Boris Becker beat Jim Courier 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4 in Stockholm semi-final, 1991 on carpet
Becker would go onto beat Stefan Edberg in the final to defend his title. Courier had won the French Open earlier in the year and would finish runner-up at the Year End Championship shortly after
Becker won 102 points, Courier 92
Becker serve-volleyed off all first serves and most seconds
Serve Stats
Becker...
- 1st serve percentage (57/103) 56%
- 1st serve points won (46/57) 81%
- 2nd serve points won (24/46) 52%
- Aces 13 (1 second serve), Service Winners 2
- Double Faults 8
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (36/103) 35%
Courier...
- 1st serve percentage (60/91) 66%
- 1st serve points won (43/60) 72%
- 2nd serve points won (16/31) 52%
- Aces 11 (including 1 Becker whiff), Service Winners 2
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (28/91) 31%
Serve Patterns
Becker served...
- to FH 32%
- to BH 59%
- to Body 9%
Courier served...
- to FH 37%
- to BH 44%
- to Body 19%
Return Stats
Becker made...
- 61 (28 FH, 33 BH), including 3 runaround FHs, 17 return-approaches & 2 drop-returns
- 3 Winners (3 BH), including 1 drop-return
- 15 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (3 FH, 3 BH), including 2 return-approach attempts
- 9 Forced (2 FH, 7 BH)
- Return Rate (61/89) 69%
Courier made...
- 59 (18 FH, 41 BH), including 1 runaround FH, 1 return-approach & 1 lob-return (unintentional)
- 4 Winners (3 FH, 1 BH), including 1 lob-return (unintentional)
- 21 Errors, comprising...
- 2 Unforced (2 FH)
- 19 Forced (8 FH, 11 BH)
- Return Rate (59/95) 62%
Break Points
Becker 3/6 (5 games)
Courier 1/5 (3 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Becker 27 (4 FH, 4 BH, 6 FHV, 7 BHV, 5 OH, 1 BHOH)
Courier 28 (14 FH, 7 BH, 3 FHV, 1 BHV, 3 OH)
Becker had 16 from serve-volley points
- 9 first 'volleys' (2 FHV, 4 BHV, 1 OH, 2 FH at net)
- 7 second volleys (2 FHV, 3 BHV, 2 OH)
- 5 from return-approach points (2 FHV, 2 OH, 1 BHOH)
- FHs - 1 cc pass and 1 dtl
- BHs - 2 inside-out passes (1 return), 1 drop-return and 1 net chord dribbler (with Courier serve-volleying
Courier's regular FHs - 4 cc, 2 inside-out and 1 inside-in
- FH passes - 3 cc (1 return, 1 diving shot), 2 dtl (1 return), 1 lob and 1 longline lob return (unintentional)
- regular BH - 1 running-down-drop-shot dtl at net
- BH passes - 4 cc (1 return, 1 at net), 1 cc/longline (that Becker strangely ducked under) and 1 longline
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Becker 28
- 13 Unforced (4 FH, 3 BH, 4 FHV, 2 BHV)
- 15 Forced (2 FH, 6 BH, 1 FHV, 4 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 1 Tweener)... with 1 BH at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 50
Courier 37
- 9 Unforced (5 FH, 1 BH, 3 BHV)
- 28 Forced (11 FH, 13 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 2 BH1/2V)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 51.1
(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
Becker was...
- 62/92 (69%) at net, including...
- 46/66 (70%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 32/43 (74%) off 1st serve and...
- 14/23 (61%) off 2nd serve
---
- 11/17 (65%) return-approaching
- 0/2 forced back
Courier was...
- 19/30 (63%) at net, including...
- 10/18 (56%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 9/15 (60%) off 1st serve and...
