Match Stats/Report - Becker vs Edberg, Stockholm final, 1991

[Waspsting]

Boris Becker beat Stefan Edberg 3-6, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the Stockholm indoor final, 1991 on carpet

This was a repeat of the previous years final (https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...becker-vs-edberg-stockholm-final-1990.646188/), which Becker had won more comfortably

Becker won 133 points, Edberg 128

Becker serve-volleyed off all his first serves and about half of his seconds - with great variance in frequency in different parts of the match. Edberg also serve-volleyed off all his first serves and the vast majority of seconds.

Serve Stats
Becker...
- 1st serve percentage (77/143) 54%
- 1st serve points won (60/77) 78%
- 2nd serve points won (26/66) 39%
- Aces 15, Service Winners 2
- Double Faults 6
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (49/143) 34%

Edberg....
- 1st serve percentage (73/118) 62%
- 1st serve points won (55/73) 75%
- 2nd serve points won (17/45) 38%
- Aces 8 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (29/118) 25%

Serve Patterns
Becker served...
- to FH 25%
- to BH 65%
- to Body 10%

Edberg served....
- to FH 37%
- to BH 57%
- to Body 7%

Return Stats
Becker made...
- 86 (35 FH, 51 BH), including 5 runaround FHs and 2 return-approaches
- 8 Winners (3 FH, 5 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 21 Errors, all forced...
- 21 Forced (7 FH, 14 BH)
- Return Rate (86/115) 75%

Edberg made...
- 88 (19 FH, 69 BH), including 5 return-approaches
- 9 Winners (4 FH, 5 BH)
- 32 Errors, comprising...
- 2 (2 BH), including 1 return-approach attempt
- 30 Forced (9 FH, 21 BH), including 1 runaround FH attempt
- Return Rate (88/137) 64%

Break Points
Becker 6/9 (8 games)
Edberg 5/17 (10 games)

Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Becker 40 (12 FH, 11 BH, 8 FHV, 6 BHV, 3 OH)
Edberg 48 (6 FH, 15 BH, 6 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 15 BHV, 5 OH)

Becker had 14 from serve-volley points
- 4 first volleys (2 FHV, 2 BHV)
- 11 second volleys (6 FHV, 2 BHV, 3 OH)

- 1 BHV from a return-approach point

- 21 passes (11 FH, 10 BH)
- FHs - 5 cc (2 returns and 2 at net), 2 dtl, 2 inside-out, 1 inside-in return and 1 lob
- BHs - 5 cc (3 returns), 2 dtl, 1 inside-out and 2 inside-in returns

- non-pass groundstrokes - 1 FH cc and 1 BH inside-out at net

Edberg had 27 from serve-volley points
- 12 first 'volleys' (1 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 10 BHV)
- 14 second volleys (5 FHV, 5 BHV, 3 OH)
- 2 third volleys (2 OH)

- 18 passes (5 FH, 13 BH)
- FHs - 4 dtl (2 returns) and 1 inside-in return
-BHs - 2 cc (1 return), 8 dtl (2 returns - both returns and one non-return being slices), 2 inside-out (1 return) and 1 inside-in return

- 1 non-pass FH - 1 inside-out return
- 2 non-pass BHs - 2 dtl at net

Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Becker 45
- 10 Unforced (3 FH, 5 BH, 2 FHV)
- 35 Forced (6 FH, 16 BH, 4 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 5 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 2 OH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48

Edberg 42
- 13 Unforced (1 FH, 3 BH, 3 FHV, 6 BHV)
- 29 Forced (14 FH, 4 BH, 4 FHV, 2 FH1/2V, 3 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 1 BHOH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 50.8

(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
Becker was...
- 69/108 (64%) at net, including...
- 60/95 (63%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 44/60 (73%) off 1st serve and...
- 16/35 (46%) off second serve
----------------------------------
- 2/2 return-approaching
- 0/1 forced back

Edberg was...
- 71/115 (65%) at net, including...
- 62/103 (60%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 48/66 (73%) off 1st serve and...
- 14/37 (38%) off second serve
--------------------------------
- 4/5 (80%) return-approaching
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Waspsting]

Match Report
Sometimes, a match is so close that one can't tell who the better player was. This is particularly the case for matches that go to five sets. This isn't one of those matches. Its obvious who the better player is by set - whoever wins it. Edberg dominates 1st and 3rd sets, Becker owns 2nd, 4th and 5th sets. If there are any question marks at all, its over the 5th set. 'Clutch', 'choking' and 'luck' don't have much to do with the result (usually, Becker clutching is a significant factor)

