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To be fair, people would need to watch the 2008 final again to answer this question with 100% accuracy. However, we can compare the matches using three different perspectives: the players’ background and the match energy; match stats; and the critical points that determined the outcome.#1: PLAYER BACKGROUND & MATCH ENERGYThe 2008 FinalIn 2008, Federer and Nadal were supposed to be at their physical peaks. I did some deep analysis of how each player was playing when they met at Wimbledon: Lon Shapiro's answer to How do you think Nadal and Federer at Wimbledon 2019 compare overall against the pair's 2008 versions?To summarize, Federer was coming off an illness at the beginning of the year. For a player of his standards, the first half of 2008 was a terrible slump. Though still ranked #1, he had a series of losses to players who had either never beaten him, or hadn’t beaten him in five years (before he reached #1), changed coaches and got crushed by Nadal at the French Open. He did win the grass court even at Halle, so it looked like he was regaining his form a little.On the other hand, Nadal was invincible on clay, won his first grass court tournament at Queens (beating Djokovic in the finals), and extended his consecutive win streak to 29 after Wimbledon by winning the Canadian Open and five straight titles. A month later, he won the Gold Medal at the Bejing Olympics.In other words, Federer was trying to regain his form, while Nadal was playing close to his all-time best, and had a huge mental edge over Federer.When they played the 2008 final, Nadal looked like he was clearly the better player, winning the first two sets in a routine fashion. Fans were disappointed, expecting the match to end in straight sets.And then magic happened. There was a rain delay with Federer leading 5–4 in the third set. After an 80-minute break, Federer somehow hung in the match, winning the next two sets 7–6(5), 7–6(8), where he fought off two match points in the fourth set tiebreaker. In the fifth set, Federer got heartbreakingly close to winning the championship, but Nadal pulled out the match at 9–7.For the fans, the first two sets may have been entertaining, but there was no suspense as Nadal was just a little bit better. What made the match so memorable was the tense comeback that spanned the last three sets. Every point of every set was hotly contested by the players, while the fans in the stadium were going insane.The 2019 FinalComing into Wimbledon, Djokovic was coming off what could be called a “slump.” After winning his third Grand Slam in a row in Australia, Djokovic lost to Kohlschreiber, Bautista Agut, Medvedev, Nadal and Thiem. He only one won tournament from February to July, the Madrid Open.Watching him on clay, I had serious doubts about Djokovic’s conditioning or his mental state, as he inexplicably tried to end rallies too soon by coming to the net. He even lost a couple of huge points by trying to serve and volley against Thiem at Roland Garros.On the other hand, I thought Federer was playing a kind of farewell tour, prior to retiring. I couldn’t believe he would risk his Wimbledon chances by playing on clay. He even retired after winning a 7–6 match against Coric in Rome, due to fatigue and concern about getting injured.Instead, he reached the French Open semis, and won the grass court event at Halle for the 10th time. Based on those results, I think Federer was in top form entering Wimbledon.For the 2019 Finals, I analyzed their strengths and weaknesses:Lon Shapiro's answer to What’s your post match analysis of Roger Federer vs Rafa Nadal Wimbledon Semi Final 2019, which Federer won 7-6 1-6 6-3 6-4?Lon Shapiro's answer to Judging by his performance against Nadal, do you think Federer can beat Djokovic in the Wimbledon final?Basically, I predicted Djokovic would be a heavy favorite in the match, stating that if they played the match 100 times, Djokovic would win 75 of them.I also wrote that Djokvoic is 4–0 against Federer in Grand Slams since 2013, and that it would be almost impossible for Federer to win in five sets.As it turned out, Djokovic did win in five sets, but the circumstances were very strange. Federer played at a consistently high level for the entire match, up until the fifth set tiebreaker, while Djokovic was very inconsistent, saving his best tennis for the three tiebreakers in the match.The energy from the crowd was insane for each tiebreaker set, but more subdued as Djokovic played poorly (for him) in the second and fourth sets.Overall, I would rate the overall quality of the tennis in 2008 as being better than in 2019, but the 12–12 fifth set this year was off the charts, as each player faltered, then came back, like two woozy heavyweight fighters exchanging knock out punches: there was a lot of sloppy tennis, but the two players were so evenly matched that the drama and tension was amazing.