1 Response to cincy98rafter_kafelnikov

1. Voo de Mar says:

   August 20, 2020 at 3:06 pm

   Points won by each set: | 39-32, 24-5 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   40 % Rafter – 19 of 47
   22 % Kafelnikov – 12 of 53

   Prior to that match, Kafelnikov [10] had won seven consecutive sets against Rafter [3] and led 5:4* (15/0) when the Australian took nine games in a row. The 2nd set was probably the worst in the career of the Russian, who won just five points (Rafter didn’t make a so-called ‘unforced error’)! # After their semifinal they had won the next two majors (Rafter – US Open ’98, Kafelnikov – Aussie Open ’99) & both advanced to No. 1 in the world of 1999; as fomer nos.1 they met again on the centre court in Cincinnati, leaving it with a similar scoreline.

   # Comparison of their two Cincy semifinals:
   1998: Rafter d. Kafelnikov 7-5, 6-0… 64 minutes… Total points: 63-37
   1999: Rafter d. Kafelnikov 6-4, 6-2… 55 minutes… Total points: 59-37

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