Boris Becker beat Jimmy Connors 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in the French Open quarter-final, 1987 on clay
Becker would go onto lose to Mats Wilander in the next round in the first of his eventual 3 semi-finals at the event. This would turn out to be the last of Connors’ 8 quarter-finals at the event
Becker won 110 points, Connors 88
Serve Stats
Becker...
- 1st serve percentage (65/102) 64%
- 1st serve points won (41/65) 63%
- 2nd serve points won (26/37) 70%
- Aces 4, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (24/102) 24%
Connors...
- 1st serve percentage (76/96) 79%
- 1st serve points won (43/76) 57%
- 2nd serve points won (10/20) 50%
- Aces 1 (a second serve)
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (9/96) 9%
Serve Patterns
Becker served...
- to FH 36%
- to BH 58%
- to Body 6%
Connors served...
- to FH 18%
- to BH 71%
- to Body 12%
Return Stats
Becker made...
- 86 (25 FH, 61 BH), including 8 runaround FHs
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 8 Errors, comprising...
- 7 Unforced (3 FH, 4 BH)
- 1 Forced (1 FH)
- Return Rate (86/95) 91%
Connors made...
- 76 (35 FH, 41 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 1 Winner (1 BH)
- 19 Errors, comprising...
- 14 Unforced (4 FH, 10 BH)
- 5 Forced (2 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (76/100) 76%
Break Points
Becker 6/12 (7 games)
Connors 2/6 (4 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Becker 22 (14 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 3 OH)
Connors 22 (6 FH, 4 BH, 8 FHV, 2 BHV, 2 OH)
Becker's FHs - 2 cc, 8 dtl (1 at net), 2 inside-out, 1 inside-in return and 1 running-down-drop-shot cc pass at net
- BHs - 2 dtl passes and 1 drop shot
- 1 from a serve-volley point, a first volley OH
Connors' FHs - 3 cc (2 passes), 2 dtl (1 pass) and 1 inside-out pass
- BHs - 2 cc (1 return that Becker whiffed, 1 pass) and 2 dtl (1 pass)
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Becker 55
- 37 Unforced (16 FH, 19 BH, 2 BHV)
- 18 Forced (5 FH, 9 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)... with 1 FH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 44.3
Connors 63
- 47 Unforced (20 FH, 24 BH, 2 FHV, 1 OH)… with 1 FH pass attempt at net
- 16 Forced (9 FH, 7 BH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 44.3
(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 are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Becker was...
- 18/33 (55%) at net, including...
- 2/3 (67%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
---
- 0/2 forced back
Connors was...
- 23/30 (77%) at net, including...
- 3/3 (100%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 2/2 off 1st serve and...
- 1/1 off 2nd serve
---
- 2/2 forced back/retreated
Match Report
Baseline match, and Becker has a couple of things Connors doesn’t. The only impressive shot on show, his FH and a bigger serve that results in him returning more regularly. Connors’ brain work doesn’t help his cause either
Its not a very good match, by either player though. If Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander represent Grade A clay courters of the period, this would be Grade C
Two trade groundies from the back. The hitting is controlled, clinical, but short of powerful. There’s some moving-opponent-around play, but its minority, neither player moves exceptionally well but both are able to handle the others wider hits
And the errors come. Lot of routine shot misses. And considerable amount of it in short rallies, including routine third balls. The errors that come in medium length rallies aren’t anything more difficult either. There aren’t many long rallies… because they can’t keep the ball in play long enough for there to be
Boris is -
- more consistent (ground UEs Boris 35, Jimbo 44 & neutral UEs Boris 22, Jimbo 32)
- has only impressive shot around in his FH (14 winners, 16 UEs. The other 3 winners/UE differentials are -14, -16 and -20)
- much better in serve-return complex (returns at 91%, leads unreturned rate 24% to 9%)
As for Connors’ brain-work, he stays on the baseline, trading these groundies that he’s not only getting short end of, but that he’s adapted himself to keep from getting an even shorter end. But he’s doing great coming to net. Yet he shows little inclination to do so
Ground UEs tell you how the baseline rallies are going. Its even worse than it looks for Jimbo because of all the damage Boris’ FH that does for which he has no equivalent
Boris 12 ground-to-ground winners (excluding a return, including a drop shot) are more than Jimbo’s total 10 ground winners (and only 3 of those are ground-to-ground). Boris’ FH dtl alone has 7 winners
But rallying to net -
- Boris 16/30 at 53%
- Jimbo 20/27 at 74%
And yet, he’s happy to stay on the baseline and lose points in an error battle he never looks likely to win. Early on, he plays from orthodox position, and its his FH that gives up the most UEs - usually, just missing a routine cc shot, amidst a routine cc rally