Set 1
They key here is Edberg passing particularly well and key to that is his using touch and angles to a greater extent than usual. Soft chips and angled shots force Becker to volley up, and leave Edberg with a decent shot at hitting the pass. Which he does. Its touch, not top spin, that's giving Becker a headache. Edberg is close to his very best on serve also, winning all but 1 first serve point and 5/7 seconds. 0 UEs from the Swede in the set

Becker does clutch to resist being broken early. Down 0-30 and later facing a break point, he bangs down an ace and two service winners (as well as two double faults) in going on to hold the game. The next time he finds himself down by that margin, he's not so fortunate with Edberg forcing errors from an at net Becker to seal the break. And he breaks again to seal the set - appropriately finishing with a perfectly placed, sliced BH dtl return pass

Set 2
Becker breaks to open the set by returning powerfully and forcing volleying errors. Down break point, Edberg makes his first UE, missing a BHV.

Level of play remains high, but Edberg isn't utilizing touch from the baseline as he did in the first set. Of the two players, Becker holds with greater ease. A game away from serving for the set, he twice return-approaches against Edberg's first serve - knowing full well Edberg would be serve-volleying

This type of boldness is another difference between the players. Edberg does things like this too, but invariably when he's in trouble and nothing else is working. Becker doing so at this point is just a way of rattling Edberg's rhythm and give him something to think about for the coming sets. It works too - Becker winning both points - but those are the only two he does in that game. No matter, he serves out the set to love with 4 unreturned serves

Set 3
Edberg strikes a superb BHV winner to win the first game to a very low ball that he inside-outs deep and then breaks next game with 3 passing winners (1 a bit lucky with a net chord throwing Becker off). He breaks again, this time with 2 return winners. He even has a break point to return the bagel Becker dished out to him the previous year. He has to make do with a breadstick - an ace and 3 volley winners in it. Just the 2 UEs from Edberg in the set, both from the baseline. So far, his volleying is at its best in the match

Set 4
Staring at defeat, Becker brings out the body serve. Edberg responds in kind. Becker wins 5/5 points he does so, while for Edberg it isn't any more or less effective than normal serves.

The standard of Edberg's volleying start to slip a tad (I don't think it was realistic to expect it not to eventually - he's been putting almost every low volley back in play deep). He survives a break point on his first service game, in which he misses a difficult volley (for being marked unforced error) and an easy one (for being marked forced error). Its just a small slip

But the break come as a result of Becker's high level of play. He hits 3 passing winners to break the first time, including one he just manages to reach on the full stretch. And breaks to love to follow up, this time with some help from Edberg (double fault and volleying error), though the game ends with a stunning BH cc return pass off the first serve

Set 5
Carrying on where he left off, Becker breaks first chance with 2 inside-in BH return winners. Edberg breaks right back in a game where Becker misses 11 successive first serves, without double faulting (I wonder what the record is for that?), but Becker makes it 3 breaks on the trot in game where he strikes 3 passing winners and Edberg makes a volleying error

There's just a bit of drama (the first of the match really). 4-2 and 30-0 up, Becker can only watch the next three returns fly by him for winners - all second serve points. He rectifies that with 3 unreturned serves. And breaks again to finish the match with 2 passes and 2 volleying errors from Edberg. Match point is Becker's only lob winner of the match

Strategy & Analysis
Not much to analyse. If you watch any one of the sets, its clear who the better player is.

Couple of points - after having so much success in the first set using a combination of touch and power in passing Becker, Edberg largely drops the first part of that for the remainder of the match. Becker also pulls up his socks and delivers more line-licking serves (in the first, though his percentage wasn't bad, he didn't do this)

- Edberg continuing to serve-volley off second serves in the last two sets. He wins just 4/20 second serve points in this part of the match - winning the only point he stayed back on. Becker runs around BHs and hits return winners and strongly forces volleying/half-volleying errors on these points. Perhaps Edberg should have considered staying back more

You can overall, both men have done poorly on second serves (Becker winning 39%, Edberg 38%). Becker serve-volleys more and more towards the end (and is more and more successful - 46% serve-volleying off second serves to Edberg's 38%).

So if Becker was doing so much better s/v'ng than staying back off second serves (he wins 40% of non double fault, no s/v second serve points), that suggests Edberg could hold his own in baseline encounters. Why not try when coming in off the second serve was hurting him?

