Wimbledon: Magical Moments

GORAN IVANISEVIC (2001)

Ivanisevic had already won over the SW19 crowd after finishing as runner-up in three previous finals and, at the age of 29, most felt his chance to conquer Wimbledon had gone. The odds were against him from the start due to a shoulder injury, while he also needed a wild card to get into the tournament having dropped to 125th in the world. But the popular Croatian fought his way through to the final, where he went on to beat Pat Rafter in a five-set epic. To add to the drama, bad weather meant the match was played on the third Monday but the crowds turned out in droves to cheer an emotional Goran on every step of the way.

BJORN BORG v JOHN McENROE (1980)

Borg was aiming to win his fifth successive Wimbledon title, while McEnroe was making his first appearance in the All England Club showpiece. It was an intriguing contest from the very first point but it was the fourth-set tie-break that would go down in history. With Borg leading by two sets to one, McEnroe eventually levelled the match on a tie-break that lasted 22 minutes and saw 34 points contested. In the end it took an uncharacteristic error from Borg to hand the American an 18-16 advantage. The Swede went on to win the match, although McEnroe got his revenge the following year.

RAFAEL NADAL v ROGER FEDERER (2008)

Last year's final was remarkable for several reasons, not least because it saw the top two players in the world slogging it out on Centre Court once more. It was the third All England final in a row between the two, and ultimately needed five sets and 288 minutes of tennis to separate the two, becoming the longest men's singles final in Wimbledon history. Several rain interruptions added to the suspense and the contest finished in near darkness. After Federer had fought back from two sets down, it was Nadal who came out on top in the decider to claim his first Wimbledon trophy and end the Swiss star's five-year dominance of the event.

VIRGINIA WADE (1977)

Wimbledon was marking its centenary, so it was only fitting a Briton should leave their mark on the tournament. At 31, Virginia Wade was considered an outsider in the women's singles draw but overcame Chris Evert in the semi-final before beating Betty Stove in three sets to claim the trophy in front of the Queen in her Silver Jubilee year. Wade remains the last British player to win a senior Wimbledon singles title, although even she was surprised by her success, confessing: "It was my 16th attempt. I'd been trying since 1962. I'd virtually given up."

ARTHUR ASHE (1975)

One of Wimbledon's more unexpected results saw unfancied Arthur Ashe take the crown from defending champion Jimmy Connors. Connors was the overwhelming favourite and had not dropped a set en route to the final. Ashe had survived a five-set tussle in the semis to secure his place in the showpiece. The first two sets took everyone by surprise, though, as Ashe brushed aside his opponent 6-1 in both. Connors fought back to claim the third but Ashe went on to wrap up a 6-1 6-1 5-7 6-4 success, becoming the first black player to win a men's singles title at SW19.

JANA NOVOTNA (1998)

It took three attempts and saw many tears shed along the way but Jana Novotna finally came good in the women's singles final, beating Natalie Tauziat in straight sets. Five years earlier, the Czech had found her way into the hearts of many on Centre Court when she lost the final to Steffi Graf. Then, Novotna had been unable to hold back the tears during the presentation ceremony, famously crying on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent. Novotna had also lost the 1997 final to Martina Hingis but overcame her demons 12 months later to become one of Wimbledon's most popular winners.

We are a day away from the 122-year-old Wimbledon tournament. Here is a look back at some of the best moments.

Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon

Rafael Nadal Press Conference Rafael Nadal has announced he will not defend his Wimbledon title. The world number one and top seed had said after the French Open that he would not play Wimbledon if he was not 100% and so it has come to pass. "I’m here and I'm just not 100%. I'm better than what I was a couple of weeks ago but I don’t feel right," Nadal told a packed press conference on Friday evening at the All England Club. "To not play Wimbledon is one of the toughest decisions of my career." After suffering a shock defeat in the French Open to Robin Soderling, Nadal received treatment on his knees in Barcelona and skipped the traditional Wimbledon warm-up at Queen’s in an effort to be fit for The Championships. He was diagnosed with tendinitis in both quadriceps tendons as well as a small amount of fluid on the kneecaps. "I tried everything. I didn't feel terrible but also not close to my best. When I enter a tournament my goal is winning and my feeling right now is I'm not ready to win. "It's very painful for me but I can't play at the tournament this year. It's tough but it is what it is." Nadal's absence will cause a reshuffle in the men’s singles draw. Number five seed Juan Martin Del Potro replaces Nadal at the top of the draw. The 17th seed James Blake moves to line 65 to take Del Potro's position. Nicolas Kiefer moves to line 56 to take Blake's position and lucky loser Thiago Alves takes Kiefer's position on line 61. Nadal revealed that he had been playing with considerable pain and he didn't know how long he would be out of tennis. But he said he expected to fully recover from his knee problems and that he would have a "long career". "I played with some problems on the knee for the last few months. I've been making efforts to play week after week. The truth is that sportsmen always play with pain and don't know where the limit is, where you can get to. I think I reached that limit now. "I will work very hard to comeback as soon as possible. One of the problems is I’m thinking more about the knees than what is happening on court and it’s very difficult to play like that." When Nadal was asked about his many fans and how disappointed they would be that he was not appearing at Wimbledon, the 23-year-old replied: "no more than me". Nadal also said he was not concerned that his absence would open the door for Roger Federer to reclaim the number one world ranking. "If I lose the number one ranking I’m going to accept it like the four years I was number two and work hard to improve and recover."

