Can 1 point really change the outcome of a 6 hour match? I believe so. It might sound crazy that one swing of the racket can determine the winner of a 5 set 6 hour match but I believe that was the case in the Australian Open Men's Final.
Rafa Nadal was up a break 30-15 serving in the 5th set when he had an easy open court backhand put away. He pulled the shot just wide making the score 30-30 as opposed to 40-15. Anyone that play tennis knows this is a big difference. Nadal ended up giving back the break and later losing the match to Djokovic. Although it may never be mentioned that one swing of the racket could have changed the outcome of what in my opinion was one of the most hard fought matches I have ever witnessed.
Remember Federer's drop shot at set point in the French Open Final last year? Roger's shot was out by 1 inch keeping Rafa in the 1st set. Roger lost that game and the most important 1st set to, as we know, lose in 4 sets.
It is hard to know what points change a match until you watch a match the second time knowing who already won. You will see that 1 point here or 1 point there will set a road to the outcome.
Moral of the story, play every point like match point and dig out every game you can because you never know which point will determine the winner.
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