Primarily, the credit goes to Becker's returning, which was excellent and aggressive in the last two sets, but I thought Edberg's choice was not the right one. He's not having it all his own way even on first serves (60% won in last 2 sets)… why continue pushing your luck when its pretty clear what your doing isn't working?

- Note the groundstroke FEs for the two players. Becker has 16 on the BH to 6 FH.... the picture is reversed for Edberg who has 14 FH and 4 BH. This shows you how well the two knew each others game.... they knew just which wing to go to (and which to avoid) when volleying

Summing up - excellent match from both players (just rarely at the same time). Serving, volleying, returning, passing.... we see the best of both players in all these areas. Becker is able to do it more often and deservedly comes out ahead

 

[andreh]

I rewatched this match a while back. It seemed to me that Becker was playing rather evenly throughout the match and it was Edberg's game that went up and down. God mode for the 1st and 3rd set. Decent in the 2nd, but sort of just dropped the ball in sets 4 and 5. It was a match I felt Edberg should've won, especially after being up 2-1, even having a set point for a bagel in the 3rd. He sort of lost his serve unnecessarily in the 2nd. Had he held there he would've had a good chance to take the match in 3 straight sets, but he hit a wild volley that he usually makes and lost his serve, inviting Becker into the match. When you let Becker get a foot in the door, he usually takes advantage of it, and he did in this match.

Edberg almost pulled of one his famous "down a break in the 5th, but breaking back and winning", something he had done to Becker twice in the past in W 1990 final and FO 1989 semi. But this time it wasn't to be. Edberg and Becker played 3 matches that went to 5 sets, Edberg winning two of them at W 1990 and FO in 1989, and Becker this one.

I also though I noticed Edberg occasionally press and massage his forearm muscles in the 4th or 5th set as if he was injured or at least fatigued. No mention of it from the commentators, though. He clearly didn't serve as well in those two last sets. Not only did he not get enough 1st serves in, when he did it seemed weak powerless compared to earlier in the match. Becker said in the post match interview that he noticed Edberg "seemed tired" towards the end of the match.

It ended Edberg's 2nd 21 match winning streak after the USO (the first one in 1990 after his W win).

 

[Moose Malloy]

Interesting that Becker was 3-0 vs Edberg in Sweden.

As far as missing 11 straight first serves, I'm pretty sure Lendl eclipsed that in the 5th set of the 88 USO final.
@krosero has posted about that, I think.

 

[AnOctorokForDinner]

Federer missed 15 consecutive first serves in the USO loss to Millman (included 1 DF).

 

[krosero]

An old list I made but have not kept up, of consecutive first serves missed:

15 by Sampras against Chesnokov in the 1995 Davis Cup final

15 by Becker against Sampras in a 1993 Wimbledon semifinal

14 by Becker against Lendl in R16 at 1992 USO

12 by Nadal against Djokovic in the 2011 Indian Wells final

11 by Lendl against Wilander in the 1983 AO final

11 by Federer against Nadal in the second set of their 2009 AO final

10 by Becker against Lendl in second set of their 1988 Wimbledon semifinal

10 by Lendl against Wilander in the 1988 USO final

10 by Borg against McEnroe in the 1980 USO final

9 by Lendl against Connors in the 1983 USO final

9 by Becker against Agassi in a 1995 Wimbledon semifinal

8 by Borg against McEnroe in the 1980 Wimbledon final

 

[thrust]

Boris Becker beat Stefan Edberg 3-6, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the Stockholm indoor final, 1991 on carpet

This was a repeat of the previous years final (https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...becker-vs-edberg-stockholm-final-1990.646188/), which Becker had won more comfortably

Becker won 133 points, Edberg 128

Becker serve-volleyed off all his first serves and about half of his seconds - with great variance in frequency in different parts of the match. Edberg also serve-volleyed off all his first serves and the vast majority of seconds.

