1 Response to tokyo93lendl_martin

1. Voo de Mar says:

   February 15, 2023 at 6:16 pm

   Points won by each set: | 38-33, 35-25 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   40 % Lendl – 25 of 60
   35 % Martin – 28 of 71

   A year before on the same court, as a Top 10 player, Lendl struggled past Martin 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 when the young American was a fresh Top 100 player. Given that and their match 11 days earlier in Sydney which Martin won in three sets, it was quite surprising that Lendl [18] hadn’t problems in the final to defeat an improved version of Martin [16], who was on his way to enter the Top 10 while Lendl on his own to finish career (the following year he didn’t defend the title, was already on retirement). Lendl broke at 2-all and 1-all in respective sets, he was forced to save break points in the opener. He was glued to the baseline and this tactic proved to be successful on that day as well as a few months later when Lendl defeats Martin 6-4, 6-2 in the Sydney semifinal.

   Lendl’s route to his 94th and last title:
   2 Tommy Ho 6-3, 6-4
   3 Alexander Volkov 6-7(1), 6-2, 6-4
   Q Boris Becker 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(2)
   S Paul Haarhuis 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5)
   W Todd Martin 6-4, 6-4

   # facing Becker for the last time, Lendl snapped an 11-tie-break losing streak (!) saving a mini-match point at 4-all, and edged their rivalry 12-11…
   against Haarhuis, Lendl trailed 1:4* in the deciding tie-break

   Lendl and Becker played a deciding tie-break set on that court also in the 1990 final (4-6, 6-3, 7-6)… there was 5-all in it when Lendl got the last two points with passing-shots

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