Agassi won five events in 1994; here are his first two titles of ’94 (February & July) obtained in the finals against stylish players, after almost carbon-copy matches in terms of the scoreline & duration (79 & 80 minutes respectively).

Agassi’s [32] first tournament after five-month injury break (right wrist surgery) & the American played it actually using 2nd serve as the 1st one to protect his wrist (more than 90% 1st serve efficiency in two matches before the final!) – despite that he triumphed in impressive style spending on Centre Court barely 65-minute average per match. The 31-year-old Mattar [78] had played nine finals on his home soil when he finally reached a final outside Brazil. He led 4:2* (30/15) in the 1st set vs Agassi when dropped four straight games… Mattar shortly afterwards played another final in the United States, this time winning at Coral Springs & retired in 1995. Agassi & Mattar met twice & both encounters occurred in finals – Agassi won his first title in Itaprica ’87 defeating Mattar 7-6(6), 6-2.

Points won directly behind the serve:
15 % Agassi – 9 of 59
37 % Mattar – 20 of 53

Agassi’s route to the title in Scottsdale:
1 Mark Keil 6-1, 6-2
2 Libor Nemecek 6-4, 6-3
Q Brad Gilbert 6-1, 6-2
S Karsten Braasch 6-1, 6-4
W Luiz Mattar 6-4, 6-3

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The 24-year-old Stoltenberg [33] enjoyed the best period of his tennis life in Summer ’94. Within four consecutive weeks he won 16 out of 20 matches & jumped from No. 47 to 19 becoming the highest ranked Australian at the time. He played 13 finals in his career overall & the Canadian Open is the biggest one among them – it was the second hardcourt tournament for him during that sensational Summer ’94. “Going out there, I really felt Jason was going to really come at me and put a lot of pressure on me and try getting to the net,” Agassi, 24, said after collecting his $245.000 winner’s check. “More than anything, I was trying to get him to hit a lot of balls.”

Points won directly behind the serve:
18 % Agassi – 11 of 60
29 % Stoltenberg – 22 of 74

Agassi’s route to the title in Toronto:
2 Jakob Hlasek 6-1, 6-1
3 David Wheaton 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(7) – 2 m.p.
Q Sergi Bruguera 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-1
S Wayne Ferreira 6-4, 7-5
W Jason Stoltenberg 6-4, 6-4

It’s one of the most important tournaments in Agassi’s [20] career in terms of changing the mental attitude. The American had been known over the years as a front-runner, he was rarely able to win matches being within a few points from defeat in straight sets or in deciding sets. Saving two match points vs Wheaton (return winner & ace) meant not only his first MP-down win in 131st tournament, but also the first one in the deciding 3rd set tie-break! On the following day Agassi saved two mini-match points against the reigning French Open champion Bruguera escaping from a straight-set defeat within five points. Those two complicated matches strengthened Agassi’s mentality for the rest of his very long career…