1 Response to kb93sampras_washington

1. Voo de Mar says:

   March 17, 2023 at 10:56 pm

   Points won by each set: [ 36-25, 30-21 ]
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   32 % Sampras – 21 of 64
   18 % Washington – 9 of 48

   Untypical stuff: a player who lost relatively quick match, created break point opportunities in more games than the winner. Sampras [2] played the entire final with a wrapped left ankle: “To play with pain is not any fun. Fortunately, I was able to play through it, and I played OK. Sometimes you might suck it up and say, ‘I have to win this point so I don’t have to play another point and can change sides and rest’. I didn’t want to get into a lot of long rallies.” The 21-year-old Sampras was on his way to become the best player in the world, while Washington [18] reached his first out of three big finals (another two: Essen ’95 & Wimbledon ’96). In Miami he took advantage of a beneficial draw – before the final he didn’t face a Top 20 player, barely escaping an almost three-hour semifinal against Marcos Ondruska (his biggest result) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6; concluded at 10:23 p.m. in front of less than 200 fans (in the 2nd set the match was suspended for 90 minutes and many spectators left the stadium). Washington trailed 2:5* in the 3rd set & 4:5* in the deciding tie-break. He will also erase a double break disadvantage in a 5th set of his Wimbledon semifinal ’96.

   Sampras’ route to his 15th title:
   2 Todd Martin 6-3, 6-4
   3 Jeff Tarango 7-6(4), 6-3
   4 Andrei Medvedev 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2
   Q Richard Krajicek 6-3, 7-6(7)
   S Petr Korda 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
   W MaliVai Washington 6-3, 6-2

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