Match Stats/Report - Becker vs Edberg, Stockholm final, 1990

W

Waspsting

Hall of Fame
Boris Becker beat Stefan Edberg 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 in the Stockholm indoor final, 1990 on carpet

Earlier in the year, the two had clashed for the third year in succession in the Wimbledon final, with Edberg prevailing (corrected/edited - credit @andreh)

Becker won 102 points, Edberg 62

Both players virtually serve-volleyed off all their first serves. Becker serve-volleyed occasionally off the second and Edberg did so the majority of the time

Serve Stats
Becker...
- 1st serve percentage (33/54) 61%
- 1st serve points won (30/33) 91%
- 2nd serve points won (18/21) 86%
- Aces 7, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (24/54) 44%

Edberg....
- 1st serve percentage (69/110) 63%
- 1st serve points won (40/69) 58%
- 2nd serve points won (16/41) 39%
- Aces 4
- Double Faults 6
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (24/110) 22%

Serve Patterns
Becker served...
- to FH 30%
- to BH 58%
- to Body 11%

Edberg served....
- to FH 33%
- to BH 62%
- to Body 6%

Return Stats
Becker made...
- 80 (28 FH, 52 BH), including 2 runaround FHs and 1 return-approach
- 5 Winners (2 FH, 3 BH)
- 20 Errors, comprising...
- 1 Unforced (1 FH)
- 19 Forced (9 FH, 10 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- Return Rate (80/104) 77%

Edberg made...
- 28 (9 FH, 19 BH), including 4 return-approaches
- 16 Errors, comprising...
- 2 Unforced (2 FH), including 1 return-approach attempt
- 14 Forced (4 FH, 10 BH)
- Return Rate (28/52) 54%

Break Points
Becker 6/16 (8 games)
Edberg 0

Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Becker 27 (5 FH, 11 BH, 6 FHV, 4 BHV, 1 OH)
Edberg 16 (1 FH, 4 FHV, 7 BHV, 4 OH)

Becker had 10 from serve-volley points
- 2 first volleys (2 BHV)
- 7 second volleys (5 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
- 1 third volley (1 FHV)

- 15 passes (4 FH, 11 BH)
- FHs - 1 cc, 1 dtl/inside-out and 2 inside-out returns
- BHs - 4 cc (2 returns), 4 dtl, 1 dtl/inside-out, 1 inside-out return and 1 lob at net

- 1 non-pass groundstroke - a FH cc

Edberg had 15 from serve-volley points
- 4 first volleys (2 FHV, 2 BHV, 1 OH)
- 9 second volleys (2 FHV, 4 BHV, 3 OH)
- 1 third volley (1 BHV)

- 1 pass - a FH dtl from mid-court

Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Becker 20
- 2 Unforced (2 BHV)
- 18 Forced (5 FH, 12 BH, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 55

Edberg 45
- 19 Unforced (2 FH, 3 BH, 6 FHV, 8 BHV)
- 26 Forced (7 BH, 6 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 10 BHV, 1 OH, 1 Tweener)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 53.2

(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...
- 33/37 (89%) at net, including...
- 28/31 (90%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 21/24 (88%) off 1st serve and...
- 7/7 (100%) off second serve
----------------------------------
- 0/1 return-approaching

Edberg was...
- 50/101 (50%) at net, including...
- 48/91 (53%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 34/62 (55%) off 1st serve and...
- 14/29 (48%) off second serve
--------------------------------
- 1/4 (25%) return-approaching
- 0/2 forced back from net
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Match Report
Making a short story long, lets start with Becker thrashes Edberg

I don't recall seeing anything like this (especially between players of this calibre). It seems every Edberg service game is a struggle and Becker just comes in and holds to love just like that. Edberg actually serves twice as many points as Becker (110 to 54)!

