1 Response to ao98berasategui_agassi

1. Voo de Mar says:

   April 24, 2025 at 3:40 pm

   Points won by each set: | 27-35, 24-33, 36-26, 27-26, 27-22 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   22 % Berasategui – 32 of 141
   17 % Agassi – 25 of 142

   Rod Laver Arena, night session, and very short 5-setter given two baseliners (just 2 hours 31 minutes), but each of them used to play in a very fast pace as a server. Berasategui considers that match as his biggest victory which is fully understandable many years later: Agassi had won one Aussie Open (1995) title before their meeting, but after that unexpected loss he added another three Melbourne titles (2000, 01, 03) to his resumee making himself the most accomplished player in that Slam between 1995 and 2004 (lost in the semifinal).
   Even though Berasategui was ranked significantly higher [25 vs 87], Agassi could have been perceived as a heavy favorite, because he had easily defeated Berasategui thrice before, and at the beginning of 1998 he confirmed that regained his motivation after a 1997 slump. As usual against shorter opponents, Agassi was playing ‘cat and mouse’ game, led 6-3, 3:0* (30/0) not facing a break point, and it seemed that a straight-set victory would be inevitable. Berasategui managed to win two games in a row then, and found his rhythm. Admittedly Agassi held his first two service games of the mid-set, but each of them required three deuces. There was 3:2 for Berasategui when Agassi committed his only double fault trying to save a break point and the momentum shifted. In the 4th set Agassi led *3:2 having won two successive games at ‘love’, but he wasn’t able to get any cheap points while Berasategui – supported in the stands by his contemporary Corretja and Spanish legend Santana – was finally running his backhand around with ease to sting with his ferocious forehands. Berasategui broke three times in the 5th set, mainly benefiting from Agassi’s errors. In the third round the Spanish-Basque had also manufactured an upset on the same court, eliminating Rafter (US Open ’97 champion; crowd favorite in Melbourne) 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6 after saving three set points in the 2nd set tie-break.

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