iw98rios_gambill

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1 Response to iw98rios_gambill

  1. Voo de Mar says:
    Points won by each set: | 43-37, 29-22 |
    Points won directly behind the serve:
    33 % Rios – 23 of 69
    29 % Gambill – 18 of 62

    The 21-year-old Gambill [126] seemed like a potentially best American player for the upcoming decade. In the first quarter of ’98, displaying a six-pack like no-one else, serving big and hitting the ball firmly with both hands off forehand & backhand, he made an impressive jump from no. 227 to 67 – mainly thanks to good results on hardcourts (indoor & outdoor), but clay (he wasn’t patient) & grass (he wasn’t good at the net) verified him & he was just 5th-6th American for two different generations of US players… At Indian Wells, playing with ‘wild card’, he stunned in back-to-back matches the former best players of the world (Courier, Agassi) and had a set point against a soon-to-be no. 1 Rios [7]. The Chilean hit his forehand uncleanly at *5:6 (30/40), but the ball landed in Gambill’s corner, two points later when the tie-break should have started, the match was suspended due to rain. They came back on court after sunset; Rios took the initiative under the floodlights, winning the breaker 7/3, and another set with the help of two breaks, saving a break point at 3-all.

    Serve & volley: both 0

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