Edberg serves 13 games, Becker 12

Length of Edberg's service games - 22, 14, 10, 10, 8, 8, 6, 6, 6, 6, 4, 4
Length of Becker's service games -.. 6, 6, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Becker holds to love 8/12 times. Edberg 1/13 (the first game) and he's broken to love once too

Becker starts the match winning his first 13 service points and later has another run of 18. At one point, he wins 17 consecutive points (serve and return points)

In all, he wins 48/54 serve points

After surviving the 22 point game, Edberg goes on to lose the next 9 games... and triumphantly holds his arms aloft when he breaks the streak in an 8 point game (didn't face break point)

In all, Edberg faces break points in 8/13 games... and is broken 6 times

On the other hand, 15 all is the closest he gets to equality on Becker's serve - and not once is he ahead

Some great shots by Becker throughout the match. Two in particular stand out for me. An Edberg drop volley forces Becker to net. When he reaches the ball, he's nose to nose with Edberg and the ball is too low to hit powerfully at the Swede, whose body and proximity is severely limiting Boris' options. Becker lobs him for a winner. You don't see lobs played at such close distances often. The second memorable shot is a picture perfect drop FHV.

There are a number of other memorable plays by the German. a touch BH cc pass. A running FH cc pass to gain the first break in the second set. A lob volley at net that forces Edberg back (Edberg attempts a tweener but isn't close to putting the ball in play). An inside-out BH return pass to start the final game of the match. All little jewels

Playing Dynamics & Statistical Tidbits
Does Becker play exceptionally well? Or does Edberg play exceptionally badly?

I'd say some combo of the two but strongly tilted towards Becker playing exceptionally well

61% first serves in is high for Becker and would be a handful for anyone on any day. And he's going for - and hitting - lines with it. Edberg doesn't return particularly badly (just 2 return UEs) - and not much to be done against Becker serving his first serve the way he did

Edberg doesn't serves well enough... and I would primarily credit Becker for having a particularly good returning day for how that match up went. 63% first serves in from Edberg. Going for lines isn't his modus operandi, but with the constant serve-volleying, he can usually muster a decent unreturned serve percentage. And Becker is generally prone to a few wild missed returns. In this match though, Becker is relatively consistent on return, while retaining power.

This leaves Edberg with some work to do on the first volley... and here he's well below his personal norm. 14 unforced volleying errors in 3 sets + a groundstroke at net (Becker has 2).... not good. This, coupled with Becker returning and passing extremely well (Edberg also has 18 forced volleying/half-volleying/overhead errors, to Becker's 1) leaves Stefan in big trouble. He's just below 50% at net (50/101)…. how often do you see that? Should be noted that some of the forced volleying errors were of the milder variety (some combination of needing a stretch, being a bit low or being hit more powerfully than normal) that Edberg usually handles better than just about anyone. The majority though are flagrant forced errors (some combination of well out of reach, down by the shoelaces and hit with tremendous power). Verdict on this - slightly greater weight given to Becker passing well, but Edberg not volleying well not an insignificant factor

Becker is superb on the volley. Only 2/10 of his serve-volley point winners are from first volleys, but he gets that first volley in good, deep, usually to the BH and well away from Edberg. Either Edberg is forced into a passing error (and by 'forced', I mean genuinely forced.... he's on the run and completely on defence. Much like what he does to opponents often) or he manages to get the ball weakly back where Becker can easily put the ball away into the open court (7 second volley winners). Edberg also hit a majority of second volley winners (9/15), but most of these were more difficult than the putaways Becker had because Becker's passing shots were so much better. Verdict on this - credit to Becker for volleying superbly, not discredit to Edberg for passing

There's a bit of action from the baseline, particularly on Becker's second serve points. Edberg tends to look for a way to come into net on these points. Not a big factor in the outcome. Suffice to say, Becker comes off better baseline-to-baseline. 0 UEs from the back off the court for Boris, 5 from Edberg. Boris also forces errors in these exchanges by moving his opponent around. Edberg doesn't

Lastly, have a look at Becker's net numbers. 89% is the highest figure I've tracked for someone approaching 30+ times and this is the only match I've seen a player cross 90% in serve-volley points won

Summing up - a thrashing. Becker superior in just about every way - holding serve with insouciant ease and making Edberg struggle for every hold. You can find an instance when the shoe was on the other foot here https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...dberg-vs-becker-cincinnati-final-1987.634060/
 
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travlerajm

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
Edberg struggled against guys who could to hit solid flat returns off both wings from on top of the baseline.
 
