2 Responses to memphis91lendl_stich

1. Voo de Mar says:

   February 9, 2025 at 3:28 pm

   Points won by each set: | 39-31, 35-25 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   34 % Lendl – 22 of 63
   34 % Stich – 23 of 67

   February ’91 marked a time of an elevated service disposal in men’s tennis. People were impressed with Forget’s serving as he won in Brussels and the following week lost a semifinal in Stuttgart (squandering a match point). On the other side of the Atlantic, similarly impressive was Stich [25] – the German, just like Forget, was able to deliver frequently ~190 kph serves (~120 mph). It gave him a quarterfinal in Philadelphia and a final in Memphis – he lost to Lendl [3] on both occasions. En route to the final in Tennessee, the defending champion Stich was unbroken (faced just one BP), and as it happens quite often, when he lost a long streak of service holds (45) he was broken twice in a row which meant that Lendl grabbed five consecutive games, establishing a comfortable 3:0* lead in the 2nd set. Stich had a triple break point at 2:4, but it evaporated quickly, and Lendl finished the event with a powerful serve. It was the last time in his long career he captured back-to-back titles. “I’m very pleased. I hit the ball nice and clean. I didn’t give him any free points, and I made a lot of big shots when I needed them,” Lendl said. At the beginning of 1991 he was still playing a type of tennis that featured his dominance in the second half of the 80s; fans could speculate that he would regain the top spot, but he lost the Rotterdam final playing his third successive week indoors, and it was the beginning of the end of his Top 5 vibe at the age of 31.

   Lendl’s route to his 90th title:
   2 Wayne Ferreira 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
   3 Paul Haarhuis 6-2, 6-1
   Q Darren Cahill 7-6(2), 6-3
   S Derrick Rostagno 6-3, 6-2
   W Michael Stich 7-5, 6-3
   

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2. Voo de Mar says:

   February 9, 2025 at 4:31 pm

   Four fastest serves that week in Memphis:

   1. Michael Stich – 124 mph (199 kph)
   2. Pete Sampras – 123 mph (197 kph)
   3. Derrick Rostagno – 120 mph (193 kph)
   4. Ivan Lendl – 117 mph (188 kph)

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