Duel Match Stats/Reports - Forget vs Sampras, Paris & Cincinnati finals, 1991

[Waspsting]

Guy Forget beat Pete Sampras 7-6(9), 4-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in the Paris final, 1991 on carpet

Forget had also recently beaten Sampras in the Cincinnati final. Sampras would go onto win the Year End Championship for the first time shortly after. The two would meet again after that in Davis Cup final rubber on carpet, with Forget of France again beating Sampras of USA, with France going onto win the title

Forget won 165 points, Sampras 161

Sampras serve-volleyed off most first serves, Forget did so close to and under half the time

(Note: I'm missing serve direction and corresponding return data for 2 points - 1 on each players serve
Partial Missing Points -
- Set 3, Game 8, Point 2
- Set 5, Game 5, Point 3)

Serve Stats
Forget...
- 1st serve percentage (89/163) 55%
- 1st serve points won (69/89) 78%
- 2nd serve points won (37/74) 50%
- Aces 29
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (56/163) 34%

Sampras...
- 1st serve percentage (98/163) 60%
- 1st serve points won (72/98) 73%
- 2nd serve points won (32/65) 49%
- Aces 24 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (53/163) 33%

Serve Patterns
Forget served...
- to FH 24%
- to BH 65%
- to Body 11%

Sampras served...
- to FH 33%
- to BH 63%
- to Body 4%

Return Stats
Forget made...
- 108 (29 FH, 78 BH, 1 ??), including 2 runaround FHs & 1 return-approach
- 29 Errors, comprising...
- 5 Unforced (1 FH, 4 BH)
- 24 Forced (13 FH, 11 BH)
- Return Rate (108/161) 67%

Sampras made...
- 106 (28 FH, 77 BH, 1 ??), including 14 runaround FHs, 10 return-approaches & 1 lob
- 1 Winner (1 BH)
- 27 Errors, comprising...
- 9 Unforced (7 FH, 2 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 18 Forced (10 FH, 8 BH)
- Return Rate (106/162) 65%

Break Points
Forget 6/18 (11 games)
Sampras 6/11 (7 games)

Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Forget 38 (16 FH, 9 BH, 2 FHV, 7 BHV, 4 OH)
Sampras 46 (6 FH, 11 BH, 10 FHV, 12 BHV, 5 OH, 2 BHOH)

Forget had 8 from serve-volley points
- 4 first volleys (1 FHV, 3 BHV)
- 4 second volleys (1 FHV, 2 BHV, 1 OH)

- 3 OHs on bounce - 1 from baseline

- FH passes - 2 cc, 5 dtl and 3 inside-out
- regular FHs - 5 dtl and 1 inside-out
- BH passes - 3 cc, 2 dtl, 1 longline and 2 lobs
- regular BHs - 1 net chord dribbler

Sampras had 20 from serve-volley points
- 11 first volleys (4 FHV, 6 BHV, 1 OH)... 1 BHV was a net chord dribbler
- 8 second volleys (3 FHV, 2 BHV, 2 OH, 1 BHOH)
- 1 third volley (1 OH)

- 3 from return-approach points (1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 BHOH)

- regular FH - 1 cc, 2 inside-out (1 at net) and 1 inside-in
- FH passes - 1 cc and 1 dtl
- regular BHs - 2 dtl and 1 inside-out
- BH passes - 3 cc (1 pass), 2 dtl, 1 inside-out, 1 inside-out/dtl and 1 inside-out/longline

Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Forget 61
- 26 Unforced (12 FH, 9 BH, 4 BHV, 1 OH)
- 35 Forced (15 FH, 15 BH, 1 FH1/2V, 4 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.5

Sampras 69
- 39 Unforced (16 FH, 16 BH, 2 FHV, 5 BHV)
- 30 Forced (6 FH, 10 BH, 3 FHV, 2 FH1/2V, 3 BHV, 5 BH1/2V, 1 BHOH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.5

(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
Forget was...
- 27/47 (57%) at net, including...
- 16/28 (57%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
---
- 0/1 return-approaching
- 2/3 (67%) forced back/retreated

Sampras was...
- 68/109 (62%) at net, including...
- 41/64 (64%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
---
- 4/10 (40%) return-approaching
- 0/1 retreating