#2: MATCH STATISTICSHere is a more mathematical comparison of the relative level of play in the two finals.2008 StatsAces: Federer 25, Nadal 6Winners: Federer 89, Nadal 60Unforced Errors (UFE): Federer 52, Nadal 27Net Winners-UFE: Federer +37, Nadal +33Winning % 2nd Serve Points: Federer 57%, Nadal 59%Break Point Conversions: Federer 1/13, Nadal 4/13Net Points Won: Federer 56%, Nadal 71%Total Points Won: Federer 204, Nadal 209I bolded the statistics that are remarkable:Federer was serving like a maniac.Both players played historically well in terms of winner/error ratios, with Federer at 1.71, and Nadal at 2.22. For comparison, here are the ratios for the 2018 semi-final: Djokovic, 1.73 and Nadal, 1.73.Both players were still dominating with their second serve.Federer played too safe on break points, hoping Nadal would miss.Nadal was amazing with his passing shots - you will almost never see a percentage like that for Federer.Super close, but the winner won 5 more total points.2019 StatsAces: Federer 25, Djokovic 10Winners: Federer 94, Djokovic 54Unforced Errors (UFE): Federer 62, Djokovic 52Net Winners-UFE: Federer +32, Djokovic +2Winning % 2nd Serve Points: Federer 51%, Djokovic 47%Break Point Conversions: Federer 7/13, Djokovic 3/8Net Points Won: Federer 78%, Djokovic 63%Total Points Won: Federer 218, Djokovic 204Once again, I bolded the statistics that stand out:Federer was still serving like a maniac. He did not face a break point until the fourth set, and yet he trailed two sets to one. He faltered in the fifth set, as he faced six break points and failed to save two of them.Federer played like a top player in terms of winner/error ratios, at Federer at 1.51, but Djokovic had a ratio of only 1.03. In a study of this ratio, only 41.3% of the men’s players were able to record a ratio of 1.0 or higher. A Closer Look at the Winner-Unforced Error Ratio. It’s a miracle that Djokovic won the fifth set, considering he made three more unforced errors than winners, while Federer had a W/UFE ratio of 1.68 (37 winners, 22 unforced errors).Federer was solid on his second serve points against a great returner like Djokovic, while Djokovic was a little below average.Federer continued his strategy of taking risks and dominated his break points. This stands in stark contrast to the 2015 US Open when Federer only converted 4 of 23 break points, or his disastrous 2008 Wimbledon.Federer was completely dominant at the net against the world #1.A surprising -14 in total points for the winner of the match.In 2019, Djokovic had some big let downs, and did not return up to his usual standards. He only won 32% of his return points, while Federer won 36%.In just about every category, Federer dominated, except unforced errors (-10). And he probably had 5 unforced errors just in the fifth set tiebreaker.It’s pretty clear that the quality of play was much higher in 2008. Federer was close to playing like his 2008 self, but Djokovic wasn’t playing anywhere near Nadal’s level, or how well he and Nadal played in the 2018 semi-final.The only thing Federer didn’t do was play a few big points well, especially in the tiebreakers. And that leads me to the last way to compare the matches.#3 QUALITY OF PLAY IN CRITICAL POINTS2008 Critical PointsMy memories of the 2008 finals are focused on a few magical points, when Nadal played incredible defense and ended up hitting a couple of impossible passing shots to finally break serve in the fifth set.From the Wikipedia article on that match (In the fourth set tiebreak):At 7–7, Nadal hit a forehand down the line past Federer setting up a championship point on his serve to which Federer responded with a similarly perfect backhand on the line to keep him in the match. BBC commentator Andrew Castle said: "The two best passing shots of the tournament, without doubt, have just taken place on the last two points."What made the 2008 final so special was how each player raised the level of his game in the most critical situations. When one player can do it, you crown a champion. When both players do it, the match becomes immortalized. Federer has won 8 Wimbledon titles and been in 4 more finals. But if you ask the casual fan about him, they will probably remember the 2008 final.2019 Critical PointsWhen I think of today’s final, I can remember around 10–15 points which turned the match around. The problem is, almost every one of those points had Federer getting control of the point, attacking and then either becoming tentative, or making unforced errors.While Djokovic played marvelous defense in the final, he only hit a couple of winners in all of the key points that helped him to win the tiebreakers, and save those two match points. Here’s a breakdown