Early July signifies the arrival to tennis's oldest and most prestigious tournament. Since 1877, Wimbledon has been where new stars emerge and already-established stars cement their statuses as the game's bests. Along the way, hours upon hours of drama have unfolded, causing patrons at the All England Club and viewers all over the world to watch each stroke intently. Before you dig in to your annual helping of strawberries and cream, relive the some of the most unforgettable matches in the tournament's history (from the Open Era).

1. Rafael Nadal defeats Roger Federer, 2008 Final: When the almost five-hour battle was complete, John McEnroe declared it was the best match he had ever seen — of course, McEnroe took part in a few epic matches during his day — and thanked Federer for his spectacular effort. The match consisted of all the elements needed to make it a classic — two best tennis player of an era, one of whom may be the best of all time, and poor weather and delays that made a closely-fought match even more nerve-racking. After losing the first two sets, Federer played like a champion, rallying to force a fifth set. But Nadal, who had yet to win a Wimbledon title, refused to wilt under pressure. Despite losing two match points in the fourth-set tiebreaker, he regrouped to face only one break point in the fifth, ultimately unseating the five-time defending champion.
   
2. Bjorn Borg defeats John McEnroe, 1980 Final: As evidenced in the Nadal versus Federer matchup, it requires an unbreakable resilience to overcome a foe who simply refuses to lose. In this case, Borg, the 24-year-old four-time repeat Wimbledon champion, possessed it even though he lost a fourth-set tiebreak in which he had five match points. McEnroe, the underdog, produced great shot after great shot, winning the set 18-16 and forcing the fifth set. Borg prevailed in what would be his final appearance at Wimbledon, and McEnroe would return in 1981 to secure his first of three Wimbledon titles.
   
3. Anne Jones defeats Billie Jean King, 1969 Final: A top-10 player for much of her career, many casual fans of women's tennis tend to forget about Anne Jones. During an era in which Billie Jean King, Margaret Court and Maria Bueno provided fierce competition, she managed to win two French Open titles and even more memorable, a Wimbledon title. With the support of the home crowd at the All England Club, she shocked the heavily favored King — who defeated Jones in the final two years earlier — overcoming a first-set 3-6 loss to win the second and third sets 6-3, 6-2. It was just one of her eight Grand Slam championships.
4. Venus Williams defeats Lindsay Davenport, 2005 Final: Lasting just fewer than three hours, it was the longest women's final in Wimbledon history, and it certainly was worth the price of admission. In the tenth game of the final set, Davenport failed to convert on a match point as Venus made a clutch save. Venus's excellent forehand winners enabled her to secure the match and win her third of five Wimbledon titles. The No. 14 seed ended her more than two-year drought without a Grand Slam title and reentered the top ten in the world rankings.
   
5. Arthur Ashe defeats Jimmy Connors, 1975 Final: At 31 years of age, Ashe defied time and the establishment by becoming the first African American man to win the Wimbledon singles championship. Connors, almost 10 years younger than him and the favorite, fell behind after the first two sets, only to win the third set in an effort to swing the momentum. But Ashe needed only one match point on the day, and he made the most of it in the fourth set, defeating the man who sued him for libel earlier in the year after Ashe questioned his patriotism for not playing in the Davis Cup.
   
6. Pancho Gonzalez defeats Charlie Pasarell, 1969 First Round: More so than Ashe's victory, this one was a victory for aging folks everywhere. Gonzalez, winner of the 1948 and 1949 U.S. Opens, reached the fourth round despite being 41 years old. Most remarkable is that he was able to do it after winning a first-round match that lasted five hours and 12 minutes (two days) and 112 games. What's more, if Gonzalez hadn't thrown the second set due to a tantrum, the match would've lasted even longer. The 25-year-old Pasarell was up 40-0 twice in the final set, but Gonzalez, who entered the second day down two sets, persevered and won. None other than Ashe would be the one to end his run.
7. Goran Ivanisevic defeats Patrick Rafter, 2001 Final: Played on a Monday due to inclement weather, this final featured a couple of oddities. Ivanisevic was the 125th-ranked player in the world and was given a wild card entry because he had three times reached the final before. Almost 30 years old, his career was seemingly set in stone — he was the guy who just couldn't win the big one. As it turned out, he had plenty of good tennis left in him, as his improbable run included defeats of Andy Roddick, Marat Saffin and Carlos Moya. His match versus Rafter lasted three hours, a large portion of which came in the longest fifth set in the history of the men's final at Wimbledon. Ivanisevic's service winner ended the marathon, making him the lowest-ranked player and only wild card to win the title.
   
8. Roger Federer defeats Pete Sampras, 2001 Fourth Round: Then only a teen, Federer had yet to experience the success achieved by Sampras, winner of 31 consecutive Wimbledon matches and defending Wimbledon champ. In a closely-contested fourth-round match, the 19-year-old Federer survived a thriller that included a fourth set in which a reenergized Sampras fired one serve at 136 mph. One player who appeared invincible gave way to another who, for a period of time, became invincible. Federer would capture his first Wimbledon title two years later, and earn the praise of Sampras, who, in 2009, called him the "greatest ever."
   
9. Martina Navratilova defeats Chris Evert, 1978 Final: It was the first of five Wimbledon match-ups for the two tennis greatest, kicking off one of sports' must-see rivalries. Navratilova's overpowering serve gave her the advantage in the match, but Evert rallied as she played some her best tennis, forcing the match into a third set. Down 4-5 in the final set, Navratilova proceeded to win seven straight points followed by five straight points, dropping only one in between. It was her first of a record nine Wimbledon singles titles and 18 Grand Slam titles.
10. Andre Agassi defeats Goran Ivanisevic, 1992 Final: Much like his countryman McEnroe, Agassi's attitude didn't mesh well with the stuffy atmosphere at the All England Club. Stuck in a slump that caused his ranking to fall to 17, the flashy star's substance was questioned by tennis fans in England, America and beyond. In a run that caught his critics by surprise, he captured his first Grand Slam title by defeating an aged Borg and an aged McEnroe before outlasting Ivanisevic in a five-set affair. The talented baseliner overcame a 1-6 fourth set defeat to win the fifth 6-4. It would be his only Wimbledon championship.