Rafa grimaces

Rafael Nadal grimaces but not for long. He beat Roger Federer in five epic sets to win the Wimbledon men's title.

Rafa roars

Rafael Nadal roars in delight on the floor after his incredible five sets victory over Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.

Rafa on a high

Rafael Nadal stretches to reach a smash during his entertaining final match with Roger Federer.

Nadal down

Rafael Nadal on the floor after losing a point to Roger Federer in a classic men's final.

Rafael Nadal talks about his knees

Rafael Nadal said today that he will double his efforts to be fully fit to defend his Wimbledon title. “I will give 200% to be at 100% for the most important date in world tennis,” said Nadal in a statement.

Nadal has spent two days undergoing tests on his knees having already pulled out of the Queen’s tournament. With Rafa’s knees on the minds of tennis fans lately, here is a collection of comments from Nadal about his knees.

In November 2005, Nadal won the Madrid Masters but it forced him to miss the Masters Cup and he spoke about how his physical condition would affect his game. “Every match is tough, no?” Nadal said. “We need to play 100 per cent every match. For good luck, I won a lot of matches and for that reason I can’t play every week. Every person wants to change (the system). I hope we improve, little by little.”

In August 2007, Nadal was critical of the ATP for scheduling such a large part of the season on hard courts, which he believes are detrimental to a players’ knees. “In my opinion, is a little bit mistake,” Nadal said.

After losing to David Ferrer at the 2007 US Open, Nadal refused to blame injury for his defeat. “I speak a lot about my physically all the week,” Nadal said. ”I prefer I don’t speak about my body right now because always if I speak something about my body, later someone thinks about is an excuse. So I don’t want to put any excuse. ‘He play very good and he beat me. Maybe another day we can speak about the injuries.”

In November 2007, when Nadal appeared at the Masters Cup in Shanghai with both knees heavily strapped he denied there was a problem. “Everything perfect,” Nadal said. “My knees are fine. I start a little slow today, but I finish strong, no?”

After he lost to Roger Federer 6-4, 6-1 at the tournament he said: “People are always saying, ‘Rafa is injured’. Well no, I’m not injured,” Nadal said. “Sometimes I have some problems, but normal problems like every player.”

After that tournament he was more forthcoming to Spanish newspaper El Pais. “I am preparing physically every day but I cannot run,” Nadal said. “Now, during the pre-season, I am going to try. I didn’t say so before because it seemed like an excuse. I don’t like to talk about injuries.”

In May, Nadal at Madrid Masters 1000 said not to be concerned whether he taped his knees or not. “It’s no more different without – than with – the bands, I don’t feel any difference. We’re going to try continuing to play like this (without taping) but you know, someday if I play with the bands, that doesn’t mean I have a problem.”

In June 2008, Nadal again called for a shorter hard court season. “If I want to be No1, I need these [clay court Masters] tournaments. The rest of the year on the hard courts is really tough, on the knees, feet and back. The others have better chance on hard courts and I’m not saying that it is not fair, only that the clay-court season is so short. Why not a longer clay and a longer grass-court season?”

In November 2008, Nadal revealed he would miss Spain’s Davis Cup final and the first six weeks of the following season with severe tendinitis in his knee. “The knee said no,” Nadal said. “I have done all I could to be ready for the final. It was a huge objective, and I’m used to playing with pain, but this is a distinct, new pain I couldn’t control.”

In June 2009 Nadal announced he would not defend his Queen’s title. “I have been having problems with my knees that did not allow me to compete at 100 per cent. I need to work on my physical condition to be at my top form and get ready to play at Wimbledon. I hope I can be ready to compete by then.”