of some of those points:First set tiebreaker. Federer played spectacular tennis on the first two points Djokovic served, but in both cases he uncharacteristically made the wrong choice as he set up to hit a big forehand inside the baseline. Djokovic recovered and eventually Federer missed shots. After being down 4–2, Federer played great tennis to serve at 5–3 and hit a very good wide slice serve. Djokovic hit a nice return up the middle, but was still near the doubles alley as Federer lined up to hit a forehand. This is a shot he has inside out, wide of the backhand in this situation 99% of the time, and it almost always results in a winner or a weak defensive shot he can put away. For some inexplicable reason, Federer chose to hit a sharp cross court angle and missed the ball badly. If he hit the normal shot, Djokovic would have had to hit an impossible winner, or Federer would have had three set points. In either case, the most critical point of the first set would have been determined by great play instead of a bad error.Match points for Federer. With Federer serving at 8–7 40–15, he played one bad point where he missed a makable forehand. In the other point, he served well, got a short ball, and played a slightly hesitant forehand approach (I still question the shot selection). Federer looked like he was just hoping Djokovic would miss. His shot didn’t put much pressure on Djokovic, who hit the ball well inside the singles sideline. While it was a very good cross court forehand passing shot that just got past Federer’s racket at the net, it was a shot that top players have made hundreds of times.Fifth set tiebreaker. This was just sad, as Federer sprayed at least four forehands all over the court. It was a really sad end to a match, as everyone was disappointed with the poor play at the end.The 2019 final was kind of like a blockbuster movie that has all the ingredients to be the event of the summer. The story moves along and finally builds some real tension and momentum in the third act. Now imagine the big climax. The hero chases the bad guy into a deserted warehouse with no other exist. We know what’s coming - they will square off and begin a desperate kill-or-be-killed final fight scene.And then suddenly the hero slips on a banana, falls to the ground and accidentally shoots himself. The End.To be sure, there were tons of high quality rallies and clutch serving by both players, but the level of play and the tension surrounding the match was really uneven.And no matter how great the fifth set was, nobody wants to see a match end on a bunch of unforced errors. It’s an ending that spoils everything, and leaves people feeling let down.ConclusionsThe 2008 final still stands as the best Wimbledon final played in the modern era, and maybe of all time.We know from history that Nadal went on to have one of his greatest seasons, winning 3 of 4 Slams between June 2008 and January 2009. He ended the year ranked #1, and won 8 titles overall.Meanwhile, Federer bounced back to win 4 of the next 6 Slams, extending his streak of Slam finals to 8. Aside from Del Potro, only Nadal could beat Federer in a Slam Final (3 French Opens, 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian). Without Nadal, Federer could have won an impossible two consecutive calendar year Grand Slams (2006 and 2007) and 20 total Slam titles by the time he played in the 2009 US Open final.The 2019 finals left me disappointed and confused.I was disappointed because Federer had the chance to make history and become the oldest man to win a Grand Slam title. His play at almost 38 years old is still miraculous as he was fully capable of beating the world #1.One of the unfortunate things with being one of the best players of all time is how the law of averages catches up with someone who wins so many matches: eventually, someone will get hot at just the right time and turn around a match that seems to be within reach. This marks the fourth time since 2018 that Federer has lost a match after holding match points: Del Potro (2018 Indian Wells); Anderson (2018 Wimbledon); Thiem (2019 Madrid) and now Djokovic (2019 Wimbledon).I’m confused about Djokovic. He really didn’t look that good against Federer at times. His serve has dropped off in efficiency, and his once invincible return game did not yield a single break point in over 3 1/2 sets (he got a service break with Federer serving at 5–2 in the fourth). His mind seems to be all over the place, choosing to serve and volley on clay against Thiem, and losing all interest for a set against both Bautista Agut and Federer.He’s lost a number of matches to much lower ranked players. He’s #1, but his play has been inconsistent for the last two years. From 2011 to 2016, he was brilliant, winning 48 titles, an average of 8 per year. Since he came back