Match Report
Great match - of quality, of variety, of tension, of competitiveness and one of the most balanced matches across net and baseline play you'll see. Quality of play from both players never dips low, Sampras occasionally raises his game but its Forget who does so over crucial periods to take the well earned win

The 'lifts' in each players level occurs over period of few games or more, not a-point-here, point-there. The latter, often attributed to being clutch, can just as readily be seen as fortune or random chance. Here, its the players ability and mentality that gets the clear credit

The court is perfect for tennis. Fast and low, but not unduly so as carpet in that period often was. There's reward for good serving but returns can be made - both players partake in both areas. Attacking play from the baseline is probably best option, but good neutral play is of value too. Forget is particularly good on the latter, Sampras is more proactive from the back but not unduly so

In short, all areas of the game are on show - serve, return, serve-volley, baseline play, net play and passing - and all of it from both men are high quality.

And there's tension. Sampras raises his game from late in third set through early in fourth and is up 2 sets to 1 and a break. From late third to early fourth set, he wins 21/23 points. Forget turns it around by playing his best tennis for rest of match. Even so, Sampras is able to create chances. Forget goes on a stunning run of hitting BH passing winners to take the 4th set (he hits 4 over 7 points - virtually perfect shots one and all) and is at his most damaging from the back with the FH in the fifth set.

Forget 37 winners, 26 UEs. Sampras 46 and 39
Throw in errors forced with winners, Forget wins 67 points forcefully to 26 UEs, Sampras' 81 and 39

What more could you ask for?

Play - Serve-Volley
Sampras serve-volleys 85.3% off the time off first serves, Forget 45.8% of the time. Neither player serve-volleys off a second serve

Excluding aces, off first serves -
Sampras wins 41/64 at 64% serve-volleying. Staying back, its 8/11 at 73%
Forget is 15/27 at 56% serve-volleying and 24/32 at 75% staying back

In other words, both players doing significantly better staying back then serve-volleying. Particularly surprising since there's just 1 return winner in the match

Both players serve well (more on that later) and I'd attribute not overly successful serve-volleying primarily to good returning. Returns against serve-volley are typically firm shots down the center about net high. The better ones are down low

Forget is very good in coping with the low volleys. He gets a good number and seems to put every one back in play. Just 5 volleying FEs for him. He can't put it in play with much authority though and Sampras passes very well from there. Against the regulation volley, he angles ball to open court giving Sampras running passes. 4 volleying UEs isn't much either, but they're easy shots. Sampras directs returns as to leave BHVs. Forget rarely gets a FHV and that's because of Sampras returning, not Forget preferring the BHV unduly. There's no major difference in Forget's volleying across wings to justify Pete's choice, but he is able to achieve what he sets out to... whether its a worthwhile goal remains to be seen

Sampras gets higher proportion of regulation volleys and puts them away more efficiently, including with drop volleys. He's not too good at the low volleys though. Note high 13 FEs in forecourt, including 7 half-volleys. About half of these are balls he usually makes - medium paced shots, not bullets to the feet. Difficult shots and he probably misses a few more than he makes

In nutshell, on standard down-the-middle-return, Sampras copes a bit better with the volleys. He's also able to get higher proportion of returns down low, but Forget copes very well with those, while Pete struggles when roles are reversed

Which brings us to the passing shot. Beautiful, clean hit shots from both player. They don't have to hit lines because balls are hit so well that just a bit to side is enough to go through for winners. Sampras' BH in particular is good and it cops the lions share of chances with Forget preferring to volley there. On FH, he's a bit erratic at times. Forget is stronger of FH for the pass, but his purple BH patch can be said to have decided the result

The only 'easy' passing shots (where baseliner has time to line up the pass) are created by a strong return or other pass. In other words, volleying is good and leaves tough passes. And both players deliver uncommonly well on the 'easy' pass, which is also rare

 

[Waspsting]

Serve & Return
Big, powerful first serves from both players as high ace counts of 29 and 24 suggests. And those figures how good the returning is to keep serve-volley winning numbers relatively low

Both players hold back on first serves some, which becomes apparent when they fully let loose with one. Sampras in particular serves bigger when staying back. I suspect he still hadn't worked out the balance between power of serve and its implications for being caught in no-man's land when serve-volleying

