Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 the Year End Championship (World Tour Finals) semi-finals, 1994 on carpet in Frankfurt, Germany
Sampras would go onto win the event, beating Boris Becker in the final for his second title. Sampras was ranked number 1, Agassi 2
Sampras won 100 points (including a point penalty), Agassi 94
Sampras serve-volleyed off all first serves and 3 seconds
Serve Stats
Sampras...
- 1st serve percentage (49/88) 56%
- 1st serve points won (40/49) 82%
- 2nd serve points won (24/39) 62%
- Aces 20 (1 second serve), Service Winners 3
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (44/88) 50%
Agassi...
- 1st serve percentage (66/105) 63%
- 1st serve points won (45/66) 68%
- 2nd serve points won (25/39) 64%
- Aces 7 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 4
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (30/105) 29%
Serve Patterns
Sampras served...
- to FH 43%
- to BH 52%
- to Body 5%
Agassi served...
- to FH 41%
- to BH 56%
- to Body 3%
Return Stats
Sampras made...
- 71 (35 FH, 36 BH), including 6 runaround FHs & 4 return-approaches
- 2 Winners (2 FH)
- 23 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (2 FH, 4 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 17 Forced (10 FH, 7 BH)
- Return Rate (71/101) 70%
Agassi made...
- 42 (22 FH, 20 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 4 Winners (3 FH, 1 BH)
- 21 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (1 FH, 2 BH)
- 18 Forced (6 FH, 12 BH)
- Return Rate (42/86) 48%
Break Points
Sampras 3/13 (6 games)
Agassi 2/4 (2 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Sampras 19 (13 FH, 2 BH, 2 FHV, 2 BHV)
Agassi 19 (7 FH, 8 BH, 3 FHV, 1 BHV)
Sampras' FHs - 2 cc (1 return, which was not clean), 5 dtl, 2 inside-out, 2 inside-in (1 return) and 1 net chord dribbler
- BHs - 1 dtl
- 4 from serve-volley points -
- 1 first 'volley' FH at net
- 2 second volleys (1 FHV, 1 BHV)
- 1 third 'volley' BH at net
- 1 other BHV was a drop
Agassi's FHs - 4 cc (3 passes - 1 of them a return), 2 dtl return passes and 1 inside-out
- BHs - 1 cc pass, 4 dtl, 1 inside-out pass, 1 lob and 1 net chord dribbler return
- 1 FHV was the first volley of a serve-volley point
- 1 FHV was a double touch and played net-to-net
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Sampras 43
- 20 Unforced (6 FH, 12 BH, 2 FHV)
- 23 Forced (7 FH, 7 BH, 1 FHV, 2 FH1/2V, 4 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 1 Behind Back)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47
Agassi 33
- 17 Unforced (8 FH, 8 BH, 1 Penalty)
- 16 Forced (5 FH, 11 BH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.6
(Note 1: All 1/2 volleys refer to such shots played at net. 1/2 volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke numbers)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Sampras was...
- 27/46 (59%) at net, including...
- 19/30 (63%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 18/27 (67%) off 1st serve and...
- 1/3 (33%) off 2nd serve
--
- 2/2 return-approaching
- 1/1 forced back/retreated
Agassi was...
- 8/9 (89%) at net, including...
- 2/2 serve-volleying, both first serves
Match Report
Good match, could have been better with a more focused Agassi in the deciding set. The action is fairly straightforward
Some background. Sampras had thoroughly dominated the early part of the year, but injuries post-Wimbledon kept him out of action for much of the fall hard court season and he was finding his feet again so to speak in the indoor season. Agassi went the opposite route; a slow start to the year due to injury, wrist surgery and then turning the season around in the fall hard court season (including winning US Open) and he'd been the form player in the indoor season, winning titles in Paris (beating Sampras en route) and Vienna
Agassi came through his group undefeated. Sampras squeaked through his to set up this match between numbers 1 and 2
Agassi breaks first game of the match, forcing a 1/2volley error and winning three baseline points on second serves (Sampras serve-volleyed all the time off first serve and virtually stayed back off all seconds - as was his norm on carpet round about the time). And the rest of the set is easy holds
For Agassi, that means pounding Sampras down from the baseline, which he does, particularly targeting the Sampras BH. For Sampras, its a lot simpler. He just serves... after the first game, 14/18 of his serves don't come back
Second set is the best of the match. There's a kill-or-die sort of thing going on with Sampras first serve vs Agassi's return.... volleying and passing shots don't come into it much. Interesting but not exactly riveting. What is are the baseline battles. Its a combination of fast paced, open court dynamics and heavy hitting in closed court situations. Sampras cuts back on errors from the first set and the duels are competitive
Sampras breaks in a fantastic game to go up 3-1. Point 3 is rallying at its liveliest... both players hitting heavy and to the open court, both players chasing down the ball... and its Agassi whose forced into the error. Sampras stumps Agassi a couple points later by passively looping BHs crosscourt or slicing them (in this match, he almost always dealt with Agassi's BH cc's by coming over the ball with)... only to switch it up, runaround the BH to hit a FH inside-out winner to bring up break point.
Agassi break right back though with back to back passes and a FH inside-out winner. Set continues on serve, though Agassi has some hairy moments. He escapes a 0-40 situation to hold serve and has to save 3 break and set points in game 11, but makes it through to the tiebreak. He has a... disagreement with the umpire, the inability to handle calmly probably shapes the rest of the match
There are two key point in the tiebreak. Sampras gains a mini-break by approaching of a sharply angled BH cc to force a passing error. Later on, he resists giving back in a thrilling point. Sampras can just about reach a strong, wide pass from Agassi and he drop 1/2volleys it. Agassi reaches the ball at net and hits it fine cc... but Sampras is able to run it down sideways (still at net) and poke a BH into the open court for the winner
All the same, set point on Sampras' serve is an open point (anytime a rally starts off Sampras' service points is an oppurtunity for Agassi). The two get into a rally, but Agassi nets a routine enough BH
Third set is fairly poor from Agassi, who is clearly rattled after a series of needless altercations with the chair umpire. Sampras also half-tanks a couple of return games after going up a break but breaks again to put an end to the match
There's a curious point. Net to net, Agassi hits a double-touch FHV winner. I didn't know that was legal. According to commentators, it didn't used to be but is "now".... that's a strange rule to change out of the blue. Anyone know when it was changed? I doubt there was a sudden rise in double touch winners which made the authorities suddenly decide to change the rule allowing it
Sampras would go onto win the event, beating Boris Becker in the final for his second title. Sampras was ranked number 1, Agassi 2
Sampras won 100 points (including a point penalty), Agassi 94
Sampras serve-volleyed off all first serves and 3 seconds
Serve Stats
Sampras...
- 1st serve percentage (49/88) 56%
- 1st serve points won (40/49) 82%
- 2nd serve points won (24/39) 62%
- Aces 20 (1 second serve), Service Winners 3
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (44/88) 50%
Agassi...
- 1st serve percentage (66/105) 63%
- 1st serve points won (45/66) 68%
- 2nd serve points won (25/39) 64%
- Aces 7 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 4
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (30/105) 29%
Serve Patterns
Sampras served...
- to FH 43%
- to BH 52%
- to Body 5%
Agassi served...
- to FH 41%
- to BH 56%
- to Body 3%
Return Stats
Sampras made...
- 71 (35 FH, 36 BH), including 6 runaround FHs & 4 return-approaches
- 2 Winners (2 FH)
- 23 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (2 FH, 4 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 17 Forced (10 FH, 7 BH)
- Return Rate (71/101) 70%
Agassi made...
- 42 (22 FH, 20 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 4 Winners (3 FH, 1 BH)
- 21 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (1 FH, 2 BH)
- 18 Forced (6 FH, 12 BH)
- Return Rate (42/86) 48%
Break Points
Sampras 3/13 (6 games)
Agassi 2/4 (2 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Sampras 19 (13 FH, 2 BH, 2 FHV, 2 BHV)
Agassi 19 (7 FH, 8 BH, 3 FHV, 1 BHV)
Sampras' FHs - 2 cc (1 return, which was not clean), 5 dtl, 2 inside-out, 2 inside-in (1 return) and 1 net chord dribbler
- BHs - 1 dtl
- 4 from serve-volley points -
- 1 first 'volley' FH at net
- 2 second volleys (1 FHV, 1 BHV)
- 1 third 'volley' BH at net
- 1 other BHV was a drop
Agassi's FHs - 4 cc (3 passes - 1 of them a return), 2 dtl return passes and 1 inside-out
- BHs - 1 cc pass, 4 dtl, 1 inside-out pass, 1 lob and 1 net chord dribbler return
- 1 FHV was the first volley of a serve-volley point
- 1 FHV was a double touch and played net-to-net
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Sampras 43
- 20 Unforced (6 FH, 12 BH, 2 FHV)
- 23 Forced (7 FH, 7 BH, 1 FHV, 2 FH1/2V, 4 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 1 Behind Back)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47
Agassi 33
- 17 Unforced (8 FH, 8 BH, 1 Penalty)
- 16 Forced (5 FH, 11 BH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.6
(Note 1: All 1/2 volleys refer to such shots played at net. 1/2 volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke numbers)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Sampras was...
