1 Response to olymp04_massu_fish

1. Voo de Mar says:

   July 24, 2020 at 7:03 pm

   Points won by each set: | 36-29, 24-34, 19-28, 38-28, 36-30 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   25 % Massu – 40 of 155
   31 % Fish – 47 of 147

   Massu’s [14] triumph at the 2004 Olympic Games in the capital of Greece, it’s not only one of the most amazing tennis victories in the Open Era, it’s one of the most unbelievable efforts in the sport history! The 24-year-old man from Vina del Mar came to Athens not having won a title in doubles, and having lost eight straight singles matches on hardcourts (outdoors); nevertheless, he won the two most precious medals, even though Chile had not won any gold medal in its history before!!
   Massu’s two golds were a testament to his extraordinary endurance, as he played eleven matches within eight days spending 24 hours & 43 minutes on courts in total, participating in singles & doubles competitions! “The best two days of my life,” said Massu, who didn’t get to sleep until 6:30 a.m., 13 hours before his match against Fish began. “That’s it. It’s just amazing.” Massu along with Fernando Gonzalez, got a gold medal in doubles surviving a quadruple match point in the 4th set tie-break to finish the match at 2:45 a.m. Pundits & spectators expected he would be deadly tired facing the much more fresher Fish, but he shocked everyone employing a perfect tactics from the beginning – he began the final in very aggressive mode jumping to a 5:0* lead. The stunned Fish settled down being aware of Massu’s fatigue – the Chilean was struggling with cramps, yet conserved his energy in sets 2 & 3 to give his all in the final two sets, basically fighting for every point. Before the 4th set, the warrior from Chile took a toilet break which lasted six minutes. After the 2nd game of that set there was a two-minute break because Massu couldn’t believe that the chair-umpire Andreas Egli wrongly corrected a lines-woman, awarding an ace & game to Fish, instead of announcing ‘deuce’ due to a double fault of the American. The decisive break of the 5th set came at 2-all. At 5:4 (30-all) Fish missed two consecutive returns, and the 4-hour match was finished…

   (CHI) Massu’s route to the Gold medal:
   1 Gustavo Kuerten (BRA) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
   2 Vincent Spadea (USA) 7-6(3), 6-2
   3 Igor Andreev (RUS) 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4
   Q Carlos Moya (ESP) 6-2, 7-5
   S Taylor Dent (USA) 7-6(5), 6-1
   W Mardy Fish (USA) 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4

   
   

   From left: Fish, Massu and Gonzalez, who defeated Dent 6-4, 2-6, 16-14 in the Bronze medal match

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