Meaning & use
match point
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Meanings
nouncountablesport
The situation in tennis when a player needs only one more point to win the whole match.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a match point' or 'two match points'.
Patterns
- have match point
- save match point
- on match point
She was serving at match point and the whole crowd went silent.
He saved three match points before finally losing the set.
nouncountablesport
The final point that actually decides and ends the match.
Grammar: Countable; often used with 'win' or 'lose'.
Patterns
- win match point
- lose match point
He won match point with a powerful serve down the middle.
She lost match point after hitting the ball into the net.
Word forms
| plural | match points |
|---|
Common combinations
- have match point
- The champion had match point on her own serve.
- save match point
- He saved match point with an amazing backhand.
- be at match point
- The score was 40–30, so she was at match point.
- match point down
- He fought back from match point down to win.
Synonyms and how they differ
- championship point
- Use this for the point that wins a whole tournament, not just one match.
- game point
- This is one level lower: the point that wins a game, not the match.
Commonly confused: match point or game point? match point or set point?
match point vs game point
A game point wins one game; a match point wins the entire match.
match point vs set point
A set point wins one set; a match point wins the whole match.
Practice
In tennis, what does it mean when a player has match point?
Choose one answer.
Match point means one point away from winning the whole match. 'Game point' (option 0) is one level lower, and the match is not over yet, so option 2 is wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “match point”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.