1 Response to ao99kafelnikov_enqvist

1. Voo de Mar says:

   February 20, 2021 at 4:28 pm

   Points won by each set: | 29-34, 24-10, 38-35, 39-34 |
   Points won directly on serve:
   31 % Kafelnikov – 42 of 134
   32 % Enqvist – 35 of 109

   Lower ranked Enqvist [21 vs 10] was a favorite; he led 4:2 in their H2H having won a previous Grand Slam match they faced each other in a tough 4-set battle (French Open ’98), and he was in an excellent form at the beginning of the new year. Kafelnikov notched a nine-game winning streak to lead 3:0* in the 3rd set dismantling Enqvist’s powerful baseline game (the Swede had never a Plan B). Nonetheless, the Swede had a break point at 3-all (the Russian needed 10 deuces in four service games of that set). In a very quick 4th set given a tie-break, Enqvist led 5:4* (30-all); he committed 2 of his 5 double faults in the tie-break, also on the first match point. Kafelnikov created it after the best rally of the final when he played a perfect backhand overhead. “I felt like Thomas had something in his body, that he couldn’t try a little harder,” Kafelnikov said. Enqvist explained that simply wasn’t true. “I missed a little bit more. I was fresh. He looked a little tired. He was the guy running all the time. It’s too bad it didn’t go to a fifth set.” This final separated careers of both players born in 1974. At the beginning of the 90s when Enqvist was expected to be a fourth great Swede in tennis history, Kafelnikov was unknown outside Russia, yet Kafelnikov finished his career with 2 Grand Slam titles while Enqvist with none.

   Kafelnikov’s route to his 18th title:
   1 Jonas Bjorkman 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
   2 Jason Stoltenberg 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(10), 7-6(3)
   3 Jim Courier 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 3-0 ret.
   4 Andrei Pavel 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 3-6, 6-4
   Q Todd Martin 6-2, 7-6(1), 6-2
   S Tommy Haas 6-3, 6-4, 7-5
   W Thomas Enqvist 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-6(1)

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