He adapts by moving over for most of second 2 sets towards his FH side, so he can take Boris BH cc with his BH. Which he hits back inside-out (to avoid Boris’ dangerous FH), thus protecting his vulnerable FH some, but his own BH doesn’t fare too well either (though better than his FH did). Long and short of it is he’s losing comfortably from the back on error front, he’s losing from the back on winner front and he’s getting no freebies with the serve while giving away a fair chunk
Just 1 thing is going his way. The net points. And he shows little interest in pursuing it. This getting beaten from the back, doing well coming in, but not coming in much is a repeat pattern in Connors’ matches from later in his career
Action & Stats
Boris leading unreturneds 24% to 9% is first important one
For him, 64% first serves in is very high, and indicates he’s not going for too much with it. Healthy serving is a good description. Jimbo even spontaneously hit a runaround FH against 1 of the first serves - not the sort of thing you see against Boris ever, to give some idea of how much Boris holds back on the serve shot (that particular serve was one of his slower ones though)
Jimbo’s returning against it isn’t very good. 14 of his 19 return errors have been marked UEs. Much of it is against healthy first serves, not widely placed, so not the easiest of UEs, but UEs still. Routine returns, the kind he’s making regularly on whole
Jimbo’s serve is a point-starter and even for him, 79% in is high. 0 trouble for Boris in returning it and he makes 91% returns. Just 1 FE (and a second serve aces the direction of which catches Boris out)
Note Boris winning more second serve points than firsts 70% to 63% - highly unusual (probably unique) for him or a server of his calibre @krosero
Ground action as described earlier. Normal baseline stuff of power, depth, direction, change-ups. Jimbo adjusts to his FH being loose by moving over to play more BHs, so it’s the BH that’s copped the most UEs
UE breakdown
- Boris FH 16
- Boris BH 19 & Jimbo FH 20
- Jimbo BH 24
Jimbo’s FH is struck well, probably better than his BH on whole. He just can’t keep striking it over and over - even by ordinary standards of the match
Boris’ FH not only starring statistically with the 14 winners (all other groundies in match have 13 total), but beyond that too. It’s the only shot that can regularly open the court
The 8 dtl winners - as many as all other shots’ non-pass winners - are star. He goes for them out of routine cc rallies as much as setting up by particularly moving Jimbo to the other side first. Doesn’t miss much either - he’s got just 4 winner attempt UEs
And its not just the dtl - he’s got a pair of cc and inside-out winners each too
FH doesn’t get too much better of Jimbo’s BH in cc rallies in terms of consistency (good lot of Jimbo’s would be hitting inside-outs against Boris’ BH), but it is better hit, considerably better of angles (Jimbo’s is average) and clearly, much, much, much better as a finisher
Becker would go onto lose to Mats Wilander in the next round in the first of his eventual 3 semi-finals at the event. This would turn out to be the last of Connors’ 8 quarter-finals at the event
Becker won 110 points, Connors 88
Serve Stats
Becker...
- 1st serve percentage (65/102) 64%
- 1st serve points won (41/65) 63%
- 2nd serve points won (26/37) 70%
- Aces 4, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (24/102) 24%
Connors...
- 1st serve percentage (76/96) 79%
- 1st serve points won (43/76) 57%
- 2nd serve points won (10/20) 50%
- Aces 1 (a second serve)
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (9/96) 9%
Serve Patterns
Becker served...
- to FH 36%
- to BH 58%
- to Body 6%
Connors served...
- to FH 18%
- to BH 71%
- to Body 12%
Return Stats
Becker made...
- 86 (25 FH, 61 BH), including 8 runaround FHs
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 8 Errors, comprising...
- 7 Unforced (3 FH, 4 BH)
- 1 Forced (1 FH)
- Return Rate (86/95) 91%
Connors made...
- 76 (35 FH, 41 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 1 Winner (1 BH)
- 19 Errors, comprising...
- 14 Unforced (4 FH, 10 BH)
- 5 Forced (2 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (76/100) 76%
Break Points
Becker 6/12 (7 games)
Connors 2/6 (4 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Becker 22 (14 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 3 OH)
Connors 22 (6 FH, 4 BH, 8 FHV, 2 BHV, 2 OH)
Becker's FHs - 2 cc, 8 dtl (1 at net), 2 inside-out, 1 inside-in return and 1 running-down-drop-shot cc pass at net
- BHs - 2 dtl passes and 1 drop shot
- 1 from a serve-volley point, a first volley OH
Connors' FHs - 3 cc (2 passes), 2 dtl (1 pass) and 1 inside-out pass
- BHs - 2 cc (1 return that Becker whiffed, 1 pass) and 2 dtl (1 pass)
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Becker 55
- 37 Unforced (16 FH, 19 BH, 2 BHV)
- 18 Forced (5 FH, 9 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)... with 1 FH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 44.3
Connors 63
- 47 Unforced (20 FH, 24 BH, 2 FHV, 1 OH)… with 1 FH pass attempt at net
- 16 Forced (9 FH, 7 BH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 44.3
(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 are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Becker was...
- 18/33 (55%) at net, including...
- 2/3 (67%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
---
- 0/2 forced back
Connors was...
- 23/30 (77%) at net, including...
- 3/3 (100%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 2/2 off 1st serve and...
- 1/1 off 2nd serve
---
- 2/2 forced back/retreated
Match Report
Baseline match, and Becker has a couple of things Connors doesn’t. The only impressive shot on show, his FH and a bigger serve that results in him returning more regularly. Connors’ brain work doesn’t help his cause either
Its not a very good match, by either player though. If Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander represent Grade A clay courters of the period, this would be Grade C
Two trade groundies from the back. The hitting is controlled, clinical, but short of powerful. There’s some moving-opponent-around play, but its minority, neither player moves exceptionally well but both are able to handle the others wider hits
And the errors come. Lot of routine shot misses. And considerable amount of it in short rallies, including routine third balls. The errors that come in medium length rallies aren’t anything more difficult either. There aren’t many long rallies… because they can’t keep the ball in play long enough for there to be
Boris is -
- more consistent (ground UEs Boris 35, Jimbo 44 & neutral UEs Boris 22, Jimbo 32)
- has only impressive shot around in his FH (14 winners, 16 UEs. The other 3 winners/UE differentials are -14, -16 and -20)
- much better in serve-return complex (returns at 91%, leads unreturned rate 24% to 9%)
As for Connors’ brain-work, he stays on the baseline, trading these groundies that he’s not only getting short end of, but that he’s adapted himself to keep from getting an even shorter end. But he’s doing great coming to net. Yet he shows little inclination to do so
Ground UEs tell you how the baseline rallies are going. Its even worse than it looks for Jimbo because of all the damage Boris’ FH that does for which he has no equivalent
Boris 12 ground-to-ground winners (excluding a return, including a drop shot) are more than Jimbo’s total 10 ground winners (and only 3 of those are ground-to-ground). Boris’ FH dtl alone has 7 winners
But rallying to net -
- Boris 16/30 at 53%
- Jimbo 20/27 at 74%
And yet, he’s happy to stay on the baseline and lose points in an error battle he never looks likely to win. Early on, he plays from orthodox position, and its his FH that gives up the most UEs - usually, just missing a routine cc shot, amidst a routine cc rally
He adapts by moving over for most of second 2 sets towards his FH side, so he can take Boris BH cc with his BH. Which he hits back inside-out (to avoid Boris’ dangerous FH), thus protecting his vulnerable FH some, but his own BH doesn’t fare too well either (though better than his FH did). Long and short of it is he’s losing comfortably from the back on error front, he’s losing from the back on winner front and he’s getting no freebies with the serve while giving away a fair chunk
Just 1 thing is going his way. The net points. And he shows little interest in pursuing it. This getting beaten from the back, doing well coming in, but not coming in much is a repeat pattern in Connors’ matches from later in his career
Action & Stats
Boris leading unreturneds 24% to 9% is first important one
For him, 64% first serves in is very high, and indicates he’s not going for too much with it. Healthy serving is a good description. Jimbo even spontaneously hit a runaround FH against 1 of the first serves - not the sort of thing you see against Boris ever, to give some idea of how much Boris holds back on the serve shot (that particular serve was one of his slower ones though)
Jimbo’s returning against it isn’t very good. 14 of his 19 return errors have been marked UEs. Much of it is against healthy first serves, not widely placed, so not the easiest of UEs, but UEs still. Routine returns, the kind he’s making regularly on whole
Jimbo’s serve is a point-starter and even for him, 79% in is high. 0 trouble for Boris in returning it and he makes 91% returns. Just 1 FE (and a second serve aces the direction of which catches Boris out)
Note Boris winning more second serve points than firsts 70% to 63% - highly unusual (probably unique) for him or a server of his calibre @krosero
Ground action as described earlier. Normal baseline stuff of power, depth, direction, change-ups. Jimbo adjusts to his FH being loose by moving over to play more BHs, so it’s the BH that’s copped the most UEs
UE breakdown
- Boris FH 16
- Boris BH 19 & Jimbo FH 20
- Jimbo BH 24
Jimbo’s FH is struck well, probably better than his BH on whole. He just can’t keep striking it over and over - even by ordinary standards of the match
Boris’ FH not only starring statistically with the 14 winners (all other groundies in match have 13 total), but beyond that too. It’s the only shot that can regularly open the court
The 8 dtl winners - as many as all other shots’ non-pass winners - are star. He goes for them out of routine cc rallies as much as setting up by particularly moving Jimbo to the other side first. Doesn’t miss much either - he’s got just 4 winner attempt UEs
And its not just the dtl - he’s got a pair of cc and inside-out winners each too
FH doesn’t get too much better of Jimbo’s BH in cc rallies in terms of consistency (good lot of Jimbo’s would be hitting inside-outs against Boris’ BH), but it is better hit, considerably better of angles (Jimbo’s is average) and clearly, much, much, much better as a finisher