Boris Becker beat Stefan Edberg 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-5 in the Year End Championship round robin, 1994 on indoor carpet in Frankfurt, Germany
The result eliminated Edberg (1-2 record) and saw Becker top the group with a 3-0 record. Had Edberg won, he would have advanced in lieu of Pete Sampras. Had Edberg won by a particular score, he would have advanced as top of the group. Becker’s spot in the semi-final was assured regardless of result. Becker would go onto lose the final to Sampras
Becker won 104 points, Edberg 101
Becker serve-volleyed off all first serves and most seconds, Edberg off all but 2 first serves about a third off the time off seconds
Serve Stats
Becker...
- 1st serve percentage (63/103) 61%
- 1st serve points won (45/63) 71%
- 2nd serve points won (21/40) 53%
- Aces 9 (2 second serves)
- Double Faults 5
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (37/103) 36%
Edberg...
- 1st serve percentage (72/102) 71%
- 1st serve points won (50/72) 69%
- 2nd serve points won (14/30) 47%
- Aces 5
- Double Faults 4
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (30/102) 29%
Serve Patterns
Becker served...
- to FH 45%
- to BH 46%
- to Body 9%
Edberg served...
- to FH 35%
- to BH 48%
- to Body 17%
Return Stats
Becker made...
- 68 (27 FH, 41 BH), including 1 return-approach
- 7 Winners (2 FH, 5 BH)
- 25 Errors, all comprising...
- 2 Unforced (1 FH, 1 BH)
- 23 Forced (7 FH, 16 BH)
- Return Rate (68/98) 69%
Edberg made...
- 61 (29 FH, 32 BH), including 1 return-approach
- 7 Winners (5 FH, 2 BH)
- 28 Errors, all comprising...
- 1 Unforced (1 FH)
- 27 Forced (11 FH, 16 BH)
- Return Rate (61/98) 62%
Break Points
Becker 5/8 (5 games)
Edberg 3/4 (4 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Becker 31 (10 FH, 6 BH, 5 FHV, 8 BHV, 2 OH)
Edberg 28 (10 FH, 4 BH, 7 FHV, 4 BHV, 3 OH)
Becker had 15 from serve-volley points -
- 5 first 'volleys' (1 FHV, 3 BHV, 1 FH at net)
- 10 second volleys (4 FHV, 5 BHV, 1 OH)
- 12 passes - 6 returns (1 FH, 5 BH) & 6 regular (6 FH)
- FH returns - 1 inside-out
- BH returns - 2 cc, 1 dtl, 2 inside-out (1 which Edberg probably left)
- regular FHs - 2 cc, 1 inside-out, 1 inside-out/dtl, 1 inside-out/longline, 1 inside-in, 1 lob
- regular FH return - 1 inside-out
- regular BH - 1 net chord dribbler
Edberg had 16 from serve-volley points -
- 11 first 'volleys' (5 FHV, 2 BHV, 2 OH, 2 FH at net)
- 5 second volleys (2 FHV, 2 BHV, 1 OH)
- 9 passes - 7 returns (5 FH, 2 BH) & 2 regular (2 BH)
- FH returns - 3 cc, 1 inside-out, 1 inside-in
- BHs returns - 1 dtl, 1 inside-out
- regular BHs - 1 cc, 1 dtl
- reglar (non-pass) FH - 1 cc
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Becker 38
- 11 Unforced (2 FH, 4 BH, 3 FHV, 2 BHV)
- 27 Forced (4 FH, 13 BH, 3 FHV, 2 FH1/2V, 4 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)... with 1 FH running-down-drop-shot at net & 1 BH at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.2
Edberg 32
- 13 Unforced (2 FH, 4 BH, 3 FHV, 4 BHV)
- 19 Forced (2 FH, 10 BH, 2 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 3 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 49.2
(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 are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Becker was...
- 55/85 (65%) at net, including...
- 52/80 (65%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 38/56 (68%) off 1st serve and...
- 14/24 (58%) off 2nd serve
---
- 1/1 return-approaching
- 1/3 (33%) forced back
Edberg was...
- 54/81 (67%) at net, including...
- 49/74 (66%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 44/65 (68%) off 1st serve and...
