1 Response to rotterdam94stich_ferreira

1. Voo de Mar says:

   November 1, 2025 at 11:24 pm

   Points won by each set: | 32-40, 32-26, 29-14 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   44 % Stich – 41 of 93
   26 % Ferreira – 21 of 80

   Between December ’92 and February ’94, Stich [4] was the best indoor player in the world. During that period of time he won six ATP titles under the roof (five on carpet, one on hardcourt… and led Germany to the Davis Cup triumph on clay). In order to do that he needed many tie-breaks, but in Rotterdam not only his serve and volleys were working perfectly well, he was also hitting his ground-strokes with tremendous conviction, breaking his opponents many times. In the final against Ferreira [17], there were deuces in the opening first four games, Ferreira emerged 3:1* thanks to super precise forehand passing-shots. The Afrikaner had won 17 points on serve, but trailing 2:3 in the 2nd set he was forced to save four break points. From 3-all onwards, Stich collected nine successive games, Ferreira didn’t play badly, simply Stich was winning all the most important points, and served out the championship at ‘love’ with 3 aces in a row. When Stich played indoor European tournaments again, in fall of 1994, he was a mere shadow of his former self from those 15 months mentioned above and shockingly didn’t qualify to “Masters” to defend his title – something that defied logic because in September ’94 he was ranked No. 2 with five indoor events ahead…

   Stich’s route to his 14th title:
   1 Jacco Eltingh 6-4, 6-4
   2 Daniel Vacek 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
   Q Rodolphe Gilbert 7-5, 6-3
   S Paul Haarhuis 6-4, 6-3
   W Wayne Ferreira 4-6, 6-3, 6-0

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