from his elbow surgery, he has won 7 titles in two years, but has, through a combination of selective mental toughness and favorable draws*, managed to win four Slams.For some casual fans, a lack of consistent effort, the constant whining and yelling at his box, and the occasional passive-aggressive anger projected toward a non-supportive crowd can be ignored simply because Djokovic has been able to raise his level of play a few times to win close matches.But aren’t those the same qualities that the public attacks when they watch a player like Nick Kyrgios? As a player, he is talented enough to be #1 in the world (2–0 vs Djokovic, 3–4 vs Nadal, plus three 7–6 in the third matches with Federer) but his lack of effort (especially in his non-existent training regimen) and bad court behavior are unacceptable.I’ve criticized McEnroe for his horrible behavior, not just because he acted like a jerk on the court, or because he disrespected other players and the sport of tennis itself, but because his inconsistent focus wasted his potential to be an all-time great. Think about this: he never won a Grand Slam past the age of 25, but he has continued to act like an idiot on court, getting tossed from an exhibition match at the age of 49.Since the original question is about comparing two the greatest matches of the modern era, why shouldn’t we question Djokovic’s spotty play?In 2008, Nadal was playing at his all time best and Federer had regained his mojo after a terrible first half of the season.In 2019, Federer was still playing at a near #1 level, but choked in some critical situations where he could have won the first and fifth sets.What do we say about Djokovic? He tried really hard when it mattered and played good enough defense to let Federer beat himself. That’s not the definition of an all-time match, nor an all-time great player.Djokovic still looks to be the fittest athlete on the tour, and seems capable of playing at a higher level, but his inconsistent energy and bizarre tactical decisions on the court give me the feeling that there is something off with him.I don’t know whether he’ll pass Nadal in Slams next year, or if he’s destined to flame out again like he did after finally winning the French Open in 2016.Thanks for the A2A.——————-*Regarding “favorable draws”: At Wimbledon this year, Djokovic didn’t meet a dangerous server until the finals. His win over Federer was his only match against a top 10 player. At Wimbledon last year Djokovic didn’t meet a dangerous server until the finals, when he played Kevin Anderson who was running on fumes after beating Federer 13–11 in the fifth, followed by Isner 26–24 in the fifth. He did play one terrific match, beating Nadal 10–8 in the fifth. But that’s only two memorable matches in two Slams.At the 2018 US Open, Nadal retired due to injury in the semi-finals after his incredible 7–6 in the fifth win over Thiem, while Federer lost a match to a journeyman in some of the most bizarre weather conditions in the history of that tournament.Overall, in his four Slam titles, he only played 7 matches against Top 10 players, with 4 of them being against the Big 3. For context, Nadal beat 3 Top 10 players at Roland Garros this year, including Federer. At AO17, Federer beat 3 Top 10 players, including Nadal.Over the last two seasons, Djokovic was 21–7 vs the top 10. For context, in 2014, he was 19–5 vs Top 10, in 2015, he was 31–5 vs Top 10, and in 2016, he was 21–4 vs Top 10.)

Cometh the hour, Cometh the man!!India vs England1st Test, RBS Cup, 11–15 December 2008MA Chidambaram Stadium, ChennaiIndia had just beaten England 5–0 in the 7-match ODI series. Then the 26/11 incident happened in Mumbai, which forced England to abandon the ODI series midway and return home due to safety concerns. The joy of this victory turned into sorrow as hundreds of lives were lost.The country was disturbed and was in agony. England rightly refused to comeback due to security issues as the second Test was originally scheduled in Mumbai. But after receiving assurances of sufficient security, they returned to play the Tests with the venue for the second Test changed to Mohali.The first Test was scheduled at Chepauk and it was an emotional game as the whole nation along with the players who were recovering from the tragedy that had occurred.England won the toss on a typical Chepauk pitch and decided to bat first. Andrew Strauss and Alaistair Cook put on a century partnership and played the bowlers well.Strauss then scored a fluent century and England ended up scoring 316 with fifties coming from Cook and Matt Prior.India got off to a shaky start and were reduced to 132–7. No top order batsmen made any significant contributions.However, MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh formed a decent partnership and India ended up scoring 