Points won by each set: 174-178 | 49-50, 28-23, 27-36, 30-34, 40-35 |
Points won directly behind the serve:
38 % Rosset – 69 of 177 (34 unreturned)
18 % Arrese – 32 of 175 (29 unreturned)
In that 5-hour 3-minute final, Rosset struck 35 aces [15 (3 in TB), 1, 4, 6, 9] – over many years it was a clay-court record. The opener was quite peculiar given the wasted chances to break (especially on clay): the Swiss survived four games facing 7 break points in total (Arrese withstood 4 BPs in two games) before finally breaking in the first game of the 2nd set. About the 3rd set decided its middle section – Arrese held twice with the help of 4 deuces in each game, breaking Rosset between. There was 4-all in the 4th set when the Spaniard took two straight games. In the decider Rosset led 4:1* (deuce) – the only ‘deuce’ in that set before the last game of the match. Arrese levelled at 4-all, but Rosset put himself in front thrice with an abundance of unreturned serves. In the last game, Arrese led 40/15, but Rosset got to ‘deuce’ thanks to errors, and won the last two points with forehand winners. “A couple of times, I wanted to go to the locker room and have a couple of Cokes,” Rosset said, “but then, I knew if I did that, everybody would want to kill me. You can’t quit just because you are tired.” The 22-year-old Rosset was ranked 44 at the time, while the 28-year-old Arrese No. 30. Already reaching the semifinals meant a huge achievement for them both! Two years later they face each other in Nice, another clay-court thriller, this time 3 hours, and Rosset wins 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(6) trailing 1:6 in the tie-break!
Rosset’s (SUI) route to the Gold medal:
1 Karim Alami (MOR) 6-2, 4-6, 2-1 ret.
2 Wayne Ferreira (RSA) 6-4, 6-0, 6-2
3 Jim Courier (USA) 6-4, 6-2, 6-1
Q Emilio Sanchez (ESP) 6-4, 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(9)
S Goran Ivanisevic (CRO) 6-3, 7-5, 6-2
W Jordi Arrese (ESP) 7-6(2), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 8-6
Bronze medals for Andrey Cherkasov and Goran Ivanisevic, who as the only player in history, managed to win four consecutive five-setters… to guarantee a medal for himself; they both represented newly created nations: CIS – the short-living state between USSR and Russia, and Croatia respectively
Points won by each set: 174-178 | 49-50, 28-23, 27-36, 30-34, 40-35 |
Points won directly behind the serve:
38 % Rosset – 69 of 177 (34 unreturned)
18 % Arrese – 32 of 175 (29 unreturned)
In that 5-hour 3-minute final, Rosset struck 35 aces [15 (3 in TB), 1, 4, 6, 9] – over many years it was a clay-court record. The opener was quite peculiar given the wasted chances to break (especially on clay): the Swiss survived four games facing 7 break points in total (Arrese withstood 4 BPs in two games) before finally breaking in the first game of the 2nd set. About the 3rd set decided its middle section – Arrese held twice with the help of 4 deuces in each game, breaking Rosset between. There was 4-all in the 4th set when the Spaniard took two straight games. In the decider Rosset led 4:1* (deuce) – the only ‘deuce’ in that set before the last game of the match. Arrese levelled at 4-all, but Rosset put himself in front thrice with an abundance of unreturned serves. In the last game, Arrese led 40/15, but Rosset got to ‘deuce’ thanks to errors, and won the last two points with forehand winners. “A couple of times, I wanted to go to the locker room and have a couple of Cokes,” Rosset said, “but then, I knew if I did that, everybody would want to kill me. You can’t quit just because you are tired.” The 22-year-old Rosset was ranked 44 at the time, while the 28-year-old Arrese No. 30. Already reaching the semifinals meant a huge achievement for them both! Two years later they face each other in Nice, another clay-court thriller, this time 3 hours, and Rosset wins 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(6) trailing 1:6 in the tie-break!
Rosset’s (SUI) route to the Gold medal:
1 Karim Alami (MOR) 6-2, 4-6, 2-1 ret.
2 Wayne Ferreira (RSA) 6-4, 6-0, 6-2
3 Jim Courier (USA) 6-4, 6-2, 6-1
Q Emilio Sanchez (ESP) 6-4, 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(9)
S Goran Ivanisevic (CRO) 6-3, 7-5, 6-2
W Jordi Arrese (ESP) 7-6(2), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 8-6
Bronze medals for Andrey Cherkasov and Goran Ivanisevic, who as the only player in history, managed to win four consecutive five-setters… to guarantee a medal for himself; they both represented newly created nations: CIS – the short-living state between USSR and Russia, and Croatia respectively