Very good second serves too from both players and it tends to leave the server with minor initiative after the return. In conjunction with very low double faults (Forget has 1, Sampras 2), you'd think that'd result in both players winning big lot of second serve points

In fact, both win 49%. And its not attacking retuning that accounts for Forget's number as he wins 6/10 when Sampras return-approaches. Another indicator of good returning

Return rates of of 67% and 66% is great stat for both players against strong serves and in Forget's case in particular, facing a lot of serve-volleying. Against server staying back, returns are typically hit deep (or at least, not short) with Forget swinging a few wide to boot

Play - Starting from Baseline
Baseline play is characterized by Sampras looking to attack while Forget counter-punches - and both are well done

For starters, Sampras isn't in a mad rush to attack. Neutral rallying is biased to attacking side with both players hitting cleanly and deep. Both slice well too - Forget more and better - shots that stay low. On a fast court, this type of play alone could qualify as good play

Sampras has an eye to taking to attack, which he does with wider hit hard groundies and net approaches. He attacks of both sides, leading slightly more from BH and looking to avoid Forget's FH. Quite a few medium length BH longline exchanges and Sampras even approaches BH inside-out several times

Sampras attacks effectively from back and Forget defends ably. Forget's forced to run down hard hit balls, which he does well, again utilizing slices to good effect. Few errors from Sampras attacking but he also finishes plenty of points successfully. About half of Forget's 30 groundstroke FEs would be from baseline points. UEFI scores of Sampras 48.5, Forget 46.5 is a fair indicator of each players aggression level. Sampras more, but Forget not particularly passive either. He just isn't looking to up things from the firm, deep hitting 'neutral' play

Commentary from around this period often talks about Sampras having a better BH than FH. I haven't found that to be true, but its pretty close in this match. Targetting Forget's BH, Pete leads with BH longlines, rather than more obvious FH cc's. He hits his BH cc's about as hard as FHs too and isn't shy playing the attackingly angled cc shot. He ends with 16 UEs apiece of either wing

Is Sampras taking the attack necessary? Probably not. He doesn't trail in basic consistency. Neutral errors are a near wash (Forget 16, Sampras 14 - he has 1 defensive UE too). Its in attacking errors where the big difference between the two lie (Sampras 13, Forget 3). In other words, Sampras attacking play is a function of his natural style rather than influenced by playing dynamics. Its a good way to approach play on such a court

Compare to the baseline play of Sampras and Boris Becker's matches on carpet. Usually in those, at least one of the two (and often, both) go for point ending shots early in rallies and usually miss. They make a hash of neutral shots in short rallies too. Neither looks to approach as a way of attacking. Here by contrast -

- both play well neutrally, firm hitting and deep and rallies are medium length
- Sampras creates attacking plays, including approaching
- Sampras pulls of his attacking plays regularly, with Forget moving superbly and defending ably to thwart it to

Play here is far, far better

While sticking to neutral from BH, Forget occasionally lets loose with his own FH. In fifth set, its downright dazzling. The combination of power and grace in his play is how I remember him. Movement is also excellent

Sampras' attacks are best made when he can find a way to net. He wins 23/34 or 68% rallying to net - higher than he is serve-volleying (64%). Forget's also does better rallying his way to net, winning 11/18 at 61% - 5% higher than he has serve-volleying. Volley vs passer dynamics are similar to serve-volleying dynamic, only approach shots tend to be wide shots and make for harder passes

Sampras' temperament
There are signs of cracks in Sampras' mental game

First set tiebreak ends with a Forget lob winner that Sampras thought was out. Coincidentally, the exact same thing happened in the pair's Stockholm semi the following year. In that instance, its unclear whether ball was in or out. Here, its clearly in. It rattles Sampras though. He remains standing through the changeover, tanks his first return game and plays without spirit for first few games in second set before getting it together

He gets huffy over a number of marginal calls that he couldn't possibly be sure about being right on

At other times, he seems intimidated by the crowd's expressive nature. Its a typical Paris crowd, whistling and hollering for little things including as servers are about to serve. Pete looks nervously nonplussed at some of these times

There's just a bit of timidity at the very end of the match. He retreats from net after making a first volley 1/2volley, allowing Forget to come in and force an error to bring up match point. On it, he stays back and plays neutral groundies, til Forget again comes in and dispatches a BHV winner

