2 Responses to rg90leconte_chesnokov

1. Voo de Mar says:

   October 16, 2025 at 11:17 am

   Points won by each set: | 43-36, 32-20, 24-33, 18-30, 29-20 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   23 % Leconte – 32 of 135
   18 % Chesnokov – 27 of 150

   It was really staggering that Leconte [33] wasn’t broken in the first two sets on Centre Court because he was constantly attacking the net behind each serve against the player [10] who had arguably the best two-handed backhand at the time. Leconte had only one tough game on serve as he trailed 2:3 in the opener (saved four break points). The amazing streak was finished as the 3rd set kicked off, Chesnokov finally began to pass the Frenchman on a regular basis and broke him three times in that set, winning five games in total (from *3:4 to 2:0* in the 4th set). The Russian – still representing the Soviet Union – easily grabbed the 4th set, but Leconte accumulated his energy which allowed him to play a nearly perfect deciding set – he missed a BH volley from a winnable position returning at 1:0, 40/0 and lost that game – apart from that he was actually flawless, and from 3-all onwards he won the last three games dropping one point each game. In the decider 16 out of 29 points he won with winners (1 ace, 1 BH, 10 volleys, 4 overheads) which means an astonishing 55% of points won thanks to winners, there were 60 winners in total by him (41% for the entire contest)… French Open ’90 marked the only Slam when Chesnokov was considered a favorite to the title – he had played a semifinal a year before in Paris, and in the events leading to the French Open ’90, he was in a tremendous form having won 16 out of 17 matches while the fourth round against Leconte he entered not dropping a set in his first three rounds. Common sense would suggest that Chenokov could have defeated Leconte in their clay-court matches while Leconte could have taken his revenge on faster surfaces – nothing could be further from the truth, Leconte won all their 8 official meetings (nine including ECC-Antwerp ’90), seven on clay, thrice not even losing a set! Chesnokov wasn’t the fastest player while Leconte possessed an amazing acceleration off both wings which permitted him to put pressure on Chesnokov in the service games of the Russian, attacking him at any given moment. Another thing it’s leftness, Chesnokov never defeated the best left-handers of the 80s Connors & McEnroe, he had a losing record against big-serving lefties like Forget & Ivanisevic.

   Serve & volley: Leconte 47/91, Chesnokov 3/4

   Log in to Reply
2. Voo de Mar says:

   October 16, 2025 at 11:57 am

   ☆ Leconte’s five-set record doesn’t belong to the best ones in history, far from it (12-12), yet at Roland Garros he won all seven five-setters he played:

   1985: Noah 6-3, 6-4, 6-7, 4-6, 6-1
   1986: Motta 1-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-0, 6-0
   1988: Youl 6-3, 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3
   1988: Orešar 6-1, 6-0, 6-7, 1-6, 6-2
   1988: Becker 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
   1990: Česnokov 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3
   1992: Kulti 6-7, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3

   His interaction with the Parisian crowd was magnificent, their rooting usually inspired him to play better when it mattered the most.

   Log in to Reply