2 Responses to ao98kucera_sampras

1. Voo de Mar says:

   February 22, 2025 at 2:24 pm

   Stats without the first 8 games (32 of 40 games, so 80%), but number of FH winners, aces, double faults & break points valid for the entire contest

   Points won by each set: | X, 26-14, 36-41, 27-22 |
   Points played on serve in the last three sets: Kucera 89, Sampras 77

   [20] Kucera’s best match of his life. The 24-year-old Slovak began the night session encounter hitting a few winners on return, broke Sampras in the opening game, but the defending champion broke back immediately, and he seemed to control the match as he created a mini set point leading 4:3 – what happened between that moment and *2:1 for Kucera in the 3rd set was really astonishing – he won 11 games losing just 3; Sampras [1] was never so helpless across three sets comparing to his Slam matches in the years of his indisputable dominance (1993-97), on faster surfaces. Kucera was flawless though: serves (especially down the T on ad-court), returns, passing-shots, even defensive lobs, everything worked in his favor. Sampras needed to figure something out – he began to serve more frequently to Kucera’s backhand, implemented attacking the net as a receiver and thanks to that he avoided a humiliation. He came back from 1:2* and 2:3* in the 3rd set, and took the tie-break 7/5 being pumped up. His five-set record in Melbourne was 7:0, so he had a basis to believe that he’d survive. At 1-all in the 4th set he created a double break point, yet Kucera fought it off with two service winners. Trailing *2:3 (30/40), Sampras decided to attack the net behind his second serve, and made a backhand volley error. Despite playing his first major quarterfinal, Kucera didn’t show any signs of nerves, and comfortably held at 4:2 and 5:3 finishing the 2-hour 30-minute with an overhead following a very penetrating serve…
   Sampras takes his revenge the same year on a faster hardcourt in New York, at the same stage of the event.

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2. Voo de Mar says:

   February 22, 2025 at 3:38 pm

   Even though Kucera played 22 five-setters in his career (12-10 record), he never served more than 19 aces like during that famous victory

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