1 Response to rg97rafter_blanco

1. Voo de Mar says:

   May 26, 2024 at 1:08 pm

   Points won by each set: | 27-17, 47-43, 35-27 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   48 % Rafter – 42 of 86
   25 % Blanco – 28 of 110

   Above all it was Rafter’s amazing service performance! He took full advantage of Blanco’s height (just 170 cm) with his kick-serves and basically turned clay into a hard-court. Admittedly the Spaniard [111] led 4:2 on serve in the 2nd serve, but Rafter [25] failed to convert break points in as many as four Blanco’s service games in that set… It was an extraordinary edition of the French Open as 6 out of 8 quarter-finalists were unexpected; the 21-year-old Blanco the most among them because in the first five months of the ’97 season he managed to win just 1 match (losing six) so he was quite lucky that he entered the event without playing in the qualies. For the reminding seven years ofg his career, Blanco was unable to play a quarterfinal in any other big event, however, at Slams he defeated Rafter (US Open ’00) and Sampras (French Open ’01).

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