1 Response to uo91lendl_ivanisevic

1. Voo de Mar says:

   September 25, 2024 at 5:03 pm

   Points won by each set: | 45-41, 33-38, 35-29, 32-22 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   24 % Lendl – 33 of 137
   33 % Ivanisevic – 46 of 138

   Very intriguing confrontation on Stadium Court between the best Slavic player of the 80s and the potentially best Slavic player of the 90s – arguably Ivanisevic lost the rivalry to be the best Slav of the 90s to Kafelnikov… Each of the first three sets could have gone either way: Lendl [3] fought back from *2:4 in 1st and *0:3 (0/30) in 3rd set while Ivanisevic [16] trailed *0:3 (30-all) in set no. 2 before winning it 7/4 in the tie-break. The Croat squandered a mini-set point at 5-all in the opener, and after losing five straight games, he changed his tactics – namely he began running forwards behind his first and second serves – it changed the pace of the match, improving his 1st serve percentage significantly, but also it wore him down, and from 4:1* in the 3rd set to the end of the match, he was able to win just 2 games losing 11 being involved in long rallies in the final set as he couldn’t deliver big serves anymore. Their fourth round encounter lasted 3 hours 30 minutes – it remained the longest four-setter in Ivanisevic’s career for the next 13 years of his professional activity.

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