diff --git a/spring-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/handler/AbstractHandlerMethodMapping.java b/spring-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/handler/AbstractHandlerMethodMapping.java
index 0fbfc988c1..9c94758a16 100644
--- a/spring-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/handler/AbstractHandlerMethodMapping.java
+++ b/spring-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/handler/AbstractHandlerMethodMapping.java
@@ -394,10 +394,11 @@ public abstract class AbstractHandlerMethodMapping<T> extends AbstractHandlerMap
 		}
 
 		if (!matches.isEmpty()) {
-			Comparator<Match> comparator = new MatchComparator(getMappingComparator(request));
-			matches.sort(comparator);
 			Match bestMatch = matches.get(0);
 			if (matches.size() > 1) {
+				Comparator<Match> comparator = new MatchComparator(getMappingComparator(request));
+				matches.sort(comparator);
+				bestMatch = matches.get(0);
 				if (logger.isTraceEnabled()) {
 					logger.trace(matches.size() + " matching mappings: " + matches);
 				}