1 Response to toulouse90svensson_santoro

1. Voo de Mar says:

   December 13, 2025 at 5:21 pm

   Points won by each set: | 49-45, 34-24 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   20 % Svensson – 17 of 83
   13 % Santoro – 9 of 69

   Santoro was the youngest player to finish the year 1990 inside the Top 100, in Toulouse he reached his first main-level final (20th appearance at this level) and played a good match thus already in 1991 could be expected from him something he’d wait long time for – first title in 1997, first (and last) major quarterfinal in 2006. His progress was halted in the second half of 1991 when he was 19, and it’s tough to explain it because his unorthodox style remained unchanged throughout his very long career… In Toulouse ’90, Santoro [85, wild card] got his first big win, stunning Gomez – the French Open champion – in the first round (6-2, 3-6, 6-3). In the final he improved from 2:5* (set point for Svensson) to 5-all in the tie-break – then he lost a rally consisted of 16 strokes, mainly backhand-to-backhand. The Swede didn’t slip a 5:2* advantage in the 2nd set, converting his first match point with a FH passing-shot winner. Svensson [20] always enjoyed playing in France; after the title in Toulouse, he reached the quarterfinals in Lyon, and the semifinals in Paris – those French results helped him to reach the Top 10 in 1991 as he triumphed in Copenhagen (March ’91, his 5th and last title) marking the end of his ranking rise at the age of 24. He advanced very high given he never won a tournament which would be treated as an equivalent of ATP 500.

   Svensson’s route to his 4th title:
   1 Luiz Mattar 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
   2 Veli Paloheimo 7-5, 6-0
   Q Magnus Larsson 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-3
   S Amos Mansdorf 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3
   W Fabrice Santoro 7-6(5), 6-2

   Serve & volley: Svensson 2/3, Santoro 0

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