match point

noun

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of match point

: a situation (as in tennis) in which one player or side will win the match by winning the next point; also : the point itself

See match point defined for English-language learners

Examples of match point in a Sentence

He won with an ace on his second match point.
He won with an ace on match point.

Recent Examples of match point from the Web

The third set stayed on serve until the ninth game, when Federer broke for 5-4 and then had three match points.

— helene elliott, latimes.com, "Comeback complete, Juan Martin del Potro finishes Roger Federer for Indian Wells title," 19 Mar. 2018
Del Potro saved three match points in the deciding set in Indian Wells as the Swiss great failed to serve out for his 18th consecutive win at the start of 2018.

— matias grez, CNN, "Roger Federer loses to Juan Martin del Potro in Indian Wells final," 19 Mar. 2018
With four matches to go, Baden-Baden and Solingen are all tied in match points, but Baden-Baden has a 1.5 game point lead.

— chris chase, BostonGlobe.com, "Chess notes," 18 Mar. 2018
Serena was assessed a point penalty which ended the match (the foot fault had brought on match point for Clijsters) and started a wave of controversy for which Serena has still never taken full responsibility.

— chris chase, For The Win, "The 15 moments that have defined Serena Williams' career (so far)," 9 Mar. 2018
Halep saved three match points while serving in the 22nd game of the third set at 0-40, and Davis saved five break points in the next game to keep the contest alive.

— seattle times staff, The Seattle Times, "Top-ranked Simona Halep wins 3-hour, 45-minute match at Australian Open," 19 Jan. 2018
Chung needed 10 match points to finish off his fourth-round match against Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas on Wednesday but finally closed out a 6-1, 6-3 victory.

— helene elliott, latimes.com, "Chung earns another shot at Federer," 15 Mar. 2018
She eventually was defeated in a wild, 23-minute, 12-deuce, 30-point game in which Razzanno had seven match points before finally capitalizing on No.

— chris chase, For The Win, "The 15 moments that have defined Serena Williams' career (so far)," 9 Mar. 2018
After breaking Dimitrov's serve in the ninth game of the fourth set, Edmund set up match point with an ace.

— john pye, Houston Chronicle, "Injured Rafael Nadal out of Australian Open; Marin Cilic into semifinals," 23 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'match point.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of match point

1921

MATCH POINT Defined for English Language Learners

match point

noun

Definition of match point for English Language Learners

: a situation in tennis in which one player or team can win the match by winning the next point
: the final point that must be won to win a match in tennis