1 Response to antwerp96stich_ivanisevic

1. Voo de Mar says:

   May 18, 2024 at 3:19 pm

   Points won by each set: | 29-19, 24-13, 35-35 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   39 % Stich – 31 of 79
   44 % Ivanisevic – 34 of 76

   When Stich terribly twisted his left ankle (torn ligament) in Vienna ’95 (October), the first diagnosis was that he would be sidelined for six months. The German not only returned to the tour just two months later, he played brilliant tennis in Belgium, already in his second tournament after the comeback, particularly in the last three matches as he faced top players; a reminiscent of some tournaments of the years 1991 and 1993, when he had an aura of the best player in the world on faster surfaces, given just pure technique of five basic tennis strokes (serve, forehand, backhand, volley, overhead) plus ability to deal well with tense situations. Ivanisevic [9] was in the best form of his life at the time (14-match winning streak), yet he was helpless in the first two sets, broken four times, almost five as he erased a 15/40 deficit at 1-all in the 3rd set. In the tie-break he led 5:4, but Stich [13] served an ace, hit a high-forehand volley, and on the first match point his aggressive backhand caused Ivanisevic’s volley error. The perfect week proved to be costly for Stich. He withdrew from his another tournament in the second round (Milan), and missed another three months, so ultimately the diagnosis about six months was correct… Stich and Ivanisevic met seven times, the Croat won the first two encounters, the German another five, and what’s quite intriguing, he collected six straight tie-breaks even though Ivanisevic was generally playing them very well, especially indoors, so in the conditions where all those tie-breaks occurred.

   Stich’s route to his 18th and last title:
   1 Daniel Vacek 6-4, 7-6(2)
   2 Johan van Herck 7-6(3), 6-4
   Q Richard Krajicek 6-3, 7-6(4)
   S Andrei Medvedev 6-4, 6-1
   W Goran Ivanisevic 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(5)

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