Not a major factor in the match, but worth noting

Match Progression
Match starts with a bang. First point is Sampras FH1/2V error. The next is BH1/2V one. Forget goes on to break, striking a FH dtl pass later on
Sampras breaks right back, hitting winners on 3 of last 4 points - a BHV from a moving-around rally, a BH dtl pass and a BHOH from a return-approach

Sampras serve-volleys constantly, Forget stays back regularly. Forget grants Pete an ace that had been called a fault. Forget serves 3 lets in a row just grazing the net on its way over. The 4th is also a let but just lands out to be a fault
Set goes to tiebreak, which is excellent from both players. Standout points include Forget swatting a FH inside-out pass against a chip-charging Pete. Both players are denied their first set points on which they're returning. Pete has the first one on serve, but is stumped by a top class FH lob

Set ends with Forget pulling off a perfect BH lob winner, which Pete thought was out (it wasn't)

Sampras is still whining to start second set and gives a sarcastic bow when a marginal call goes his way. Struggling through his first hold seems to jolt him out of it and he break right after. Plays remains good, but with little lulls - some tanky stuff from Pete, some loss-of-concentration stuff from Forget. Still, very good attacking baseline play from Pete and some lovely low returns from Forget too
Players trade breaks middle of set before Pete's down 0-40. He manages to outplay Forget from baseline on the break points and goes on to hold - and later serves out the set

Pete starts staying back off first serves more often starting third start, though serve-volleying more often than not. Players trade breaks again in middle of set - both great return games. And a poor service game by Guy to give up the break at the end. Starting game 10 and going to game 3 of 4th set, Sampras wins 21/23 points

Pete's on fire early in the fourth and hits some stunning, BH inside-out based passing shots to break. He maintains high level, but Forget chooses just right time to lift his game. First, he breaks to love by forcing 4 errors (BH pass, FHV, FH with a power return and FH1/2V). Next, he holds off a net charging Pete to hold with somee incredible passes. Finally he breaks again to love to end the set - an even better return game then the first break (BH lob winner, a BHV UE, a FH error forced with a power return and a BH dtl pass winner). Forget strikes 4 BH passing winners (1 cc, 2 dtl, 1 lob) in last 7 points of the set

Forget is at his most aggressive in the final set, playing more open court tennis, approaching net more, making low and half-volleys etc. Most notably, he starts firing off the FH in a way he hadn't previously. Match continues on serve with Forget having better of play til Forget breaks to end it, finishing up with a pair of net points

Summing up, if one had to pick a match that showcases all the various aspects of tennis play, this one would be it. Very good serving, including second serves. Good returning of the firm, clean hit variety with runaround FHs and chip-charges by Sampras thrown in. Excellent rallying with clean hitting, depth and strategically aiming for a side/avoiding one (Sampras going to Forget's BH), nice attacking baseline stuff (particularly from Sampras) along with defending (particularly from Forget) with approaching both springing out of or manufactured as another attacking option. Plenty of serve-volleying, very good volleying, excellent passing and all of it supported by great movement... this match has everything, from both players

Playing standard is remarkably consistent with virtually no ebbs and its the flows that push the result Forget's way. He's able to step it up another gear in the last two sets to take a well earned win

Stats for pair's '92 Stockholm semi - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...-vs-sampras-stockholm-semi-final-1992.682454/

 

[NicoMK]

It took me some time but I read everything. Nice review. I remember it as being a superb match with everything that you said in it.

In 1991, Guy Forget had the best season of his career, beating pre-prime Sampras in three major occasions, the last one that year being the Davis Cup final, unforgettable for the French team led by Yannick Noah and for the French crowd too.

Bercy was a great rehearsal of that final and no doubt his victory gave Guy Forget a lot of confidence for the DC final against the USA, led by Agassi, Sampras and the number one doubles team Flach and Seguso.

Thank you for bringing this to us @Waspsting. Very nice memories of such nice times, long gone...

 

[Waspsting]

In 1991, Guy Forget had the best season of his career, beating pre-prime Sampras in three major occasions, the last one that year being the Davis Cup final, unforgettable for the French team led by Yannick Noah and for the French crowd too.

