1 Response to vienna95dewulf_muster

1. Voo de Mar says:

   September 19, 2022 at 8:42 pm

   Points won by each set: | 33-34, 26-18, 20-33, 35-36 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   24 % Dewulf – 30 of 123
   32 % Muster – 36 of 112

   In retrospect, Muster’s most bitter final loss. He was on the top of the world in 1995 claiming more titles than anyone else. He triumphed in Kitzbuhel ’93 and St. Poelten ’95, so he needed another title in Austria to have notched a triplet in his home country. Vienna, a more prestigious event than the two mentioned, couldn’t be conquered again – similarly to the years 1988 and 1993, Muster lost the final in four sets, but contrary to those finals, in 1995 he was a clear favorite. The problem was that he faced the obscure Belgian a few months before in 1R of St. Polten and survived saving three match points, so Dewulf [119] had no fear facing the best Austrian of the 90s on his less favorable surface. Muster was a much better player early on, he led 5:4* (30/0) having won three games at ‘love’, yet the underdog somehow stole the set and established his dominance in baseline rallies in the following set. Muster increased the speed of his serve in set no. 3 and it seemed he would win that final in a similar style to the Monte Carlo ’95 final. He was again a better player visually in a tight set winning three games at ‘love’, but at 5-all he wasted a mini set point netting Dewulf’s modest first serve. The year 1995 was very special in the Open Era given Muster’s comebacks, no other top player before or after had won so many matches on verge of defeat. That time Muster didn’t deliver his magic though, he led 30/0 in game no. 12 when two double faults and two baseline errors finished his dream of a title in the Austrian capital.

   Dewulf’s route to his maiden title:
   [ Stadling 4-6 6-3 6-4; Koubek 6-3 6-1; Buchmayer 3-6 6-1 6-4 ]
   1 David Wheaton 6-2, 6-3
   2 Gilbert Schaller 6-3, 6-4
   Q Oleg Ogorodov 6-3, 6-1
   S Jonas Bjorkman 7-6(5), 6-3
   W Thomas Muster 7-5, 6-2, 1-6, 7-5

   Serve & volley: Dewulf 0, Muster 1/2

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