1 Response to wb93becker_stich

1. Voo de Mar says:

   March 19, 2023 at 4:34 pm

   Points won by each set: | 37-30, 47-50, 40-41, 28-14, 44-40 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   39 % Becker – 75 of 193
   38 % Stich – 68 of 178

   The only time in their 12 meetings (8-4 Becker) when they both were at the top of their service performances. The older German [4] was three points away from winning the 2nd set tie-break and had a set point at 5:4* (40/30) in the 3rd set – Stich [8] played BH volley winner then, and took both tie-breaks 7/5. Stich lost his amazing service timing at the beginning of the 4th set and Becker jumped to a 4:0* (30/15) lead. The only break of the decider came at 1-all; in the last game Becker needed three match points, saving a break point, before ultimately forcing Stich’s return error. Stich hit 13 of his 21 aces in the first two sets… At *3:4 (30-all) in the 2nd set an unprecedented moment occurred: Becker missed his first serve, then hit the net-cord five times in a row before finally delivering a good ball on seventh attempt! # Stich’s very similar loss to his quarterfinal a year before in Melbourne. In both matches, facing big servers, Stich was serving tremendously well over three sets; he was better in two out of three tight endings, but couldn’t maintain his serving level after three hours of play.

   # Comparison of Stich’s similar 5-set defeats:
   French Open ’90 (2R): Jaite d. Stich 6-7, 6-4, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3… 4 hours 46 minutes…
   Aussie Open ’92 (QF): Krajicek d. Stich 5-7, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4… 3 hours 35 minutes… Total points: 183-177 (aces: 23-14)… Breaks: 2-1
   Wimbledon ’93 (QF): Becker d. Stich 7-5, 6-7, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4… 4 hours 14 minutes… Total points: 196-175 (aces: 15-21)… Breaks: 4-0
   

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