Every so often tennis serves up something special, and yesterday was one such occasion.

The scoreboard itself makes for epic reading, 16th seed Gilles Müller taming the Spaniard in a dramatic 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13 (yes, 15-13) round of 16 match.

Even that doesn’t tell the full story though, Nadal surviving four match points until eventually succumbing after four hours and 47 minutes.

Before we get stuck into the best shots, a little on what made this such a treat to watch via the Guardian:

Müller dominated the first two sets, consistently keeping Nadal off balance with the quality of his serving, backed up by superb volleying…

It was not that the fourth seed was playing badly; it was more that Müller was doing everything right…

The fifth set was an epic. Serving first, Müller had the advantage and Nadal was constantly playing catch-up, having to call on all his mental strength to stay on level terms…

At 9-10, it looked like Müller might have missed his last chance when he failed to convert two more match points on the Nadal serve but eventually, the pressure told. After holding for 14-13, as the clock ticked past 8.30pm, Müller forced two more match points and on what was his fifth match point overall, he grabbed victory as Nadal sent his forehand long.

You’ll find longer highlights elsewhere, but for now let’s just a minute and a half to enjoy the match’s best shots:

Müller’s performance in the fifth set is all the more remarkable when you consider that all the momentum was with Rafa, having surged back from two sets down.

I guess this is good news for the likes of Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic (who plays later today) and Roger Federer.

Come on Roger!

[source:guardian]