Bercy was a great rehearsal of that final and no doubt his victory gave Guy Forget a lot of confidence for the DC final against the USA, led by Agassi, Sampras and the number one doubles team Flach and Seguso.

Would've liked to stat those matches but print is very bad

'91 was the first year I followed tennis regularly and I remember Forget as top player. And was surprised to find he didn't achieve a whole lot in his singles career

From memory, the rankings around about Wimbledon were -
- 6 Stich
- 7 Forget
- 8 Sampras

and they're all similar players - huge serves, good returns, all court skills, great movement

Forget's game is much as I remember it. Polished with a combo of grace and power in his shots. What happened to him after '91?

 

[jhick]

Would've liked to stat those matches but print is very bad

'91 was the first year I followed tennis regularly and I remember Forget as top player. And was surprised to find he didn't achieve a whole lot in his singles career

From memory, the rankings around about Wimbledon were -
- 6 Stich
- 7 Forget
- 8 Sampras

and they're all similar players - huge serves, good returns, all court skills, great movement

Forget's game is much as I remember it. Polished with a combo of grace and power in his shots. What happened to him after '91?

He was Forgetten

 

[NicoMK]

Forget's game is much as I remember it. Polished with a combo of grace and power in his shots. What happened to him after '91?

Well he ended 1990 as number one in doubles. In 1991, he started to focus on singles and got good results. 1992 was pretty good too, not as good as 1991 but he had some nice victories. In 1993 he hurt his knee. Took more than one year to recover but when he came back, he was never the same again. I guess that at that time they didn't have today's technics to heal that kind of injury.

He never got passed the quarters in Grand Slam. He could have done better but when he was on, he was such a good player...!

 

[NicoMK]

@Waspsting: maybe you could watch the Leconte-Sampras match from the Davis Cup tie that year and write stats.

As many here, I've watched millions of hours of tennis. I consider McEnroe as the most gifted player ever but I have never ever seen someone playing as good as Henri did that day.

He played shots that don't even exist. I truly recommend anyone to watch the full match if available on YouTube.

I'd be interested in seeing Henri's stats that day.

 

[Waspsting]

@Waspsting: maybe you could watch the Leconte-Sampras match from the Davis Cup tie that year and write stats.

As many here, I've watched millions of hours of tennis. I consider McEnroe as the most gifted player ever but I have never ever seen someone playing as good as Henri did that day.

He played shots that don't even exist. I truly recommend anyone to watch the full match if available on YouTube.

I'd be interested in seeing Henri's stats that day.

I tried... the print for both Sampras matches is horrendous. I can't tell if shots at net are volleys or groundstrokes, much less judge UE from FE, so gave up
The Agassi-Forget match is up too... that's missing a whole bunch of points, including full games. But its watchable

The Leconte match is in 14 parts - here's part 1

did this in its stead - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...te-vs-sampras-paris-second-round-1992.682367/

 

[Waspsting]

Earlier in the year, Forget beat Sampras 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 in the Cincinnati final, 1991 on hard court

Forget was seeded 6th, Sampras 7th.

Forget won 82 points, Sampras 87

Sampras serve-volleyed off all first serves, Forget did so half the time

Serve Stats
Forget...
- 1st serve percentage (50/84) 60%
- 1st serve points won (41/50) 82%
- 2nd serve points won (21/34) 62%
- Aces 14
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (38/84) 45%

Sampras...
- 1st serve percentage (52/85) 61%
- 1st serve points won (44/52) 85%
- 2nd serve points won (21/33) 64%
- Aces 14, Service Winners 4
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (35/85) 41%

Serve Patterns
Forget served...
- to FH 23%
- to BH 72%
- to Body 5%

Sampras served...
- to FH 15%
- to BH 83%
- to Body 1%

Return Stats
Forget made...
- 49 (5 FH, 44 BH)
- 4 Winners (1 FH, 3 BH)
- 17 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (1 FH, 3 BH)
- 13 Forced (13 BH)
- Return Rate (49/84) 58%

Sampras made...
- 45 (9 FH, 36 BH), including 3 runaround FHs & 2 return-approaches
- 1 Winner (1 BH)
- 24 Errors, comprising...
- 5 Unforced (2 FH, 3 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 19 Forced (7 FH, 12 BH)
- Return Rate (45/83) 54%