J

JasonZ

Hall of Fame
Becker was the far superior player when these two were playing at their best.

And yet he lost two of their 3 wimby finals. In an interview he said that the 90s loss is the most bitter moment of his career
 
M

Moose Malloy

G.O.A.T.
This match has long been mentioned as one of the best matches of Becker's career, but the actual numbers are beyond remarkable.

Dominance ratio is talked about quite a bit here https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...-final-performance-ever.636074/#post-13077329

Basically you take the amount of points in % that you won on return and divide by the amount you lost on serve. So if you are barely losing points on your serve and are winning a lot on return, you have a high DR.

Here are some of the most well known DRs:
2.79 by Mac in 84 W final vs Connors
2.40 by Djokovic in 19 AO final vs Nadal
2.18 by Edberg in 91 USO final vs Courier
2.22 by Nadal in 17 RG final vs Wawrinka

Some other notable beatdowns:
2.57 by Edberg in 90 AO SF vs Wilander
2.33 by Becker in 89 DC final vs Wilander

And some numbers Becker had vs Edberg in other blowouts
1.41 in the 89 W final
1.68 in the 89 Paris Open final
1.85 in 89 DC final

So having said all that, the DR for this match is off the charts - 4.45! Becker lost only 11% of his points on serve and won 49% of his points on return. If this was a major final, it would be rank among the greatest matches of all time. It has a good case for the best indoor match anyone has played. the Mac Connors w final was amazing(and always been sort of the gold standard for dominance) but considering the surface, Connors serve and Mac's abilities on the return, it seemed like that could potentially happen. But playing a great indoor player like Edberg in his own country. And the fact that Becker is sort of sampras like on the return, not relentlessly looking to break like Mac or Fed or Nadal or Djokovic, I could never have imagined him reaching these hights here. Also, going through 3 straight sets without facing a bp seems rare for this era. I can only recall Lendl doing that vs Mac at 87 USO around that time.

@abmk
@NatF
 
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A

andreh

Professional
Certainly a spectacular match. I watched it when it happened, and being a Swede, it was a painful experience. Becker said afterwards it was the best match in his career up to that point. Edberg clearly wasn't at his best, Becker was, and this is the result. I remember there was even some booing from the crowd afterwards from people disappointed in Edberg's performance.

Becker was highly motivated, going after the no. 1 spot which had belonged to Edberg since a few months back after his Wimbledon and US Open run up tournament victories. Becker had already beaten Edberg in the Sydney final a few weeks before and was closing in after Edberg's great summer. In the next match at the Paris Open the no. 1 spot would be directly on the line. Alas, Becker had to retire injured which sort of put a dampener on a great rivalry. After this it fizzled out a bit and when Edberg was permanently removed from the no. 1 spot it was Courier that replaced him, not Becker.
 
W

Waspsting

Hall of Fame
andreh said:
Edberg clearly wasn't at his best, Becker was, and this is the result. I remember there was even some booing from the crowd afterwards from people disappointed in Edberg's performance.
Click to expand...

Funny you mention this

One of the things I was struck - and impressed by - was the crowd and how respectful they were towards Becker.

Here he is, thrashing the local and they gave him the applause and credit he deserved. When the cheered on Edberg's good plays in the second and third, it sounded like usual crowd support for the guy losing because they want to see more tennis, not partisanship

Comparing to crowds in France, the US and Germany, it stood out for me.... good crowd, good people

Moose Malloy said:
Also, going through 3 straight sets without facing a bp seems rare for this era. I can only recall Lendl doing that vs Mac at 87 USO around that time.
Click to expand...