Serve Stats
Becker...
- 1st serve percentage (77/143) 54%
- 1st serve points won (60/77) 78%
- 2nd serve points won (26/66) 39%
- Aces 15, Service Winners 2
- Double Faults 6
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (49/143) 34%

Edberg....
- 1st serve percentage (73/118) 62%
- 1st serve points won (55/73) 75%
- 2nd serve points won (17/45) 38%
- Aces 8 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (29/118) 25%

Serve Patterns
Becker served...
- to FH 25%
- to BH 65%
- to Body 10%

Edberg served....
- to FH 37%
- to BH 57%
- to Body 7%

Return Stats
Becker made...
- 86 (35 FH, 51 BH), including 5 runaround FHs and 2 return-approaches
- 8 Winners (3 FH, 5 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 21 Errors, all forced...
- 21 Forced (7 FH, 14 BH)
- Return Rate (86/115) 75%

Edberg made...
- 88 (19 FH, 69 BH), including 5 return-approaches
- 9 Winners (4 FH, 5 BH)
- 32 Errors, comprising...
- 2 (2 BH), including 1 return-approach attempt
- 30 Forced (9 FH, 21 BH), including 1 runaround FH attempt
- Return Rate (88/137) 64%

Break Points
Becker 6/9 (8 games)
Edberg 5/17 (10 games)

Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Becker 40 (12 FH, 11 BH, 8 FHV, 6 BHV, 3 OH)
Edberg 48 (6 FH, 15 BH, 6 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 15 BHV, 5 OH)

Becker had 14 from serve-volley points
- 4 first volleys (2 FHV, 2 BHV)
- 11 second volleys (6 FHV, 2 BHV, 3 OH)

- 1 BHV from a return-approach point

- 21 passes (11 FH, 10 BH)
- FHs - 5 cc (2 returns and 2 at net), 2 dtl, 2 inside-out, 1 inside-in return and 1 lob
- BHs - 5 cc (3 returns), 2 dtl, 1 inside-out and 2 inside-in returns

- non-pass groundstrokes - 1 FH cc and 1 BH inside-out at net

Edberg had 27 from serve-volley points
- 12 first 'volleys' (1 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 10 BHV)
- 14 second volleys (5 FHV, 5 BHV, 3 OH)
- 2 third volleys (2 OH)

- 18 passes (5 FH, 13 BH)
- FHs - 4 dtl (2 returns) and 1 inside-in return
-BHs - 2 cc (1 return), 8 dtl (2 returns - both returns and one non-return being slices), 2 inside-out (1 return) and 1 inside-in return

- 1 non-pass FH - 1 inside-out return
- 2 non-pass BHs - 2 dtl at net

Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Becker 45
- 10 Unforced (3 FH, 5 BH, 2 FHV)
- 35 Forced (6 FH, 16 BH, 4 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 5 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 2 OH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48

Edberg 42
- 13 Unforced (1 FH, 3 BH, 3 FHV, 6 BHV)
- 29 Forced (14 FH, 4 BH, 4 FHV, 2 FH1/2V, 3 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 1 BHOH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 50.8

(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
Becker was...
- 69/108 (64%) at net, including...
- 60/95 (63%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 44/60 (73%) off 1st serve and...
- 16/35 (46%) off second serve
----------------------------------
- 2/2 return-approaching
- 0/1 forced back

Edberg was...
- 71/115 (65%) at net, including...
- 62/103 (60%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 48/66 (73%) off 1st serve and...
- 14/37 (38%) off second serve
--------------------------------
- 4/5 (80%) return-approaching
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who is really interested in this tournament's match stats, or most others as well?

 

[BringBackWood]

Who is really interested in this tournament's match stats, or most others as well?

Me for one. I find that period of tennis far more interesting than current. In fact I think the 80's/late 70's will forever be the peak of tennis. You know it takes a while to take down these stats and post them? If you're not interested, fine, but no reason to dismiss it.

 

[thrust]

Me for one. I find that period of tennis far more interesting than current. In fact I think the 80's/late 70's will forever be the peak of tennis. You know it takes a while to take down these stats and post them? If you're not interested, fine, but no reason to dismiss it.

You are right, of course, sorry if I came across as a grumpy old man. It amazes me and I find it admirable that people like you put so much effort in getting these stats..

 

[Waspsting]

Who is really interested in this tournament's match stats, or most others as well?

No one, really

Can you keep a secret?

I don't actually take stats

Just roll dice to come up with the numbers. And write a fairy tale report to give it some colour

Takes 5 minutes. Could post 30 a day

But then the two suckers who are interested might catch on. So I distribute it sparsely.

Clever, huh?

….sorry if I came across as a grumpy old man. It amazes me and I find it admirable that people like you put so much effort in getting these stats..

Thanks [assuming I qualify as a "(person) like (BringBackWood)"] - and right back at 'cha

It amazes me and I find it admirable that people who can do such a good imitation of a grumpy old man have time to post 3000+ messages.... fruitful and important every one, no doubt