Top 10 ATP Matches of 2025: Part 2

Part 1 showed just how deep the 2025 season was beyond the obvious headliners. But now, we’re getting into the matches that truly defined the year—the ones where momentum swung violently, pressure reached absurd levels, and clutch moments separated good performances from unforgettable ones. From brutal clay-court wars to nerve-shredding tiebreaks, this is where the countdown gets serious.

#5: Djokovic def. Hurkacz (Geneva F)

But let’s get to my number five match of 2025, and that’s the Geneva final between Djokovic and Hurkacz. Hurkacz also had to deal with injuries this year and missed much of the second half of 2025. One of the best servers on tour, a fantastic player, and what everybody says on tour is that Hubi is a super nice guy as well. He wanted this Geneva title really badly, and he gave himself so many chances.

At this particular moment in time, Djokovic was at 99 titles, and he had lost to Arnaldi playing very poorly — one of the worst matches that I’ve ever seen Djokovic play — in Madrid before this Geneva tournament. This was unexpected from Djokovic, given that he was playing well. Hubi was delivering the heat on the serve and putting Djokovic under a lot of pressure.

This came down to a very entertaining second-set and third-set tiebreak that Djokovic won. This match featured absolutely clutch defensive skills from Novak and clutch serving. I think one of the biggest reasons why Novak is still able to put up these types of numbers at the age of 38 is because he’s serving better than he ever has in his whole career.

It’s not really about hitting aces for Novak or serving fast. It’s about finding his best serve where it matters the most when he’s in a hole in a game. Maybe it’s love-30 or 15-30, and he needs to even the score, and a big serve comes. But more impressively, it’s when it breaks point down, or it’s 30-all, deuce — these clutch big points are where that big serve comes out.

Novak Djokovic will often hit a service winner or an ace. In this match against Hurkacz, I remember Djokovic serving exceptionally well when it mattered the most. When he got into the third-set tiebreak, he won the clutch points and played exceptional defense. This guy is a master of figuring out how to win matches.

#4: Bonzi def. Medvedev (US Open R1)

So let’s get to the number four match of 2025. It’s one that was unbelievably entertaining and featured some exceptional fighting skills and some exceptional tennis at certain moments — and it’s the first-round match between Medvedev and Bonzi at the US Open.

This loss helped him because he later changed his coaching team and started playing much better. That Zverev match in the Paris quarterfinals was unbelievably entertaining. Zverev ended up beating him. So maybe the huge entertainment factor — an unbelievable player, Hall of Fame-caliber, no doubt about it.

But despite the Bonzi and Medvedev match being one of the most memorable of the 2025 season, it cost Medvedev many fans. He should talk about it and apologize. It’s still not too late. I think many fans haven't forgotten that match.

#3: Moutet def. Rune (Rome R3)

But let’s get to the number three match of 2025. This was another clay court battle between Rune and Moutet in the third round of Rome. It wasn’t like a slow clay court battle like Musetti and De Minaur. No, this was a hot day. The advantage was, of course, for Rune, who is an exceptional clay court player.

He beat Alcaraz in Barcelona a few weeks before Rome. But Moutet, not only entertaining — one of my favorite players to watch for sure — he’s also very dangerous, and he’s currently ranked 35 in the world. So he’s had a phenomenal year, and he’s continuing to get better.

His craftiness, defensive skills, and the amount of spin he puts on the ball, along with the slice on his backhand, make him a tough player to face on all surfaces. Even though Rune was the favorite in this match, he put himself in a lot of trouble. Moutet was serving for the game at 5-4 in the third set.

This game was so incredibly entertaining because Moutet had three match points and Rune saved all of them. He ended up breaking Moutet, and they got into a tiebreaker. Rune was up 3-1, and Moutet ended up winning this tiebreak 7-4. One of the most memorable matches of 2025, and truly what clay court tennis is all about.

#2: Djokovic def. Musetti (Athens F)

But now let’s get to the second-best match of the 2025 season. This was a recent one: Djokovic versus Musetti in the Athens final. Another 250 match that I’m featuring in my top 10. As I said before, Djokovic may be the most clutch player in tennis history. This guy plays his best tennis when it matters the most.

But I want to take this opportunity to praise Musetti because this is some of the best hard-court tennis that I’ve ever seen him play. Or maybe it is the best hard-court match that I’ve ever seen from Musetti. The way he was playing defense — I’ve seen this a lot on his backhand side — this particular match featured so many one-handed backhand winners on the run—a lot of passing shots, a lot of these little flick shots and punch shots.

But there’s more: Musetti was also hitting these same types of shots on his forehand from the run and creating incredible angles crosscourt. So this guy is such a craftsman on the court. He has such a big repertoire of shots. Yes, he could have won this final. He’s still searching for a title for quite a long time. He was very close in this one, but again, he faced a GOAT who’s unbeatable in clutch moments in sure matches.

He did have chances. He didn’t serve well in certain moments of this match. But again, Musetti is such an entertaining player to watch, and this particular match is one that I’m not going to forget for a very long time.

#1: De Minuar def. Davidovich Fokina (Washington F)

Even though Alex De Minaur gets a lot of heat, a lot of criticism — “this guy doesn’t have power” — this is what a lot of people say on the internet — it’s absolutely ridiculous. In the Washington final, he faced someone who really badly wants to win his first ATP title, and that’s Davidovich Fokina. Earlier this year in Delray, he had a match point in the final against Kecmanovic, and he hit a forehand about this wide going down the line. So he was very close to winning that title.

He then made the Acapulco final a week later, lost to Machac, and here he is in a Washington final playing exceptional tennis — up 5-2 in the third set, serving for the match at 5-3, 30-love. But then Davidovich Fokina gets a bit negative, drops serve, but regains his focus and wants to break and win this third set 6-4. He earns three match points on the De Minaur serve.

De Minaur saved the first two with spectacular tennis, but that third match point is one that’s still ingrained deep in my memory. I don’t know if Davidovich is still thinking about this point, but I am. This was such a tough one to lose for Davidovich Fokina because he did everything right. He ripped the forehand down the line.

Alex was forced to pop the ball up with a very defensive lob, and he didn’t hit it well because it was close to going wide. A little bit of wind would have pushed this wide, and Davidovich Fokina would have had his first title. But this ball was about this far in, and Davidovich Fokina continued to play aggressively in this rally, came to the net, and Alex passed him, saving match point number three and winning the third set 7-6. The most entertaining match that I’ve seen — one that stuck in my mind the most — outside of the Sinner and Alcaraz matches.

Final Thoughts

Looking back, the 2025 season reminded me why tennis is so addictive—because no matter how predictable rankings might seem, chaos always finds a way onto the court. Somehow, the craziest part is this: the 2026 season starts next week. After everything we just witnessed, it feels insane that we’re already turning the page. New storylines, new rivalries, new chaos—tennis never really lets you breathe, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Happy New Year!