Who did Muster lose to in 1995 to interrupt his clay court winning streak?

[BreakPoint]

I saw this list in the newspaper today of the longest winning streaks on clay:

53 - Nadal, 2005-present
53 - Vilas, 1977
46 - Borg, 1977-79
40 - Muster, 1995
38 - Muster, 1995-96
38 - Nastase, 1973

So my question is, who did Muster lose to in 1995 that interrupted his clay court winning streak? Was it just one match that he lost between his two winning streaks? If so, I guess that means that had he won that one match, his winning streak would have stretched out to 79 straight matches on clay!!! :eek:

Could anyone, even Nadal, have beaten that record?

[federmann]

Muster lost to Albert Costa in five sets in the final of kitzbuehel (austria) in 1995.

[vive le beau jeu !]

Muster lost to Albert Costa in five sets in the final of kitzbuehel (austria) in 1995.

mmmh i think it's corretja at gstaad (1st round)...
i'm going to check it.

[federmann]

no no, you don't need to check it. i know it for sure and besides that i have already checked it ;)

[federmann]

it was costa

[vive le beau jeu !]

it was costa

and no-no-no... i checked it and it was corretja !!! ;)

http://www.atptennis.com/en/players/playerprofiles/playeractivity/default.asp?year=1995&query=Singles&player=M099&x=18&y=9

[BabolatFan]

Put muster in the books now and let's look forward to GR this year...

[BreakPoint]

You're both correct! Muster lost to Corretja at Gstaad in the 1st round in straight sets in early July 1995 and then lost to Costa at Kitzbuhel in 5 sets at the end of July 1995. Thanks for the replies and the link.

So he actually lost twice that month in 1995. It also looks like he withdrew in the 2nd round against Fillipini that same month in Amsterdam.

Oh well, he wasn't as close to setting the all-time record as I thought he might have been.

[Moose Malloy]

BP, don't forget:

In a conference call last week, Vilas, who was driven to distraction and retired trailing 1-6, 5-7 to Nastase, said, "Really I didn't lose to a player, I lost to a racquet."

The racquet was banned a week later & Vilas won 23 straight more matches on clay, so his streak should be 76, not 53.

And Borg's streak ended with a retirement due to injury in Hamburg '79. Had he not played that match, he also would have a 76 match streak.

And let's see Nadal equal this:

From May 1990 to August 1995, Muster won 24 consecutive finals on clay!

Nadal is up to 12.

[armand]

Wow, Nadal really sucks! Just kidding.

Moose Malloy: What racquet was that? Was it perhaps the spaghetti string set up?

[BreakPoint]

The racquet was banned a week later & Vilas won 23 straight more matches on clay, so his streak should be 76, not 53.

And Borg's streak ended with a retirement due to injury in Hamburg '79. Had he not played that match, he also would have a 76 match streak.


Actually, had Nastase not had that spaghetti strung racquet and Vilas had beaten him, Vilas' streak would have been 77 (adding in the win against Nastase). Wouldn't that have been fitting? 77 straight wins in '77. :p His record would have been the same number as his greatest year on tour ever. :D

He also would have exceeded Borg's record by one, had Borg not retired during that match in Hamburg in '79.

[BreakPoint]

Moose Malloy: What racquet was that? Was it perhaps the spaghetti string et up?

Yes, Nastase was using the spaghetti strung racquet.

[federmann]

and no-no-no... i checked it and it was corretja !!! ;)

http://www.atptennis.com/en/players/playerprofiles/playeractivity/default.asp?year=1995&query=Singles&player=M099&x=18&y=9

sorry, you're right. i knew for sure that he lost to costa in 1995 in kitzbuehel. i thought it was the only match he lost that year (must have forgotten that) and so i didn't check his activity of 1995, but only if it's true that he lost to costa. ;)

[Steve Huff]

I never really thought of Muster as a fierce attacker--maybe an aggressive baseliner. Mostly, he was a retriever. He'd get to everything. He had more energy than about anyone.

[travlerajm]

I think the spaghetti string will resurface soon with a different configuration. They banned the spaghetti string, but they didn't ban the lateral deformation mechanism that allows them to generate immense amounts of spin. Imagine a racquet strung at low tension with large gauge rubber bands. It would be legal, and it would be strong enough to last a match, and it would generate almost as much spin as spaghetti strings!

[Moose Malloy]

The difference between merely being a very good clay courter like Corretja, Mantilla, and Costa types in my opinion is that the great clay courter has to have that little extra besides just speed and court coverage, and fairly heavy, but not that heavy strokes.


Why do you think Costa was a tough opponent for a prime Muster? They had some great battles '95/'96.

[lucky leprechaun]

In a conference call last week, Vilas, who was driven to distraction and retired trailing 1-6, 5-7 to Nastase, said, "Really I didn't lose to a player, I lost to a racquet."

The racquet was banned a week later & Vilas won 23 straight more matches on clay, so his streak should be 76, not 53.


I wonder why it got banned, seems like its just strings and racquet in a different configuration, it fits within the dimensions. I've always wondered about this. It's kind of exciting, to think that you can become instantly twice as good as you are just by restringing your racquet a different way. I have to find out how to string one of my beater racquets this way just to try it out, though it looks kind of daunting.

[Moose Malloy]

I wonder why it got banned, seems like its just strings and racquet in a different configuration, it fits within the dimensions. I've always wondered about this.

Tennis was very different in 70s with wood racquets. It was very hard to generate topspin with those racquets which is why Borg & Vilas were so unique. The spaghetti racquet was so different in its spin compared to the way the game was played then, which is why it was controversial & was banned.

With today's modern racquets, the stringing doesn't change the game that much relative to the way the overall game is. There is so much spin anyway, no stringing would make a player that different today like in '77.

[Heyford Price]

Actually, had Nastase not had that spaghetti strung racquet and Vilas had beaten him, Vilas' streak would have been 77 (adding in the win against Nastase). Wouldn't that have been fitting? 77 straight wins in '77. :p His record would have been the same number as his greatest year on tour ever. :D

He also would have exceeded Borg's record by one, had Borg not retired during that match in Hamburg in '79.

Don't understand the last sentence :confused: