wb91wheaton_agassi

Points won by each set: [ 27-15, 15-29, 22-30, 44-40, 25-17 ]
Points won directly behind the serve:
40 % Wheaton – 54 of 132
21 % Agassi – 29 of 132

Even though the 21-year-old Agassi was ranked higher [5 vs. 20] and more experienced at majors than his one year older friend from the Bolletieri Academy, Wheaton was a slight favorite as a more natural grass-court player, who’d just reached the final at Queens Club, having a positive 2:1 H2H record vs. Agassi, who was playing just his first grass-court event in four years. The Centre Court match had a bizarre lopsided progress. Agassi played the first set poorly, but in the next three sets the quality of his game as a receiver (returns, passing-shots & lobs) was simply outstanding. Wheaton belonged to the best servers at the time, yet he was broken almost 6 times in 11 games! After two consecutive double faults Wheaton trailed *2:4, 0/40 in the 4th set, and then a miracle happened – he delivered 2 aces, then 3 service winners in a row to hold, and broke back in the following game. Nonetheless, Agassi broke again to put himself two points away from his sensational semifinal at 6:5 (30/15) – committed a double fault. The win 7/3 in the tie-break, pumped up the older American, whose serve in the decider was immaculate and it gave him the margin to play more risky shots from his weaker forehand side, which worked perfectly in crucial moments allowing to break Agassi twice quite easily in games 1 & 5. Wheaton finished the 2-hour 42-minute contest with a firm backhand volley. It’s definitely his biggest Grand Slam victory.

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