- 5/9 (56%) off 2nd serve
---
- 1/1 return-approaching
Match Report
Point-here, point-there affair, and Becker’s greater ability to send down the untouchable ace giving him an edge. Court is fast, though slower than average for this tournament around the period
Its not full serve-volley match. Both virtually serve-volley off all first serves (Edbergs stays back twice, once hard forcing a return error anyway) but from get-go, Edberg prefers to stay back off most second serves
Second serve-volleying frequency - Boris 73%, Edberg 35%
Second serve-volleying points won - Boris 58%, Edberg 56%
Not second serve-volleying points won- Boris 56%, Edberg 53%
Normal baseline rallies on non-serve-volley points, with two players trading firm groundstrokes, neither particularly looking for net. So there is some baseline play
Serve-volleying stuff is virtually equal
- winning first serve-volleys - both 68%
Coupling that with the second serve breakdowns above, things look virtually equal, with Boris having slim and probably indecisive advantage
Aces - Boris 9, Edberg 5
Unreturned serves - Boris 36%, Edberg 29% (raw number difference also 7)
With 2 second serves among Boris’ yield, the aces gives both first and second serve points won a little boost
Match so tight, ‘little boost’ is all it takes to to tilt things this way or that
Points won - Boris 104, Edberg 101
Points served - Boris 103, Edberg 102
Can you tell who won the match going on that?
First serve in - Boris 61%, Edberg 71%
First serve won - Boris 71%, Edberg 69%
Second Serve won - Boris 53%, Edberg 47%
Or that?
Break points - Boris 5/8 (5 games), Edberg 3/4 (4 games)
That’s the point-here, point-there thing
In some of the pair’s matches, Boris has slightly better of everything, flowing out of his more potent serve (because of that, he can return with more heat and because of the returning, he can volley more comfily and because of the volleying, he has better looks at passes). You could say this is a very watered down version of that. Boris does have the bigger, more potent serve - his leading aces 9-5 and freebies 36-29% are testimony to that, but its small and the chain reaction of superiority isn’t really present
Any advantage though is nudge in the right direction for winning prospects go and said nudge ends up tilting result way it goes
The result eliminated Edberg (1-2 record) and saw Becker top the group with a 3-0 record. Had Edberg won, he would have advanced in lieu of Pete Sampras. Had Edberg won by a particular score, he would have advanced as top of the group. Becker’s spot in the semi-final was assured regardless of result. Becker would go onto lose the final to Sampras
Becker won 104 points, Edberg 101
Becker serve-volleyed off all first serves and most seconds, Edberg off all but 2 first serves about a third off the time off seconds
Serve Stats
Becker...
- 1st serve percentage (63/103) 61%
- 1st serve points won (45/63) 71%
- 2nd serve points won (21/40) 53%
- Aces 9 (2 second serves)
- Double Faults 5
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (37/103) 36%
Edberg...
- 1st serve percentage (72/102) 71%
- 1st serve points won (50/72) 69%
- 2nd serve points won (14/30) 47%
- Aces 5
- Double Faults 4
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (30/102) 29%
Serve Patterns
Becker served...
- to FH 45%
- to BH 46%
- to Body 9%
Edberg served...
- to FH 35%
- to BH 48%
- to Body 17%
Return Stats
Becker made...
- 68 (27 FH, 41 BH), including 1 return-approach
- 7 Winners (2 FH, 5 BH)
- 25 Errors, all comprising...
- 2 Unforced (1 FH, 1 BH)
- 23 Forced (7 FH, 16 BH)
- Return Rate (68/98) 69%
Edberg made...
- 61 (29 FH, 32 BH), including 1 return-approach
- 7 Winners (5 FH, 2 BH)
- 28 Errors, all comprising...
