1 Response to wb00sampras_voltchkov

1. Voo de Mar says:

   March 11, 2025 at 3:34 am

   Points won by each set: [ 37-34, 25-13, 36-26 ]
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   56 % Sampras – 43 of 76
   33 % Voltchkov – 32 of 95

   The 22-year-old Voltchkov [237] – arguably the most sensational Wimbledon semifinalist of the Open Era, the first qualifier in the Wimbly semis since 1977 (John McEnroe). The Belarusian was neither a powerful server nor a natural serve-and-volleyer, but he possessed a nice all-court style, creative game-plan and simply everything clicked for him during the fortnight – in another six years of his career he never played such a good tennis again… In his main-level event No. 11, en route to his lone Grand Slam match on a Centre Court, he unexpectedly ousted – inter alia – two distinctive players of the 90s: Cedric Pioline [6] & Wayne Ferreira [37], and displayed very good tennis in the opener. Nonetheless trailing *4:5 in the tie-break he made a backhand volley error from a position he could have probably won the point in 9 out of 10 attempts. He didn’t recover emotionally afterwards, lost his serve twice beginning the 2nd set, and after the 1-hour 39-minute encounter Sampras advanced to his seventh and last final at the All England Lawn tennis & Croquet Club. The American didn’t need to play at ‘deuce’ even once in 15 service games; between sets two and three he gained 17 straight points on serve.

   Log in to Reply