3 others I've tracked -

Lendl-Becker Masters final 1986
McEnroe-Lendl Brussels final 1984
Becker-Sampras YEC round robin 91

Last mentioned is obviously not as important an encounter (I think it was you who told me that Sampras just needed a set to go through to the semis?)… but a very clean match from Becker, very few unforced errors and superb on the volley. Given Sampras playing better than Edberg did here, probably comparable in terms of Becker's quality of play

Will post that one up sometime
 
A

andreh

Professional
Waspsting said:
Funny you mention this

One of the things I was struck - and impressed by - was the crowd and how respectful they were towards Becker.

Here he is, thrashing the local and they gave him the applause and credit he deserved. When the cheered on Edberg's good plays in the second and third, it sounded like usual crowd support for the guy losing because they want to see more tennis, not partisanship

Comparing to crowds in France, the US and Germany, it stood out for me.... good crowd, good people
Click to expand...

Indeed, that's why it was remarkable - the Swedish crowd was (is) generally very polite. The Swedish commentators were a bit stunned as well, and mentioned it. This was after the match, when the runner trophy was presented, as I recall. But you know, this is a long time ago. I may not remember correctly.
 
A

andreh

Professional
Btw, anyone recall why Edberg didn't play the 1991 YEC? I know he was injured but can't remember the circumstances.
 
M

Moose Malloy

G.O.A.T.
Waspsting said:
Funny you mention this

One of the things I was struck - and impressed by - was the crowd and how respectful they were towards Becker.

Here he is, thrashing the local and they gave him the applause and credit he deserved. When the cheered on Edberg's good plays in the second and third, it sounded like usual crowd support for the guy losing because they want to see more tennis, not partisanship

Comparing to crowds in France, the US and Germany, it stood out for me.... good crowd, good people



3 others I've tracked -

Lendl-Becker Masters final 1986
McEnroe-Lendl Brussels final 1984
Becker-Sampras YEC round robin 91

Last mentioned is obviously not as important an encounter (I think it was you who told me that Sampras just needed a set to go through to the semis?)… but a very clean match from Becker, very few unforced errors and superb on the volley. Given Sampras playing better than Edberg did here, probably comparable in terms of Becker's quality of play

Will post that one up sometime
Click to expand...

thanks, I was referring to best of 5, not best of 3. It's rare even today, that sort of thing sticks with me. these are the only players to win major finals without facing bp:
1978 USO - Connors
1984 W - Mac
1995 W - Sampras
2003 W - Fed
2017 USO - Nadal

Forgot about Lendl at 86 YEC. His DR was 2.56, which is also among the best I've seen. Lendl seems like the type that would have matches like that(dominant on serve, break a lot)

Yeah a lot of RR matches at YEC from back then are sort of meaningless. Wouldn't read too much into stats for some of them. Becker had to win that match in straights in order to advance. Sampras had to win one set to advance. So the 3rd set meant nothing. Like I've said before, context often matters. Also, Sampras owns the record for most losses in the YEC RR while going on to win the title. He often lost his first RR match and still ended up advancing to SF. In 1999, he had a herniated disc at USO and was unable to play at all until YEC. His first match was vs Agassi, not sure anyone should read much into that loss. It's funny how today the media makes such a big deal when a top player loses a RR match. Sampras was always like, no biggie I have 2 more matches to play.
 
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A

andreh

Professional
Moose Malloy said:
Knee tendinitis. Withdrew a week before event, Novacek replaced him.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I thought it might be elbow related. I noticed that Edberg seemed to press and massage his right forearm on a few occasions in the 1991 Stockholm final in the third and forth set. His game collapsed a bit there.
 
