Top 10 ATP Matches of 2025: Part 1

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz dominated the 2025 season, and realistically, I don’t see that changing anytime soon. They consistently delivered at the most significant moments, even facing each other in six different finals throughout the year. While every one of those matches was spectacular, I think it’s only fair also to celebrate the incredible matches produced by the rest of the tour. For that reason, this countdown will not include any matches featuring Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner, allowing the spotlight to shine on some of the season’s other unforgettable battles.

#10: De Minuar def. Fonseca (Miami R3)

Fonseca against De Minaur was a spectacle. First of all, it happened in Miami. The entire stadium was packed with Brazilian fans. It felt like this match was taking place in Brazil and not Miami. Fonseca, on this particular day, was on absolute fire, blasting the ball, winning the first set, and putting Alex De Minaur under a tremendous amount of pressure. But Alex proved in this match what a great defender he is, how fast he is, and how good his counterpunching skills are. He won this match against Fonseca in three sets. An incredibly entertaining game, and this is one that I didn’t forget about.

#9: Bublik def. Draper (Roland Garros R4)

Now at number nine, I’m going to put Bublik versus Draper at Roland Garros in the fourth round. Bublik is one of my favorite players to watch. This particular match and the interview that followed made me an even bigger Bublik fan because he was playing well, up two sets to one, 5-4 serving in the fourth. And he had trouble serving out this match.

Draper at this particular stage of the year was on absolute fire. He had won Indian Wells. He was in the final of Madrid. He was the big favorite to win this match. Many people had picked Draper to go very deep in this Roland Garros draw, but Bublik took him out. He was able to serve out this fourth set and win it 6-4.

After the match, he said that if he had lost that service game, he would have lost 7-5 in the fourth set, and then 6-2 in the fifth. Interestingly, this is precisely what happened to him in the first round of Wimbledon a few weeks later. But Bublik continued to have a great season, and I had to feature him in my top 10.

#8: Musetti def. De Minuar (Monte Carlo SF)

Now at number eight, another De Minaur match, this time against Musetti in Monte Carlo in the semifinals. If you want to watch an actual clay court battle in harsh conditions, this is the match that you’ve got to rewatch because that third set was such a hard-fought battle. Alex was on absolute fire. He had taken out Dimitrov 0 and 0 before this match. So he came in hot. He wanted to make it into the Monte Carlo final, and it was very close.

But Musetti, an absolute craftsman on the clay court, and on this particular day the weather was cold — it might have even been raining a little bit — so the conditions were unbelievably slow. It was just an incredible grind-fest from the baseline. I’m a big fan of clay court tennis, especially that type of clay court tennis where it’s an absolute battle in the slow dirt. Musetti ended up taking this match 7-6 in the third.

#7: Cobolli def. Bergs (Davis Cup SF)

At number seven, I’m going to put a recent one, and that’s Cobolli versus Bergs in the Davis Cup semifinals. Maybe the best tiebreak of the year. That third-set tiebreak featured seven match points for Bergs, who lost the match, and Belgium lost the tie to Italy, which took the Davis Cup title for the third consecutive year. This third set tiebreak took 27 minutes. If you want to be entertained, watch this back on YouTube—spectacular clutch tennis from both guys.

I think Bergs made a mistake on his final match point that took place on his own serve, where he attempted a forehand drop shot off the first ball in the rally. I felt like that drop shot was placed inside-in, which I think is a lower-percentage drop shot. I think it’s better if you hit that forehand drop shot diagonally like Carlitos. But also, he could have blasted his forehand — his forehand was on fire in that match.

After Cobolli ran that drop shot down like an Olympic 100-meter sprinter, he saved match point. Bergs then, on the next point on the serve missed another forehand. Then Cobolli converted his next match point and won this crazy tiebreak.

#6: Medvedev def. Fils (Indian Wells QF)

At number six, I have Fils against Medvedev in the quarterfinals of Indian Wells. I thought that Medvedev winning this tough match, where he was down a break in the third to a hard-hitting Fils who was on absolute fire, was going to give Daniil a lot of confidence because he had struggled before Indian Wells, losing a lot of matches that he usually doesn’t lose. But this win against Fils didn’t really do what I thought it would do.

But this particular match was so entertaining because Fils is one of the most dangerous players on tour, and he was injured for most of the second half of this year. He has the heaviest forehand on tour, the most amount of spin and speed combined. He also has a humongous serve. He is one of these young players who can go very high in the rankings. Now, I hope that he’s going to be healthy in this coming season and that he’s going to be able to play his best tennis because we need as many of these great young players as possible.

But back to Medvedev: he is one of my favorite players to watch because he’s a master tactician, and the way he figures out a way to win these matches is truly spectacular to watch. After he won this third set tiebreak 9-7, the way he celebrated after match point, it was like he won a grand slam tournament. He was so happy to win this one because Fils was playing well.

Final Thoughts

Part 1 of this countdown highlights just how deep and entertaining the 2025 season really was beyond the very top of the rankings. These matches reminded me why tennis is at its best when styles clash and momentum swings constantly. And this is only the beginning. Next week, I’ll be back with the rest of the countdown, where the stakes get even higher, and the matches get even crazier. If you enjoyed these picks—or think I missed a must-watch match—let me know. The best is still to come.