1 Response to rg98muster_meligeni

1. Voo de Mar says:

   May 30, 2024 at 1:43 pm

   Points won by each set: | 32-26, 46-47, 26-22, 27-35, 33-26 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   14 % Muster – 23 of 163
   11 % Meligeni – 18 of 157

   [23]Muster’s performance at the French Open ’98 is quite paradoxical. In 1996 he was the main favorite to win the title yet he lost in the fourth round, the following year he was among the favorites, yet he was stunned one round earlier. In 1998 noone was counting on him because he was already ~31 (“veteran” at the time), not having won a title more than a year, and losing on clay “0-2” quite regularly for the past two years. And suddenly he reached the quarterfinal (in the first two rounds he easily defeated two players not being a clear favorite) after an entertaining duel of left-handers, who were using one-handed backhands, against Meligeni [58]. Looking at that match in retrospect is a bit strange pondering what they achieved (Muster 44 titles, Meligeni 3) because they were actually playing the same type of tennis, and the Brazilian’s forehand seemed to be better. In the 2nd set tie-break, Muster squandered two set points (*7:6 and 8:7) to lose it 8/10. At the beginning of the 5th set Meligeni felt pain in his calf and got a warning for a delay which was a rarity in the 90s. He took a medical time-out, but Muster raced to a 4:1 lead and served out the last game to “30”. In the quarterfinal Muster ran out of gas against Manilla. Given Muster’s aura as one of the best clay-courters of the 90s (only Courier and Bruguera are in the mix with him), it’s weird that he played just three French Open quarterfinals (in 1990 he ended up as a semifinalist, and a champion in 1995). Nonetheless it was his favorite Slam, and he finished his career in Paris the following year losing in the first round to Nicolas Lapentti.

   Serve & volley: Muster 1/2, Meligeni 0/1

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