W

Waspsting

Hall of Fame
Moose Malloy said:
these are the only players to win major finals without facing bp:
1978 USO - Connors
1984 W - Mac
1995 W - Sampras
2003 W - Fed
2017 USO - Nadal
Click to expand...

According to NY Times article, McEnroe in '83 Wimbledon final "held serve throughout, losing only 9 points in 12 service games, and was never further back than 15-30 in any of those games"
 
abmk

abmk

Bionic Poster
Moose Malloy said:
This match has long been mentioned as one of the best matches of Becker's career, but the actual numbers are beyond remarkable.

Dominance ratio is talked about quite a bit here https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...-final-performance-ever.636074/#post-13077329

Basically you take the amount of points in % that you won on return and divide by the amount you lost on serve. So if you are barely losing points on your serve and are winning a lot on return, you have a high DR.

Here are some of the most well known DRs:
2.79 by Mac in 84 W final vs Connors
2.40 by Djokovic in 19 AO final vs Nadal
2.18 by Edberg in 91 USO final vs Courier
2.22 by Nadal in 17 RG final vs Wawrinka

Some other notable beatdowns:
2.57 by Edberg in 90 AO SF vs Wilander
2.33 by Becker in 89 DC final vs Wilander

And some numbers Becker had vs Edberg in other blowouts
1.41 in the 89 W final
1.68 in the 89 Paris Open final
1.85 in 89 DC final

So having said all that, the DR for this match is off the charts - 4.45! Becker lost only 11% of his points on serve and won 49% of his points on return. If this was a major final, it would be rank among the greatest matches of all time. It has a good case for the best indoor match anyone has played. the Mac Connors w final was amazing(and always been sort of the gold standard for dominance) but considering the surface, Connors serve and Mac's abilities on the return, it seemed like that could potentially happen. But playing a great indoor player like Edberg in his own country. And the fact that Becker is sort of sampras like on the return, not relentlessly looking to break like Mac or Fed or Nadal or Djokovic, I could never have imagined him reaching these hights here. Also, going through 3 straight sets without facing a bp seems rare for this era. I can only recall Lendl doing that vs Mac at 87 USO around that time.

@abmk
@NatF
Click to expand...

haven't watched this match. But a DR of 4.45 vs Edberg is indeed off the charts.
Btw Edberg didn't face a single BP in his masterclass vs Courier in USO 1991 final.
 
The Green Mile

The Green Mile

Bionic Poster
Courier had 2 BPs in the 1st set (Edberg serving at 3-2) and another BP when Edberg was serving for the 2nd set at 5-4.

Another great match report btw, thanks...
 
A

andreh

Professional
The Green Mile said:
Courier had 2 BPs in the 1st set (Edberg serving at 3-2) and another BP when Edberg was serving for the 2nd set at 5-4.

Another great match report btw, thanks...
Click to expand...

I believe he faced 2 as well at 5-4 in the 2nd set, but I'm not sure. So 4 in all. Courier didn't play badly in match. Edberg was just in God mode.
 
M

Moose Malloy

G.O.A.T.
andreh said:
I believe he faced 2 as well at 5-4 in the 2nd set, but I'm not sure. So 4 in all. Courier didn't play badly in match. Edberg was just in God mode.
Click to expand...

I just rewatched that game, he saved one break point. Edberg made some crazy volleys to hold, Courier was inside the baseline ripping returns. On set point Edberg hit an ace that looked questionable. Btw I was at that match. Was rooting for Edberg, but wanted to see a 5 setter:)
 
K

krosero

Legend
Moose Malloy said:
This match has long been mentioned as one of the best matches of Becker's career, but the actual numbers are beyond remarkable.

Dominance ratio is talked about quite a bit here https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...-final-performance-ever.636074/#post-13077329

Basically you take the amount of points in % that you won on return and divide by the amount you lost on serve. So if you are barely losing points on your serve and are winning a lot on return, you have a high DR.