- 27/46 (59%) at net, including...
- 19/30 (63%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 18/27 (67%) off 1st serve and...
- 1/3 (33%) off 2nd serve
--
- 2/2 return-approaching
- 1/1 forced back/retreated
Agassi was...
- 8/9 (89%) at net, including...
- 2/2 serve-volleying, both first serves
Match Report
Good match, could have been better with a more focused Agassi in the deciding set. The action is fairly straightforward
Some background. Sampras had thoroughly dominated the early part of the year, but injuries post-Wimbledon kept him out of action for much of the fall hard court season and he was finding his feet again so to speak in the indoor season. Agassi went the opposite route; a slow start to the year due to injury, wrist surgery and then turning the season around in the fall hard court season (including winning US Open) and he'd been the form player in the indoor season, winning titles in Paris (beating Sampras en route) and Vienna
Agassi came through his group undefeated. Sampras squeaked through his to set up this match between numbers 1 and 2
Agassi breaks first game of the match, forcing a 1/2volley error and winning three baseline points on second serves (Sampras serve-volleyed all the time off first serve and virtually stayed back off all seconds - as was his norm on carpet round about the time). And the rest of the set is easy holds
For Agassi, that means pounding Sampras down from the baseline, which he does, particularly targeting the Sampras BH. For Sampras, its a lot simpler. He just serves... after the first game, 14/18 of his serves don't come back
Second set is the best of the match. There's a kill-or-die sort of thing going on with Sampras first serve vs Agassi's return.... volleying and passing shots don't come into it much. Interesting but not exactly riveting. What is are the baseline battles. Its a combination of fast paced, open court dynamics and heavy hitting in closed court situations. Sampras cuts back on errors from the first set and the duels are competitive
Sampras breaks in a fantastic game to go up 3-1. Point 3 is rallying at its liveliest... both players hitting heavy and to the open court, both players chasing down the ball... and its Agassi whose forced into the error. Sampras stumps Agassi a couple points later by passively looping BHs crosscourt or slicing them (in this match, he almost always dealt with Agassi's BH cc's by coming over the ball with)... only to switch it up, runaround the BH to hit a FH inside-out winner to bring up break point.
Agassi break right back though with back to back passes and a FH inside-out winner. Set continues on serve, though Agassi has some hairy moments. He escapes a 0-40 situation to hold serve and has to save 3 break and set points in game 11, but makes it through to the tiebreak. He has a... disagreement with the umpire, the inability to handle calmly probably shapes the rest of the match
There are two key point in the tiebreak. Sampras gains a mini-break by approaching of a sharply angled BH cc to force a passing error. Later on, he resists giving back in a thrilling point. Sampras can just about reach a strong, wide pass from Agassi and he drop 1/2volleys it. Agassi reaches the ball at net and hits it fine cc... but Sampras is able to run it down sideways (still at net) and poke a BH into the open court for the winner
All the same, set point on Sampras' serve is an open point (anytime a rally starts off Sampras' service points is an oppurtunity for Agassi). The two get into a rally, but Agassi nets a routine enough BH
Third set is fairly poor from Agassi, who is clearly rattled after a series of needless altercations with the chair umpire. Sampras also half-tanks a couple of return games after going up a break but breaks again to put an end to the match
There's a curious point. Net to net, Agassi hits a double-touch FHV winner. I didn't know that was legal. According to commentators, it didn't used to be but is "now".... that's a strange rule to change out of the blue. Anyone know when it was changed? I doubt there was a sudden rise in double touch winners which made the authorities suddenly decide to change the rule allowing it
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