1 Response to rg79pecci_connors

1. Voo de Mar says:

   November 2, 2023 at 7:40 pm

   Points won by each set: | 41-35, 31-28, 33-35, 36-29 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   25 % Pecci – 33 of 129
   7 % Connors – 11 of 139

   The first of Connors’ four Roland Garros semifinals (he didn’t play in that event in his best years 1974-78), and arguably the best chance to reach the final because he faced an inexperienced opponent for whom the quarterfinal was already the best result at majors. Connors [1] had won their two previous matches, both on clay, but the 24-year-old Paraguayan [29] was playing tennis of his life that fortnight in Paris, and entered the Centre Court being full of confidence, after a stunning 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 victory over Vilas a round before. Pecci, the first player wearing an earring (diamond in his right ear), was considered as one of the biggest servers at the time (using metal “Fischer”), yet the serve wasn’t super important in that contest (Pecci kept his 1st serve at high 67% in). It was a battle of slicing and dicing, each of players was seeking an opportunity to outsmart the other from the back of the court, and finish the point at the net. Connors led 5:4* in the opener when lost six straight games, then he improved from 0:3* to 4:3, and lost again the last three games of the set. In the 3rd set the situation could be emulated because Connors blew a *5:3 lead, but from 5-all he managed to get two straight games (Pecci dived twice in game no. 12 and lost those points after Connors’ backhand passing-shots). In the 4th set Pecci was broken twice, yet he responded with four breaks of Connors’ serve, the last one after the longest game (three deuces) which ended the 3-hour 7-minute encounter. “If two weeks ago, if I was asked I would have said it is impossible. But now it is true,” a jubilant Pecci said through an interpreter at a trilingual (Spanish, French, English) post-match interview. “There is no professional tennis in Paraguay, very few players, but maybe because of my success it is going to start.” It didn’t, 44 years later it’s still the biggest result for the Paraguayan tennis, and no-one has come close to repeat it.

   Serve & volley: Pecci 7/11, Connors 5/11
   

   Log in to Reply