241 courtesy a Dhoni fifty and conceded a 75-run lead.In England’s second innings, Andrew Strauss got his second century of the match and was well supported by Paul Collingwood. Both scored 108 runs. England reached 311/9 and had a lead of 386 runs at one stage.England were looking to stretch the lead past 400 but then the skipper Kevin Pietersen had other ideas. He made a bold declaration right after tea on Day 4 and India were set a target of 387 runs.Chasing 387 runs in the final innings is no joke as it had never been achieved in India before. With close to 3 and a half sessions left, most teams would have opted to play out a draw, however one man had different ideas about this chase. He was none other than Virender Sehwag who has never given a damn about the situations or conditions.We got to witness one of the brutal innings from Sehwag as he cut loose on English bowlers right from ball one. He ended up scoring 83 runs off just 68 balls studded with 11 fours and 4 sixes. This kind of assault left the English bowlers shell shocked.Gautam Gambhir was a perfect foil as his patient knock helped Sehwag play freely. India got off to a flier and ended the day on 117/1.Sehwag just laid the foundation for an improbable victory.India had to chase the remaining 256 runs on the final day. They got to the worst possible start as Dravid departed soon. Gambhir fell to James Anderson after his fifty. VVS Laxman held up one end but soon fell for 26.With 163 runs to go, fans wondered whether India would still go for the target or look to settle for a draw. This was a typical Day 5 surface where spinners were getting help and the bounce was variable.On the crease were Sachin Tendulkar who scored a fabulous century in that painful defeat at the same venue against Pakistan almost a decade ago and Yuvraj Singh, an ODI great with a not-so-successful Test career.The whole country was in agony. The game needed a revival. Divine intervention was needed to resurrect the spirits among the fans.India’s favorite son Sachin decided to take it upon himself for the umpteenth time and started the recovery process along with Yuvraj.He played patiently and slowly dismantled the bowlers all around the ground. He was ably supported by Yuvraj who scored 85 runs in quick time.With close to an hours play to go and 4 runs shy of victory, Sachin was batting on 99. Graeme Swann bowled outside off and Tendulkar paddle sweeped him for four.The 30000 people in the stadium and the whole of India were filled with joy as they witnessed Tendulkar’s 41st century in Test cricket and more importantly a historic victory for the nation. Yuvraj lifted Tendulkar in the air and England surrendered to the genius of Sachin.India won the match by 6 wickets. It still remains the highest ever chase in India and also the subcontinent. Although there were notable performances from Strauss and Sachin, it was Sehwag who won the man of the match for his game changing innings which instilled belief in the team.This victory also celebrated the spirit of Mumbai, who put the tragedy behind them quickly and moved on with their lives.Fin.EDIT: Quora has collapsed my answer for some stupid reason.I'm giving credits to Cricinfo for the images.Cricket Photos | Global | ESPNcricinfo.comEDIT 2: Thank you all for the upvotes. My first answer to receive 1k Upvotes. Thank you Vikas Chouhan and Sharath Sasidharan for the edit suggestions.

IPL has produced a lot of talents in many seasons, but many of them went forgotten totally due to variety of reasons, let's read about a few below:Swapnil AsnodkarSwapnil is a short opener for Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural IPL season 2008. It ended to be a successful stint for Swapnil as he was part of the prestigious inaugural title winner of IPL.Being an underrated team, Rajasthan Royals backed all forms of Raw talent, Swapnil was one such find and a prime reason on Royals winning the trophy in 2008.This batsman from Goa used to open with Graeme Smith for Royals and amassed 311 runs in 9 innings at an admirable average 34.55 and strike-rate 133.47.The following season of IPL in 2009 happened in South Africa where it was a big challenge for the local players like Swapnil to adapt to the South African conditions and started fading away.Due to the crisis and untold issues in Goa cricket, he couldn't keep up the shape of his form and soon became a memory of 2008 IPL.He surely is remebered a short little Carnage for the opponents.Shadab JakatiShadab Jakati is one other story of Goa players rising to fame and fading away in no time.Jakati was a part of 2 title winners for Chennai Super Kings(CSK), the left arm spinner made his debut for CSK and IPL in 2009 that happened in South Africa.It was so fortunate for Jakati to be a part of CSK lead by Dhoni who is very fond of Left