• Liverpool and Ruiz prevail, Stokes battles Djokovic – the 21st century’s greatest sporting days

    It is 12 months since Andy Ruiz capped an epic 24 hours of sport with a stunning win. We look at other examples of action-packed days.
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    Elite sport is gradually returning to our screens amid the coronavirus pandemic.

    Germany’s Bundesliga, the UFC and the NRL were among the first top-level events to forge a route back last month after pausing due to the global crisis.

    A clutch of Europe’s other top football leagues, cricket, motorsport and the United States’ major competitions all have designs on behind-closed-doors resumptions in the near future, too, which could create a significant backlog of crucial fixtures.

    One positive is that sports fans might now be treated to a number of colossal match-ups back-to-back on the same day at some point over the coming months.

    That prospect gives us the opportunity to reflect on five similar occasions with the greatest sporting days since the turn of the century – including one exactly a year ago.

     

    JULY 23, 2000

    The US had a day to remember as two of their most prominent stars bolstered their still burgeoning reputations with big victories on foreign soil.

    The paths of Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong have subsequently diverged a little, however.

    Woods became the youngest player to complete golf’s career grand slam with a record-breaking victory at The Open in 2000, while Armstrong wrapped up a second straight Tour de France title.

    The American duo stood at the top of the world, yet history will recall Armstrong’s achievements rather differently now he has been stripped of each of his seven successive yellow jerseys for doping.

    Woods at least maintained his high standards and held all four major titles after the 2001 Masters, winning again at Augusta as recently as last year.

    FEBRUARY 1, 2004

    Two more sporting greats shared the same special page in the calendar early in 2004.

    It was a long day for anyone who took in both Roger Federer’s performance in Melbourne’s Australian Open final and Tom Brady’s Super Bowl display in Houston, but they were duly rewarded.

    Twenty-time grand slam champion Federer had won just one major before facing down Marat Safin in Australia, also becoming the ATP Tour’s top-ranked player for the first time. He stayed at number one for a record-shattering 237 weeks.

    Brady similarly then doubled his tally of Super Bowl rings by delivering a second triumph in three years for the Patriots, in what was a classic encounter against the Carolina Panthers.

    Brady threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns, before Adam Vinatieri’s field goal secured a 32-29 win with four seconds remaining.

    AUGUST 4-5, 2012

    One would struggle to find a greater array of star-studded athletes of various sports than those who congregated in London across the penultimate weekend of the 2012 Olympic Games.

    On the Saturday evening, at the Aquatics Centre, swimming prepared to say goodbye to its greatest name. Michael Phelps and the United States won the 4x100m medley, clinching his 18th gold medal in what appeared set to be his final race.

    Indeed, Phelps confirmed his retirement following the Games, only to return in predictably dominant fashion in 2016.

    Across the city that same night, Team GB athletes were capping a stunning run of medals that would see the day dubbed “Super Saturday”. There were six home golds in all, including big wins for Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah in quick succession.

    The drama only continued the next day, too, as Andy Murray finally sealed a Wimbledon win over Federer in the tennis event, while Usain Bolt lit up London Stadium in the 100m.

    JUNE 1, 2019

    It is 12 months to the day since another epic sporting stretch, one that concluded in stunning fashion with one of boxing’s great modern upsets.

    Rugby union and football each had their respective turns in the spotlight earlier, with Saracens following up their European Champions Cup success – a third in four years – by retaining the Premiership title with victory over Exeter Chiefs.

    In Madrid, two more English teams were in action as Liverpool edged past Tottenham in the Champions League final.

    But as Sarries and the Reds celebrated, focus turned towards Madison Square Garden where Anthony Joshua was expected to make light work of Andy Ruiz Jr, a replacement for Jarrell Miller following a failed drugs test.

    The heavyweight title match did not go to script, however, as Ruiz floored Joshua four times and forced a stoppage to claim his belts, albeit only until the rematch where the Briton saved face.

    JULY 14, 2019

    These crazy spectacles have largely seen sport spread throughout the day, but three sets of eyes were required to keep up with the action on an epic afternoon last July.

    With England hosting and then reaching the Cricket World Cup final, the scene-stealing decider fell on the same day as the Wimbledon men’s final and the British Grand Prix, ensuring the United Kingdom was the focus of the sporting world.

    The cricket started off several hours before either the tennis or the F1 but still managed to outlast its rival events, with Ben Stokes determined to put on a show as England won via a dramatic Super Over at the end of a nine-hour saga against New Zealand.

    Novak Djokovic was battling Stokes for attention as he was taken all the way by that man Federer at the All England Club before finally prevailing 7-6 (7-5) 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 13-12 (7-3) in the tournament’s longest singles final.

    The respective classics made the British GP, completed earlier in the day, something of an afterthought – but not for Lewis Hamilton, who claimed a record sixth victory.

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