1 Response to gstaad94bruguera_forget

1. Voo de Mar says:

   December 11, 2024 at 8:38 am

   Points won by each set: | 22-27, 43-42, 28-20, 32-19 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   20 % Bruguera – 22 of 108
   26 % Forget – 33 of 125

   It’s surreal for a player to think about jumping over 1,000 places in the ATP rankings thanks to just two events, but Forget achieved this remarkable feat in 1994. The 29 y.o. French veteran, former No. 4, had been sidelined for nearly a year due to a right knee injury and lost his first three matches after his comeback. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he rediscovered his peak form from 1991, advancing to the Wimbledon quarterfinals and the Gstaad final. Remarkably, he achieved these results on vastly different surfaces, grass and clay, having gained entry to both tournaments as a ‘wild card’. Forget’s ranking soared dramatically in just three weeks: from 1130 to 213 thanks to Wimbledon, and then to 116 following Gstaad. On his path to the Gstaad final, he defeated four Top 40 players. Against Bruguera, the reigning two-time French Open champion, Forget played exceptional tennis for a set and a half. He had break points at 2:1 and 3:2 in the 2nd set, using a clever mix of topspin and slices to outplay Bruguera from the baseline. The Spaniard, known for his patient style, grew visibly frustrated during this period being on the verge of getting a penalty point. However, the physically demanding 2nd set took a toll on Forget, and his level dipped in the 3rd. Switching to a serve-and-volley strategy, he was broken early, allowing Bruguera [4] to dominate the rest of their only encounter, winning 9 of the final 10 games to claim victory after 2 hours and 43 minutes. “He was playing unbelievable tennis in the first two sets” Bruguera admitted.
   Interestingly, Gstaad in the 1990s was the fastest clay-court event on the ATP Tour due to its high altitude (1,050 meters), which accentuates the “trampoline effect” making balls bounce higher and faster. Despite being a patient baseliner, Bruguera thrived there, winning the title three consecutive times (1992, 1993 – both finals in Bo3, and 1994 – in Bo5), reaching the semifinals in 1995. Two factors likely contributed to his success in that Swiss town: his deep court positioning (3-4 meters behind the baseline) gave him more time to adjust to the altitude-induced bounces, and his heavy topspin strokes produced high, difficult-to-handle balls for opponents operating closer to the baseline. Following Forget’s footsteps, two other veterans with offensive attitude advanced to the Gstaad finals in the 90s (Hlasek in 1995, and Becker in 1998).

   Bruguera’s route to his 13th title:
   1 Patrick Rafter 6-4, 6-2
   2 Alex Corretja 7-5, 6-0
   Q Emilio Sanchez 6-3, 6-0
   S Andrea Gaudenzi 6-4, 6-1
   W Guy Forget 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1

   Serve & volley: Bruguera 0, Forget 9/13
   

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