Bjorn Borg v John McEnroe, Final 1980

Widely regarded as the greatest final in Wimbledon history, Borg's 1980 victory over McEnroe is remembered as much for the high standard of tennis as for what became known as 'that tie-breaker', lasting 20 minutes and 34 points to settle the fourth set in McEnroe's favour and send the final into a deciding set. Borg took the match, and his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, 1-6 7-5 6-3 6-7 8-6. The Swede was cast as hero to McEnroe's villain - 'SuperBrat' had been booed onto court after several angry outbursts in his semi-final win over Jimmy Connors.

Jimmy Connors v Mikhail Pernfors, Round 4 1987

Surely the greatest fightback from one of the tournament's greatest ever fighters. At 34, Connors' better days were behind him, but five years on from his last Wimbledon title he thrilled the All England Club again with a stunning turnaround. Having found himself 1-6 1-6 1-4 down against Pernfors, he somehow found a way back into the match. The veteran American, a decade older than Sweden's Pernfors, even lost the first three games of the fourth set but redoubled his efforts to win 1-6 1-6 7-5 6-4 6-2. Connors went on to lose to eventual champion Pat Cash in the semi-finals, while Pernfors, a French Open runner-up in 1986, would continue to bolster his reputation as supporting actor, being the fortunate man to benefit when John McEnroe became the first player to be disqualified under a new code of conduct at the 1990 Australian Open.

Goran Ivanisevic v Pat Rafter, Final 2001

Three-times a beaten finalist, crowd favourite Ivanisevic was handed a wildcard for one last tilt at SW19 as he neared the end of his career. What should have been nothing more than an emotional farewell after a string of poor results and a troublesome shoulder injury, became the most incredible swansong as the Croatian beat Rafter in a thrilling five-setter, after poor weather had taken the tournament into an extra day. The celebrations on centre court were perhaps the wildest ever seen as a crowd 13,000 heralded the 'Wildcard Winner'. Ivanisevic later revealed that he had made time to watch the Teletubbies despite the early start to the final. "No, no, I watch it this morning. Can't miss it. Five minutes this morning, and everything was under control," he said.

Martina Navratilova v Chris Evert, Final 1978

Chris Evert, a two-time Wimbledon champion, was reaching her peak and was number one in the world, but in 1978 she lost a thrilling final to Martina Navratilova and with it her top ranking. Evert played some sublime tennis to control the first set, but once Navratilova settled she was able to fight her way back into the match. Still, a topsy-turvy final saw Evert win the first four games of the deciding set before her Czech-born opponent and close friend hit back once more to win 2-6 6-4 7-5. It was the start of a remarkable Grand Slam rivalry, as Navratilova went on to beat Evert in 10 major finals, including five at Wimbledon where she won nine times, the last in 1990.

Jimmy Connors v John McEnroe, Final 1982

Not a classic in the same fashion as Borg v McEnroe, this was nevertheless an enthralling contest between the sport's most captivating characters. McEnroe was the defending champion, having ended Borg's stranglehold on the event a year earlier, but he would be knocked off his perch at the end of the longest final in Wimbledon history as Connors won 3-6 6-3 6-7 7-6 6-4. Connors won the fourth of his five US Open titles two months later, but when he met up with McEnroe once more in the Wimbledon final of 1984 he was routed, 6-1 6-1 6-2.

Barry Cowan v Pete Sampras, Round 2 2001

Ranked 265th in the world, Barry Cowan warmed up for Wimbledon in 2001 with first-round defeats in Edinburgh, Surbiton and Manchester. A first-round victory over Mark Hilton earned him a clash with seven-time champion Pete Sampras. Cowan had reached a career-high of 162 in the world a year earlier and was fading fast, Sampras had lost only one match in eight years at the All England Club - a drubbing in the making? Not a bit of it. Everything began according to plan for the American master, who took the first two sets with ease. But Cowan, who shut out the crowd noise and the tension of the occasion by listening to his personal stereo at each changeover, played the two best sets of his life to force a decider, before succumbing to a remarkable 6-3 6-2 6-7 5-7 6-3 defeat. Tired of the relentless travelling and playing in empty arenas, Cowan quit after one more visit to Wimbledon in 2002, when he reached round two again.

Bjorn Borg v Vitas Gerulaitis, Semi-final 1977

Bjorn Borg won his first Wimbledon title in 1976 without dropping a set, but a year later he played and won three five-setters, including the final against Jimmy Connors. The pick was the semi-final against his good friend and practice partner Vitas Gerulaitis. The American fought back from a set down twice and then earned the first match point in the deciding set. However, Borg saved it and went on to edge the match 6-4 3-6 6-3 3-6 8-6. Borg holds the Open-era record of five consecutive titles, but Gerulaitis came so close to stopping that run in its tracks.

Pancho Gonzales v Charlie Pasarell, Round 1 1969

In one of the finest - and longest - matches ever played 41-year-old Pancho Gonzales saw off Charlie Pasarell in an incredible five hours and 12 minutes, played over two days. Gonzales was coming towards the end of an outstanding career, but he retained his famous tenacity and it saw him through an arduous contest, which featured Wimbledon's longest set, the opener spanning 46 games. Gonzales lost it, and was then easily beaten in the second, but he won a 30-game third set, took the fourth to level the match and then saved seven match points in the fifth before claiming a 22-24 1-6 16-14 6-3 11-9 success. Wimbledon has never seen anything like it since - tie-breaks were hastily introduced to see to that.

Margaret Court v Billie-Jean King, Final 1970

The last women's final before the introduction of tie-breaks proved to be one of the longest and most dramatic. Court's 14-12 11-9 victory in two hours and 28 minutes was the longest final in terms of the number of games, in a match which brought together two of the greats of the women's game. For Court, who won on her sixth match point in a thrilling 20th game of the second set, it was the third leg of a Grand Slam. Four times the Australian had her serve broken in the first set, while King saved five match points in the second in an epic struggle. Between them, Court and King won an incredible 111 Grand Slam titles (Court 62, King 49).

Andre Agassi v Goran Ivanisevic, Final 1992

Baseliners are not supposed to win Wimbledon and Andre Agassi was so convinced of this received wisdom that he didn't even turn up for three years after a crushing defeat to Henri Leconte in 1987 (that and his refusal to bow to the All England Club's traditional values). He tried his luck again in 1991 and reached the last eight, before a stunning run the following year saw him account for former champions John McEnroe and Boris Becker. Then in a thrilling final of contrasting styles, he got the better of the big-serving Croat Goran Ivanisevic, despite losing the first set and then being taking apart in the fourth. Ivanisevic returned to win nine years later - 12 months before Lleyton Hewitt became the next baseliner to take the title.