- 1 Unforced (1 FH)
- 27 Forced (11 FH, 16 BH)
- Return Rate (61/98) 62%
Break Points
Becker 5/8 (5 games)
Edberg 3/4 (4 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Becker 31 (10 FH, 6 BH, 5 FHV, 8 BHV, 2 OH)
Edberg 28 (10 FH, 4 BH, 7 FHV, 4 BHV, 3 OH)
Becker had 15 from serve-volley points -
- 5 first 'volleys' (1 FHV, 3 BHV, 1 FH at net)
- 10 second volleys (4 FHV, 5 BHV, 1 OH)
- 12 passes - 6 returns (1 FH, 5 BH) & 6 regular (6 FH)
- FH returns - 1 inside-out
- BH returns - 2 cc, 1 dtl, 2 inside-out (1 which Edberg probably left)
- regular FHs - 2 cc, 1 inside-out, 1 inside-out/dtl, 1 inside-out/longline, 1 inside-in, 1 lob
- regular FH return - 1 inside-out
- regular BH - 1 net chord dribbler
Edberg had 16 from serve-volley points -
- 11 first 'volleys' (5 FHV, 2 BHV, 2 OH, 2 FH at net)
- 5 second volleys (2 FHV, 2 BHV, 1 OH)
- 9 passes - 7 returns (5 FH, 2 BH) & 2 regular (2 BH)
- FH returns - 3 cc, 1 inside-out, 1 inside-in
- BHs returns - 1 dtl, 1 inside-out
- regular BHs - 1 cc, 1 dtl
- reglar (non-pass) FH - 1 cc
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Becker 38
- 11 Unforced (2 FH, 4 BH, 3 FHV, 2 BHV)
- 27 Forced (4 FH, 13 BH, 3 FHV, 2 FH1/2V, 4 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)... with 1 FH running-down-drop-shot at net & 1 BH at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.2
Edberg 32
- 13 Unforced (2 FH, 4 BH, 3 FHV, 4 BHV)
- 19 Forced (2 FH, 10 BH, 2 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 3 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 49.2
(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 are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Becker was...
- 55/85 (65%) at net, including...
- 52/80 (65%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 38/56 (68%) off 1st serve and...
- 14/24 (58%) off 2nd serve
---
- 1/1 return-approaching
- 1/3 (33%) forced back
Edberg was...
- 54/81 (67%) at net, including...
- 49/74 (66%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 44/65 (68%) off 1st serve and...
- 5/9 (56%) off 2nd serve
---
- 1/1 return-approaching
Match Report
Point-here, point-there affair, and Becker’s greater ability to send down the untouchable ace giving him an edge. Court is fast, though slower than average for this tournament around the period
Its not full serve-volley match. Both virtually serve-volley off all first serves (Edbergs stays back twice, once hard forcing a return error anyway) but from get-go, Edberg prefers to stay back off most second serves
Second serve-volleying frequency - Boris 73%, Edberg 35%
Second serve-volleying points won - Boris 58%, Edberg 56%
Not second serve-volleying points won- Boris 56%, Edberg 53%
Normal baseline rallies on non-serve-volley points, with two players trading firm groundstrokes, neither particularly looking for net. So there is some baseline play
Serve-volleying stuff is virtually equal
- winning first serve-volleys - both 68%
Coupling that with the second serve breakdowns above, things look virtually equal, with Boris having slim and probably indecisive advantage
Aces - Boris 9, Edberg 5
Unreturned serves - Boris 36%, Edberg 29% (raw number difference also 7)
With 2 second serves among Boris’ yield, the aces gives both first and second serve points won a little boost
Match so tight, ‘little boost’ is all it takes to to tilt things this way or that
Points won - Boris 104, Edberg 101
Points served - Boris 103, Edberg 102
Can you tell who won the match going on that?
First serve in - Boris 61%, Edberg 71%
First serve won - Boris 71%, Edberg 69%
Second Serve won - Boris 53%, Edberg 47%
Or that?
Break points - Boris 5/8 (5 games), Edberg 3/4 (4 games)
That’s the point-here, point-there thing
In some of the pair’s matches, Boris has slightly better of everything, flowing out of his more potent serve (because of that, he can return with more heat and because of the returning, he can volley more comfily and because of the volleying, he has better looks at passes). You could say this is a very watered down version of that. Boris does have the bigger, more potent serve - his leading aces 9-5 and freebies 36-29% are testimony to that, but its small and the chain reaction of superiority isn’t really present
Any advantage though is nudge in the right direction for winning prospects go and said nudge ends up tilting result way it goes