- 1/3 (33%) off 2nd serve
---
- 1/1 return-approaching
Match Report
Very strong return-approaching from Becker proves the difference in a well played match on a fast court
Boris serve-volleys most of the time - off all first serves and 61% of the time off 2nd serves, while serving typically hard. Good enough to see him hold comfortably for the most part. Courier serves near as hard, a lot more consistently (he has 2 double faults to Boris' 8) and serve-volleys a fair bit himself. For 1st set and a bit, he's the better player
No breaks in the 1st set and Courier takes the tiebreak. From middle of 2nd set onwards, Boris takes to return-approaching. Not chip-charges. He hammers the ball hard, sometimes wide and often deep before following it to net, and wins 6 games in a row to take the 2nd set and lead by 2 breaks in the 3rd. Courier pulls 1 back but his game has been thrown for a loop. He doesn't serve as hard (likely to avoid having to serve 2nd serves that are getting return-approached), comes to net to an uncomfortable amount for him (likely to keep Boris away from it) and Boris remains better player til end
Some great shots and some strange ones. Early on, Courier throws in a slower, wide kick 1st serve. Boris expertly drop shots the return for a winner. He plays another such return later in match, but this time Courier does well to run it down and hit a winner. There's a memorable Courier diving, FH cc passing winner. And Boris plays 2 very strange shots back to back - first ducking under a well hit but not overwhelming BH pass that lands well inside for a winner, then gracefully moving out the way of a body serve without offering a shot as it goes for an ace
Serve & Return
1st serve is roughly a wash between the 2 players
Becker 12 aces, 2 service winners from 57 first serves. Courier 11 aces (1 is Becker whiff), 2 service winners from 60. Becker is +4% on unreturned serves (7% excluding double faults), which is largely due to all the extra serve-volleying he does. Courier is also serving a lot to the body (19% to 10%), which are not intended to be aces, though he has one with a body serve
In light of Becker's reputation in particular, is being roughly even or slightly ahead on 1st serve strength a relative loss for him? Not really
Something changed in Boris somewhere around mid '90s. He was always a big server, but only became a super-heavyweight Goran, Krajicek, Philippoussis 'botting calibre one bit after this match. I haven't come across any completely overwhelming serve showings from him '85-'93 and small number of almost average ones. By contrast, they're the norm rather than exception from about '94 onward. In that context, his showing here is within his norm
Tough to return for Courier, but not just-getting-racquet-on-ball is tough. He does a decent job. Most returns are about net high, some particularly hard hit for Boris' 1st volley
Boris' 2nd serving is very good, strong enough to confidently serve-volley behind against a strong returner. He faces more tough 1st volleys doing it, but still wins 61% points. That's balanced against high 8 double faults
They key to play is Becker's return. Mid-way through 2nd serve, he starts hammering 2nd serves and following them to net. The returns are hard enough that they're potentially point ending shots, even without the approach. With it, it proves overwhelming. Boris wins 11/17 points return-approaching, while only just 2 errors trying. The shots are ambitious enough that it wouldn't have been shocking for him to have missed as often as not. A couple of these plays are against 1st serves when he can hit the return wide. 5 winners coming out of them total
Boris' return-approaches turn the match on its head. Leaving aside his winning so many points, Courier alters his game, takes something off 1st serves to get more in and serves more to the body to prevent the play. Neither works. Boris is able to neutralize more 1st serves - Courier's 1st serve points won drops from 78% for 2 sets to 60% in the 3rd - and he whacks return-approaches to body serves just as readily as anything else. In general, Boris is fantastic returner of body serves
Courier returns firmly. He keeps an unusual position half-way between center and sideline, especially in deuce court
Becker would go onto beat Stefan Edberg in the final to defend his title. Courier had won the French Open earlier in the year and would finish runner-up at the Year End Championship shortly after
Becker won 102 points, Courier 92
Becker serve-volleyed off all first serves and most seconds
Serve Stats
Becker...
- 1st serve percentage (57/103) 56%
- 1st serve points won (46/57) 81%
- 2nd serve points won (24/46) 52%
- Aces 13 (1 second serve), Service Winners 2
- Double Faults 8
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (36/103) 35%
Courier...
- 1st serve percentage (60/91) 66%
- 1st serve points won (43/60) 72%
- 2nd serve points won (16/31) 52%
- Aces 11 (including 1 Becker whiff), Service Winners 2
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (28/91) 31%
Serve Patterns
Becker served...
- to FH 32%
- to BH 59%
- to Body 9%
Courier served...
- to FH 37%
- to BH 44%
- to Body 19%
Return Stats
Becker made...
- 61 (28 FH, 33 BH), including 3 runaround FHs, 17 return-approaches & 2 drop-returns
- 3 Winners (3 BH), including 1 drop-return
- 15 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (3 FH, 3 BH), including 2 return-approach attempts
- 9 Forced (2 FH, 7 BH)
- Return Rate (61/89) 69%
Courier made...
- 59 (18 FH, 41 BH), including 1 runaround FH, 1 return-approach & 1 lob-return (unintentional)
- 4 Winners (3 FH, 1 BH), including 1 lob-return (unintentional)
- 21 Errors, comprising...