Here are some of the most well known DRs:
2.79 by Mac in 84 W final vs Connors
2.40 by Djokovic in 19 AO final vs Nadal
2.18 by Edberg in 91 USO final vs Courier
2.22 by Nadal in 17 RG final vs Wawrinka

Some other notable beatdowns:
2.57 by Edberg in 90 AO SF vs Wilander
2.33 by Becker in 89 DC final vs Wilander

And some numbers Becker had vs Edberg in other blowouts
1.41 in the 89 W final
1.68 in the 89 Paris Open final
1.85 in 89 DC final

So having said all that, the DR for this match is off the charts - 4.45! Becker lost only 11% of his points on serve and won 49% of his points on return. If this was a major final, it would be rank among the greatest matches of all time. It has a good case for the best indoor match anyone has played. the Mac Connors w final was amazing(and always been sort of the gold standard for dominance) but considering the surface, Connors serve and Mac's abilities on the return, it seemed like that could potentially happen. But playing a great indoor player like Edberg in his own country. And the fact that Becker is sort of sampras like on the return, not relentlessly looking to break like Mac or Fed or Nadal or Djokovic, I could never have imagined him reaching these hights here.
Click to expand...
Amazing numbers in this match, gonna have to check it out sometime on YT.

I don't know of any DR higher than this one, in a men's match (Graf did have 5.15 in her double-bagel of Zvereva, 1988 RG).

I have DRs calculated for over 400 matches in the pre-OE, from old point scores. Highest I have is 3.97 by Frank Parker at 1950 Philadelphia Pro, 6-1, 6-1 over Robert Stubbs, a relative unknown.

Next highest I have is 3.31 by Don Budge in a pro tour stop in 1942, 6-2, 6-0 over Bobby Riggs. That's a match between two big names so it's more comparable to Becker/Edberg.
 
K

krosero

Legend
Moose Malloy said:
Also, going through 3 straight sets without facing a bp seems rare for this era. I can only recall Lendl doing that vs Mac at 87 USO around that time.
Click to expand...
Some others I know of, all in best-of-five:

Federer-Agassi, 2003 YEC final

Krajicek-Kafelnikov, 1998 Stuttgart final

Sampras-Washington, 1993 RG R16

Sampras-Chang, 1994 Wimb QF

Forget-Curren, 1985 USO R128

Becker-Noah, 1989 USO QF

Lendl-Connors, 1985 RG SF

Becker-Kafelnikov, 1996 AO QF (per ATP)

Rostagno-Connors, 1991 Wimb R64 (per ATP)

Agassi-Rafter, 1995 AO R16

Ivanisevic-Rusedski, 2001 Wimb R16 (per ATP)

Wawrinka-Murray, 2013 USO QF

Noah-Anger, 1986 Dallas WCT Finals

Curren-Harmon, 1983 Wimb, R32

Kafelnikov-Sampras, 1996 RG SF

Before the OE, this was almost never reported. Whether it rarely happened, or was rarely noticed, I don't know. The only one I know of is from a best-of-three match: Rosewall beat Hoad 6-3, 6-4 at the 1957 LA Masters (outdoor concrete) without facing a break point.
 
W

Waspsting

Hall of Fame
Regarding DR.... biggest one I'm getting from the matches I've tracked is Borg-Vilas Monte Carlo 1980... I'm getting 2.02
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...-borg-vs-vilas-monte-carlo-final-1980.620820/

including best of 3, Lendl-Connors Forest Hills 1984 comes to mind as a candidate.... I'm getting 3.84
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...stats-lendl-connors-forest-hills-1984.607455/

and Edberg-Becker Cincinnati 1987... 2.00
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...dberg-vs-becker-cincinnati-final-1987.634060/

Not sure If I'm calculating DR correctly (percentage won on return/ percentage lost on serve?)… links are there if someone wants to double check

Whats putting this Becker-Edberg match over the top is the ridiculously low denominator... the numerator can be matched, but the denominator is unbelievable
 
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