arm spinners(Yuvraj, Ojha, Jadeja are the notable left arm spinners that Dhoni has made rise to fame as Left arm spinners).Jakati turned the ball in South Africa , bagged 4 wicket hauls in 4 of the matches he played in 2009 season of IPL.Between 2009 to 2012, Jakati grabbed 45 wickets for CSK registering him as one of the successful bowlers for CSK.He was later picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he did not live up to his reputation. He soon became a fade away in process. He retired from all forms of cricket in 2019 and he is also part of Politics now.Paul ValthattyThe Mumbai based right arm Allrounder was a part of India U19 in the year 2002. He rose to fame when he was part of Kings xi Punjab in the IPL 2011 where he scored a blitzkrieg 120 runs not out off 63 balls while chasing a 189 set by Chennai Super Kings. He also achieved remarkably with his bowling with a figure 4/29 in the following match and scored a superb 75 in the same match.Paul had always been in difficulty after he faced an eye injury on his Under 19 match against Bangladesh in world cup in the year 2002, he still made a comeback with IPL and achieved.He too soon faded away in the following seasons and he is now an employee of Air India where he plays for his employer.Siddharth TrivediSiddharth Trivedi is a fast bowler from Gujarat who represented the Rajasthan Royals from the Inaugural season of IPL till 2013 where he faced a ban when he failed to report on a match fixing approach.Though Siddharth couldn't name any fancy bowling performance except his figure 4/25, he went on playing 76 IPL matches and that too for one single team Royals for 5 long years with an economy of 7.5 runs an over which is not so bad in the context of T20 games.The match fixing saga after 2013 had affected him and his career where he was handed an one year ban for not reporting a Match fixing approach and his bowling curve in IPL never rose again since then.Siddharth now plays for Sourashtra team in Ranji.Pragyan OjhaHere is another tale of a left arm off spinner who was peak of his career during a span of time and gradually got forgotten. Pragyan Ojha from Orissa was instrumental for his team Deccan Chargers winning the title of IPL 2009 season as he bagged 18 wickets and stood 4th in the list of highest wicket takers of the season. Ojha climbed even higher the following year's IPL that he was crowned with purple cap of IPL 2010 bagging as many as 21 wickets totally with a decent economy of just over 7.And things fell apart then, though he became a regular spinner for Indian test side where he achieved career best test ranking of 5. 2013 marked his last appearance after which he seemed to have totally disappeared from international arena.He was later picked by Mumbai Indians and played 9 matches where he managed to pick 9 wickets. Although his bowling was decent in the following seasons, He failed to make the same influence and impact as he did for 3 years from 2009 to 2011 and gradually faded away.RP singhRudra Pratap Singh from Uttar Pradesh is a promising left arm quick who rose to heights in the beginning of T20 era.He was a match winner in India's successful t20 worldcup campaign in 2007 where he was the second leading wicket taker of the tournament bagging 12 wickets off 7 matches. He was known for his early movement with the ball and T20 tailored lengths.He was picked for Deccan Chargers in 2008 inaugural IPL, where he achieved limited success bagging 15 wickets from 14 matches.But what followed in the next season is gentle breeze turning to an unstoppable gale. He won the purple cap by piling up 23 wickets in 16 matches with a very decent economy of below 7, eventually making his team win the trophy in 2009 under the captaincy of Adam Gilchrist.The next season was a decent one for RP Singh where he took 13 wickets off 12 matches.In the following seasons, his wickets column dried up, however his economy always stayed in control well within 7.In 2012, he was picked by Mumbai Indians where he didn't live up to the expectations, his wickets column didn't climb much, but economy saw a climb from the previous seasons. To worsen his performance, he was changed sides to Royal Challengers Bengaluru and his economy went as high as above 8. RCB fans would not forget the big no ball he bowled at the last ball to Ravindra Jadeja who needed to score 1 run off the last ball to win the match (He was caught at third man in the last ball, but before that it was off a no ball that got CSK over the line)His curve never rose up ever again since then and he went unsold in the year 2017 auction!He retired from all forms of cricket in the year 2018, off late he is seen in commentary box often.IPL will bring out plenty of talents, but its upto the players and their situation to stay in same limelight forever!