- 2 Unforced (2 FH)
- 19 Forced (8 FH, 11 BH)
- Return Rate (59/95) 62%
Break Points
Becker 3/6 (5 games)
Courier 1/5 (3 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Becker 27 (4 FH, 4 BH, 6 FHV, 7 BHV, 5 OH, 1 BHOH)
Courier 28 (14 FH, 7 BH, 3 FHV, 1 BHV, 3 OH)
Becker had 16 from serve-volley points
- 9 first 'volleys' (2 FHV, 4 BHV, 1 OH, 2 FH at net)
- 7 second volleys (2 FHV, 3 BHV, 2 OH)
- 5 from return-approach points (2 FHV, 2 OH, 1 BHOH)
- FHs - 1 cc pass and 1 dtl
- BHs - 2 inside-out passes (1 return), 1 drop-return and 1 net chord dribbler (with Courier serve-volleying
Courier's regular FHs - 4 cc, 2 inside-out and 1 inside-in
- FH passes - 3 cc (1 return, 1 diving shot), 2 dtl (1 return), 1 lob and 1 longline lob return (unintentional)
- regular BH - 1 running-down-drop-shot dtl at net
- BH passes - 4 cc (1 return, 1 at net), 1 cc/longline (that Becker strangely ducked under) and 1 longline
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Becker 28
- 13 Unforced (4 FH, 3 BH, 4 FHV, 2 BHV)
- 15 Forced (2 FH, 6 BH, 1 FHV, 4 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 1 Tweener)... with 1 BH at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 50
Courier 37
- 9 Unforced (5 FH, 1 BH, 3 BHV)
- 28 Forced (11 FH, 13 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 2 BH1/2V)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 51.1
(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
Becker was...
- 62/92 (69%) at net, including...
- 46/66 (70%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 32/43 (74%) off 1st serve and...
- 14/23 (61%) off 2nd serve
---
- 11/17 (65%) return-approaching
- 0/2 forced back
Courier was...
- 19/30 (63%) at net, including...
- 10/18 (56%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 9/15 (60%) off 1st serve and...
- 1/3 (33%) off 2nd serve
---
- 1/1 return-approaching
Match Report
Very strong return-approaching from Becker proves the difference in a well played match on a fast court
Boris serve-volleys most of the time - off all first serves and 61% of the time off 2nd serves, while serving typically hard. Good enough to see him hold comfortably for the most part. Courier serves near as hard, a lot more consistently (he has 2 double faults to Boris' 8) and serve-volleys a fair bit himself. For 1st set and a bit, he's the better player
No breaks in the 1st set and Courier takes the tiebreak. From middle of 2nd set onwards, Boris takes to return-approaching. Not chip-charges. He hammers the ball hard, sometimes wide and often deep before following it to net, and wins 6 games in a row to take the 2nd set and lead by 2 breaks in the 3rd. Courier pulls 1 back but his game has been thrown for a loop. He doesn't serve as hard (likely to avoid having to serve 2nd serves that are getting return-approached), comes to net to an uncomfortable amount for him (likely to keep Boris away from it) and Boris remains better player til end
Some great shots and some strange ones. Early on, Courier throws in a slower, wide kick 1st serve. Boris expertly drop shots the return for a winner. He plays another such return later in match, but this time Courier does well to run it down and hit a winner. There's a memorable Courier diving, FH cc passing winner. And Boris plays 2 very strange shots back to back - first ducking under a well hit but not overwhelming BH pass that lands well inside for a winner, then gracefully moving out the way of a body serve without offering a shot as it goes for an ace
Serve & Return
1st serve is roughly a wash between the 2 players
Becker 12 aces, 2 service winners from 57 first serves. Courier 11 aces (1 is Becker whiff), 2 service winners from 60. Becker is +4% on unreturned serves (7% excluding double faults), which is largely due to all the extra serve-volleying he does. Courier is also serving a lot to the body (19% to 10%), which are not intended to be aces, though he has one with a body serve
In light of Becker's reputation in particular, is being roughly even or slightly ahead on 1st serve strength a relative loss for him? Not really
Something changed in Boris somewhere around mid '90s. He was always a big server, but only became a super-heavyweight Goran, Krajicek, Philippoussis 'botting calibre one bit after this match. I haven't come across any completely overwhelming serve showings from him '85-'93 and small number of almost average ones. By contrast, they're the norm rather than exception from about '94 onward. In that context, his showing here is within his norm
Tough to return for Courier, but not just-getting-racquet-on-ball is tough. He does a decent job. Most returns are about net high, some particularly hard hit for Boris' 1st volley
Boris' 2nd serving is very good, strong enough to confidently serve-volley behind against a strong returner. He faces more tough 1st volleys doing it, but still wins 61% points. That's balanced against high 8 double faults
They key to play is Becker's return. Mid-way through 2nd serve, he starts hammering 2nd serves and following them to net. The returns are hard enough that they're potentially point ending shots, even without the approach. With it, it proves overwhelming. Boris wins 11/17 points return-approaching, while only just 2 errors trying. The shots are ambitious enough that it wouldn't have been shocking for him to have missed as often as not. A couple of these plays are against 1st serves when he can hit the return wide. 5 winners coming out of them total
Boris' return-approaches turn the match on its head. Leaving aside his winning so many points, Courier alters his game, takes something off 1st serves to get more in and serves more to the body to prevent the play. Neither works. Boris is able to neutralize more 1st serves - Courier's 1st serve points won drops from 78% for 2 sets to 60% in the 3rd - and he whacks return-approaches to body serves just as readily as anything else. In general, Boris is fantastic returner of body serves
Courier returns firmly. He keeps an unusual position half-way between center and sideline, especially in deuce court
