2 Responses to wb95.sampras_matsuoka

1. Voo de Mar says:

   July 3, 2023 at 3:41 pm

   Points won by each set: | 41-39, 33-23, 30-25, 31-21 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   37 % Sampras – 49 of 130
   38 % Matsuoka – 43 of 113

   The biggest result in Matsuoka’s career. He became the first Japanese to play in the Wimbledon quarterfinal since Jiro Sato in 1933 (the following year he committed suicide by drowning in the Strait of Malacca). On court no. 1, Matsuoka [108] played a good match against Sampras, especially for 1.5 sets. He didn’t afraid the double defending champion and the best player in the word for two years, because he had defeated him in their first meeting when Sampras was already a Grand Slam champion while when they faced each other in Miami ’92, Sampras was very close to lose in straights…
   There were atypical on grass, six breaks of serve already when the score reached 3-all. In the tie-break Matsuoka won the last two points which gave him the set 7/5. He had a triple break point at 3-all in the 2nd set, and his backhand passing-shot missed the sideline not by much. It was a turning point of the quarterfinal – Sampras won 12 points in a row, and controlled the rest of the match. He obtained crucial breaks at 1-all in 3rd and 0-all in 4th set. The end scoreline was really good for Matsuoka given how many easy volleys he missed, but he was risking his second serves constantly, and it paid off for three sets. Nevertheless, the last two points in the match he played on serve, he finished points with perfect stop volleys off the forehand side.

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2. Voo de Mar says:

   July 3, 2023 at 4:08 pm

   Matsuoka took a medical time-out between 1st and 2nd set because had an insect in his left eye

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