Top Comebacks Of The Year - Nos. 1-2

© Getty ImagesJo-Wilfried Tsonga became the first player to overturn a two-sets deficit and beat Roger Federer in Grand Slam action.

ATPWorldTour.com reviews the Top 2 comebacks of the 2011 season.

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2. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. Roger Federer, 3-6, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, Wimbledon QF
Roger Federer had a perfect track record after winning the first two sets in a Grand Slam match, 178-0 going into his quarter-final match at Wimbledon, and looked in good stead against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He raced to a 5-0 advantage in the second set tie-break and closed out a seemingly commanding two-set lead with a forehand winner.

But Tsonga, who had dropped nine straight sets to the six-time Wimbledon champion, was not discouraged. “Every time I was feeling like a dream, even at two sets down, because I was in the quarter-finals again Roger Federer,” he explained. “The stadium was full. I was not ridiculous. I was in my match. I’m the kind of player who likes these big moments.”

With head held high, Tsonga broke Federer with forehand winners in the third games of the following two sets, and then seized an early service break in the fifth set as he used his booming forehand to draw a crucial error in the first game. Tsonga had allowed Federer just one break point up to that point, in the second game of the match, and continued his strong service display to deny his opponent any chances to regain the break. “I served just unbelievable,” assessed the Frenchman, who won 40 of his 49 service points over the final two sets.

After three hours and eight minutes, Tsonga served out the match to love and followed with his trademark victory celebration on Centre Court.  “It will be, for sure, one of the best memories in my career,” he said. “I felt so good on the court. I was quick. I was just perfect today.”

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1. Novak Djokovic d. Roger Federer, 6-7(7), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5, US Open SF
The outlook seemed bleak for Novak Djokovic after Roger Federer took the first two sets of their semi-final match at the US Open.  Federer had a 178-1 record when winning the first two sets of a Grand Slam match - the one blemish coming against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Wimbledon a couple months earlier. Djokovic had clawed back from a 0-2 sets deficit just once in his career - also at Wimbledon, though all the way back in 2005 against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, a victory that lifted him into the Top 100 of the South African Airways ATP Rankings for the first time.

This time, wearing the badge of World No. 1 , Djokovic roared back to force a decider with service breaks to start both the third and fourth sets. Federer regained the upper-hand in the fifth, breaking Djokovic’s serve in the eight game and setting up two match points, a situation they’d found themselves in a year earlier. In that match, Djokovic had come up with two winners, down 4-5, 15/40, and had admitted afterwards: “To be honest I was just closing my eyes and hitting forehands as fast as I can on the match points.”

Would history favour Djokovic again? He saved the first match point, returning a 108 mph serve with a forehand winner that caught the line, and a second when Federer’s forehand bounced off the netcord and wide. With the crowd loudly saluting Djokovic’s efforts, an unnerved Federer followed with a double-fault on break point chance for the Serbian. He was unable to recover, conceding another service break as Djokovic proceeded to seal the victory on his first match point after three hours and 51 minutes.

“I had to take my chance,” said Djokovic, who went on to defeat Rafael Nadal in the final. “I was very close to being on my way back home. He was serving. He was 40/15 up. I managed to hit that amazing forehand return which got me back. I got a little bit of energy from the crowd, and I fought back.”

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Top Comebacks Of The Year - Nos. 3-5