitt came through to win 4-6 7-5 7-5 6-7(4) 6-3. The match did not finish until 4.30am, but nonetheless 15,000 fans stayed to the death. "It makes me very proud," said Hewitt. "It was one of my best wins mentally." Hewitt went on to lose to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

Andre Agassi v Pete Sampras - 1995 men's final
In the 13th meeting between the two, Sampras had won four of the last five meetings and was the top seed and defending champion. However, the world No.1 was struggling to come to terms with the recent collapse of his best friend and coach Tim Gullikson, and had already come through a tough five-set quarter final against Jim Courier and was taken to four sets by Michael Chang in the semis. In his first ever appearance at the event, Agassi took the victory 4-6 6-1 7-6(6) 6-4, his first triumph over Sampras in a Grand Slam final.

Martina Hingis v Jennifer Capriati - 2002 women's final
By 2002, Martina Hingis had not won a Grand Slam in three years. However, in the stifling Melbourne heat, Hingis, in her sixth consecutive Australian Open final, was on the brink of an eighth Grand Slam, having built an insurmountable two-set lead. But in one of the greatest comebacks in the tournament's history, Jennifer Capriati saved four championship points in the second set, and won the match 4-6 7-6(7) 6-2 to defend her title. Neither woman played in another Grand Slam final. "It will be up there as one of the greatest matches I have played," said Capriati. "Not just for the actual tennis, but for everything I had to cope with out there. It is the hardest I have ever had to fight and I thought I was going to die out there a few times."

Andy Roddick v Younes El Aynaoui - 2003 men's quarter final
In one of the longest matches in Grand Slam history, Andy Roddick triumphed 4-6 7-6(5) 4-6 6-4 21-19 over Younes El Aynaoui, in an 83-game match lasting nearly five hours. The deciding set lasted nearly two and a half hours and the players walked off the court hand in hand. "Strategy was out the door ... it was just pure fighting," said Roddick, who went on to lose to German Rainer Schuettler in four sets in the semi-final.

Mark Philippoussis v Pete Sampras - 1996 men's first round
To the delight of the home fans, a local kid nicknamed 'Scud' pulled off one of the biggest shocks in Australian Open history, beating world No.1 Pete Sampras in straight sets. Mark Philippoussis out-served Sampras to claim a 6-4, 7-6(9), 7-6(3) third-round victory that saw Sampras knocked off the No.1 spot.

Rafael Nadal's 2008 victory over Roger Federer cemented his position as world No.1 © Getty Images

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Rafael Nadal v Roger Federer - 2009 men's final
In the greatest rivalry since Sampras and Agassi, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal met for the first time in the Australian Open in the 2008 final. It was the 19th meeting between the pair, and although Nadal was the top seed, he had come through a gruelling five-hour semi-final against Fernando Verdasco. In a thrilling five-set match that we have come to expect from the pair, it was Nadal who triumphed 7-5 3-6 7-6(3) 3-6 6-2 and win his third Grand Slam in the space of twelve months. In a show of true sportsmanship, Nadal consoled an emotional Federer in the presentation after he was denied his 14th major to equal Sampras' record.

Monica Seles v Steffi Graf - 1993 women's final
Although Steffi Graf had won seven of their 11 meetings, it was Monica Seles who was in the ascendancy, and was the top seed going into the championship. Generally considered to be one of the best women's Grand Slam finals, Graf played a near flawless game to take the first set, but Seles fought back to take the match 4-6 6-3 6-2 to defend her Australian Open title for the second time. American commentator Mary Carillo commented that Graf played better than in her victorious final in 1988. It was to be the last meeting between the rivals until the 1995 US Open, after Seles was stabbed in Hamburg in April that year.

John Lloyd v Vitas Gerulaitis - 1977 men's final
Before Andy Murray's 2008 US Open final appearance, John Lloyd's Australian Open final defeat made him the last British man to appear in a Grand Slam final. In a nail-biting five-setter, top seed Vitas Gerulaitis won his only major title in a 6-3 7-6 5-7 3-6 6-2 victory. "Today was my lucky day and the good Lord looked down on me," says Gerulaitis. "The pain was dreadful and I remember looking up toward the sky in the fourth set and saying to myself I couldn't win without some sort of help. My muscles were popping out because of the cramp, which spread right through my body, but I wasn't about to give up in such an important final."

Mikael Pernfors v John McEnroe - 1990 men's fourth round
Not a classic match in the conventional sense, but a memorable one nonetheless. Fourth seed John McEnroe was disqualified under a new Code of Conduct rule after his foul-mouthed tirade towards the British umpire Gerry Armstrong saw him default the match, the first man to be disqualified from a Grand Slam for 17 years. McEnroe was leading by two sets to one but had already been warned for intimidating a lineswoman and docked a point for smashing a racket. Pernfors won 1-6 6-4 5-7 4-2 (default). The crowd were stunned, booing and shouting their support for the equally surprised McEnroe who thought he had one warning remaining.

Pat Cash v Mats Wilander - 1988 men's final
In his second consecutive Australian Open final, home favourite Pat Cash took on two-time champion Mats Wilander. The Swede dominated the early proceedings, winning the first set 6-3 and going 3-0 up in the second. However, a rain delay saved Cash, who managed to claw back to 4-4. After winning a second-set tie-break, Cash took the third, but in a fascinating swing in fortunes, Wilander dominated the fourth to take the match to a deciding fifth set. In a nail-biting climax, Wilander saved two match points to take the match 6-3, 6-7, 3-6, 6-1, 8-6 in four hours and 28 minutes. He became the first man to win an Australian Open on both grass and hard courts, and went on to win the French and US Opens that year.

Jo Carter is assistant editor of ESPN.co.uk

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