Break Points
Forget 1/1
Sampras 2/5 (3 games)

Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Forget 18 (7 FH, 7 BH, 2 FHV, 2 BHV)
Sampras 19 (6 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV, 5 BHV, 4 OH)

Forget's FHs - 1 cc, 3 dtl (1 return, 2 passes), 2 inside-out (1 pass) and 1 inside-out/dtl
- BHs - 3 cc passes (1 return), 2 dtl (1 return pass), 1 inside-in return and 1 net chord dribbler

- 2 from serve-volley points (1 FHV, 1 BHV), both first volleys

Sampras had 8 from serve-volley points
- 6 first 'volleys' (3 BHV, 3 FH at net)
- 1 second volley (1 BHV)
- 1 third volley (1 OH)

- 1 from a return-approach point (1 FHV)

- FHs - 1 inside-out and 2 inside-in
- BHs - 2 cc (1 return pass) and 1 dtl pass

Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Forget 32
- 13 Unforced (9 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV)... with 1 FH at net
- 19 Forced (6 FH, 12 BH, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.9

Sampras 25
- 17 Unforced (7 FH, 8 BH, 1 FHV, 1 OH)... the OH was on the bounce from the baseline
- 8 Forced (4 FH, 2 BH, 1 FHV, 1 FH1/2V)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.8

(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
Forget was...
- 19/24 (79%) at net, including...
- 15/18 (79%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves

Sampras was...
- 41/53 (77%) at net, including...
- 26/34 (76%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
---
- 1/2 return-approaching
- 1/2 forced back

Match Report
Another close as you can get match, this time on a high bouncing but fast hard court. Virtually nothing between the two players in last two sets. Clutch play by Forget sees him take the second set tiebreak and a splendid return game gets him his only break to end the match after Sampras takes the first set with Forget playing sloppy

Sampras serve-volleys off all first serves, Forget exactly half the time off. Again, neither player does so off second serves. Forget's strategy is obviously not about being at net - he only approaches 6 times from rallying - so for him that makes sense. For Sampras though, coming in behind second serve was definitely a viable option. The court, his second serve and his volleying are all up to it. Not that staying back is a bad strategy. Both players dominate their second serve points

Match long, Sampras leads in all basic categories, just like their Stockholm match the following year
- first serve in - Sampras 61%, Forget 60%
- first serve points won - Sampras 85%, Forget 82%
- second serve points won - Sampras 64%, Forget 62%

and wins 87 points to Forget's 82

With serve so dominant, that's not enough to ensure victory. In fact, given his large superiority in first set, having just a slender lead over whole match actually puts odds of Forget coming out on top, as ends up happening

Neither player can get much done when other is at net, as huge net points won (Forget 79%, Sampras 77%) indicate. A large part of this is due to unreturned serves stemming form serving power more than volleying

Baseline play is also very even. Both hit lustily hard (particularly Sampras off the FH), both get ball deep (especially Forget) and Sampras looks to come to net to finish

Its an odd court. Its fast - even second serves are hard to put in play, regulation groundies rush both players and anything a bit wide is likely to draw error. But its also high of bounce. Some serves rise head high, and not necessarily kickers. Groundstrokes are hit upto shoulder height and rarely lower than stomach

Serve & Return
Huge first serving and heavy seconds by both players. Sampras probably edging the serve alone, Forget able on the return

With all the extra serve-volleying, why is Sampras trailing unreturned rate 41% - 45%? Forget's a bit better at getting balls back. Perhaps due to trying more

Both players have 14 aces but Sampras with 4 service winners to 0 for Forget. That's Forget's greater commitment to return on show. The kinds of serves that go for service winners to Forget go for aces to Sampras. Huge power from both, but Sampras has the slightly better, wide placement.... if returning ability were equal, Pete should have significant lead on unreturned serves.

