1 Response to munich91wheaton_chang

1. Voo de Mar says:

   January 18, 2021 at 2:48 am

   Points won by each set: | 49-47, 39-28, 41-37 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   37 % Wheaton – 46 of 123
   22 % Chang – 27 of 118

   A 2-million dollar final, and what’s untypical in terms of duration, Wheaton [17] wins back-to-back three-setters after three hours each. Long games it was the key to his success: in the 1st set he held his first two games after 6 deuces each (saved 2 & 6 break points respectively), in the 2nd set he broke for the second time after 6 deuces, in the 3rd set he broke twice after 2-deuce games and won a game on serve to lead 3:1 after 4 deuces. Chang [15] was fighting like always, he trailed 1:4* in 3rd, then had a double break point to level at 4 games apiece, saved a double match point at 3:5, but in the 10th game the 22-year-old Wheaton didn’t choke, very convincingly winning the game with an ace on his third match point. Wheaton, who had $960,000 in career earnings, doubled his official prize money. “I’ve been through the Michael Chang comeback syndrome,” he said referring to their exhibition ’90 match. “At a tournament in Hong Kong I was up, 5:0, and lost, 6-7, 1-6. I hope the money won’t change me. I’ve been brought up with a certain set of values and ethics. I don’t think I’m going to change. I’m not a materialistic person.”
   It changed him though… At the time he belonged to a new wave of ~1.95m powerful serve-and-volleyers with Stich, Ivanisevic & Krajicek, but in the hindsight he cannot be mentioned in the same sentence with them given the achievements. He began the 1992 season in a good style reaching the Sydney semifinal and the fourth round at the Australian Open (won three matches in each event) – it gave him no. 12 in the world (could have been inside the Top 10 if the Grand Slam Cup had been awarded with ATP points). The rest of the season was very disappointing, his best results came in Cincinnati and Paris (quarterfinals). He finished the year inside the Top 50 and stayed there until 1996 when an injury dragged him down outside the Top 100.

   Wheaton’s route to his 2nd title:
   1 Paul Haarhuis 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
   Q Todd Woodbridge 6-4, 7-6(6)
   S Michael Stich 7-6(6), 7-6(6), 7-6(3)
   W Michael Chang 7-5, 6-2, 6-4

   Reversal luck for Wheaton: two years earlier he had lost ‘6-7’ five consecutive sets, in Munich he won four consecutive sets ‘7-6’ (being 1 point away from losing three of them), then a very long ‘7-5’ set, but he wasn’t close to lose it (six points away), already serving at 5:4

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