My latest article at The Economist’s Game Theory blog delves into one way in which the Wimbledon men’s championship match was the most exciting major final of the last four decades:
Sunday’s final registered an [Excitement Index] of 7.5%. Not only was that the highest of the tournament, but it tops every men’s grand-slam final of the last four decades (see chart). (A handful of women’s finals, which are best of three sets, score higher, because the high-leverage deciding set accounts for a larger fraction of the match.) The Wimbledon decider in 1980 between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg—thrilling enough to spawn films and re-enactments—is next, at 7%. Another clash often dubbed the most thrilling of all time, the Wimbledon final in 2008 between Mr Federer and Mr Nadal, ranks third, at 6.9%.