Plenty of missed returns against Forget not serve-volleying, by Pete. Nothing's easy against that serve, but scope to do better. Forget faces slightly tougher serves and the threat of Pete whipping away easy returns. And is able to get more returns in play - without leaving easy volleys often. Just 6 first 'volley' winners for Pete. 3 of them are FHs at net - the easiest shot of all - but not putting away one such ball turns out to be critical to the final result

Forget also with 2 return winners of 2nd serves (i.e. not passes). Pete isn't threatening with his second serve returns in that way

Heavy second serves too, a number of which have drawn FEs. Shoulder/head high balls coming down hard is no joke to return

Against serve-volleying, Pete usually misses the return. So does Guy of course, but when he can make them, tends not to leave easy volleys. Sampras though, volleys splendidly

This is all in the context of most serves being unreturned

 

[Waspsting]

Play - Baseline & Net
Just 1 volleying UE from Sampras all match and that's not particularly easy, reaction second volley. He gets plenty of returns around net high or low-ish. Volleys them all well away from Guy, leaving very difficult passes

Just 1 volley UE for Guy too, but he rarely faces a volley. Pete can't make the returns. There isn't much Guy volley vs Pete pass battle... its usually approach shot drawing error. And Sampras isn't bad on the pass either. Serves and other approach shots are all strong ones

As in Paris, Guy makes some clutch passes. Kind of balls you make less often than not and which would favour net player. When it counts most in tiebreak and last game of match, Guy makes 'em

Baseline play is more interesting. Guy is loose in first set, but tightens up after that. In Paris, Sampras had attacked (including manufacturing approaches) while Guy had counter-punched

Here - Sampras again looks for net. He comes in 17 times from rallies, winning 14 (Guy comes in 6 times, winning 4)
- Sampras is more attacking from back, but less so than in Paris. Play is hard hitting, beat down stuff. And on this court, beating down isn't difficult. Sampras leads with FH and its the most dangerous shot on show

Guy's depth is outstanding and he regularly hits to near baseline. Both players typically rally from well behind baseline and deep balls jump up to uncomfortable heights. 12 groundstroke UEs from Guy, 16 from Sampras... none of it is easy. Again, Guy's BH is the standout with just 3 UEs. He doesn't slice much, unlike Paris

Match Progression
From 2-2, Sampras reels off next 5 games, with 2 breaks. The breaks are sloppy from Guy. First when comes when he serve-volleys regularly in a game for the first time (most of his first serves had been aces prior but he wasn't looking to come in behind them). Misses an easy FHV and regulation FH at net and makes 2 back court errors

Second break opens with Guy missing a third ball FH winner attempt and ends with a double fault. In between, Sampras wins 2 net points - including a return-approach off a wide FH inside-in return against first serve.

Sampras meanwhile loses 2 points in 4 service games. Makes every volley away from Guy

No break points in the 2nd set. Guy rarely serve-volleys, but still gets plenty of return errors

Couple of key shots in tiebreaks. Sampras hits a FH at net back at Guy, whose pass draws a weak volley that Guy dispatches BH cc from near service line to get mini-break and go up 5-4 with 2 serves to come

Next point, Guy approaches from rallying and hits a fine, lunging FHV winner. Point after is second serve point where Sampras works his way to net. Guy hits perfect FH inside-out pass winner

2 tough games to start the third. Guy faces a break point in 8 point game. Sampras gently chip-charges the return and Guy confidently makes the pass BH cc. Next game lasts 12 points though Pete doesn't face break point. Game ends with consecutive BH return UEs... in this match, that's a major chance

Guy grants Sampras an ace to ball that had been called a fault, much to the crowds approval. Sampras is a bit whiney about calls in this match too. Guy has a couple of expressions of frustration at his UEs too

Returners win a grand total of 5 points in next 7 service games as Sampras steps up to serve to extend match. Guy picks now to find his best return game. He forces a hard FH1/2V error, next point Pete makes the 1/2volley but Guy makes the FH dtl pass and on break and match point, Guy slaps away a BH cc return pass winner

Summing up, nothing in it between the two players. Match is heavily serve dominated by two big servers on fast court. With both playing well, result is likely to be a point-here-point-there affair - and so it proves. Forget's the one to deliver on them, once again

Good action - Sampras volleying fluently and hitting hard and heavy from the back, especially off FH, Forget also slugging away from the back, less hard but with greater depth and efficient at net when he chooses to come in, rarely having to actually volley but effective at such times

Stats for pair's '95 Queen's Club final - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...s-club-finals-1994-1995.664201/#post-14138619
Stats for '92 final between Sampras and Ivan Lendl - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...ampras-vs-lendl-cincinnati-final-1992.683796/