2 Responses to queens96edberg_muster

1. Voo de Mar says:

   May 8, 2025 at 6:31 pm

   Points won by each set: | 36-43, 33-24, 27-20 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   37 % Edberg – 35 of 93
   26 % Muster – 24 of 90

   Muster became the first No. 1 in the world (February 1996) who hadn’t won a tournament match on grass; he was often criticised that built his position being mainly focused on clay-courts. He wanted to prove his critics that he’d be successful outside clay, thus after a failure of his title defence at Roland Garros ’96, he reinvented himself. He changed his attitude to the game: more risky 2nd serves, operating closer to the baseline, and frequent attacking the net. The first event of a “new Muster” was quite impressive: he won three successive matches on “hated” grass, including a quarterfinal victory over a very experienced on grass – Woodforde (1-6, 7-5, 6-3), and played really well for 1.5 sets against one of the finest grass-court players in history – Edberg. The Swede had won all seven previous matches against Muster, but at Queens it was the first time the Austrian was ranked higher [2 vs 26] which made things more intriguing. Muster improved from *3:5 (deuce) in the opener which he won 7/2 in the tie-break, and had a game point to level at 4 games apiece in the 2nd set – Edberg constructed one of his best points in that match as a receiver then, and it turned the tables while Muster retreated from his offensive mindset (4/10 in S/V actions overall, but in the 1st set he’d been generally more eager to attack the net).

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2. Voo de Mar says:

   May 8, 2025 at 9:17 pm

   Muster aspired to make at least one good result at Wimbledon (0-4 record), and his Queens Club ’96 performance seemed encouraging, but minor injuries forced him to withdraw from 1996 and ’97 editions. In 1998, when he felt the end was near, he didn’t bother anymore. Muster’s withdrawal [no. 2 but seeded no. 7] in 1996 had important consequences: Krajicek became seeded with no. 17 thanks to that and he won the event. Muster finished his career with a 8-10 record on grass, Queens remained his lone semifinal.

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