Jim Courier beat Pete Sampras 7-6(5), 7-6(4) in the Year End Championship semi-final, 1992 on carpet in Frankfurt, Germany
Courier would go onto lose the final to Boris Becker. Courier had finished second in his group (wins over Michael Chang and Richard Krajicek, loss to the unbeaten Goran Ivanisevic), Sampras had topped his groups unbeaten (wins over Becker, Stefan Edberg and Petr Korda). The two had played the previous year's final, with Sampras winning
Courier won 79 points, Sampras 73
Sampras serve-volleyed off all but 1 first serve, Courier occasionally off first serves
Serve Stats
Courier...
- 1st serve percentage (49/79) 62%
- 1st serve points won (38/49) 78%
- 2nd serve points won (19/30) 63%
- Aces 17 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (35/79) 44%
Sampras...
- 1st serve percentage (44/73) 60%
- 1st serve points won (37/44) 84%
- 2nd serve points won (14/29) 48%
- Aces 12, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (29/73) 40%
Serve Patterns
Courier served...
- to FH 43%
- to BH 54%
- to Body 3%
Sampras served...
- to FH 45%
- to BH 51%
- to Body 4%
Return Stats
Courier made...
- 42 (18 FH, 24 BH)
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 16 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (1 FH, 2 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 13 Forced (7 FH, 6 BH)
- Return Rate (42/71) 59%
Sampras made...
- 41 (16 FH, 25 BH), including 3 runaround FHs
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 18 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (1 FH, 5 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 12 Forced (9 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (41/76) 54%
Break Points
Courier 1/1
Sampras 1/4 (2 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Courier 14 (7 FH, 2 BH, 1 FHV, 3 BHV, 1 OH)
Sampras 18 (5 FH, 3 BH, 5 FHV, 2 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 2 OH)
Courier's FHs - 1 cc return pass, 1 dtl at net, 3 inside-out (2 passes), 1 inside-out/dtl and 1 inside-in/cc pass
- BH passes - 2 cc
- 2 from serve-volley points - both 2nd volley, BHVs
Sampras had 9 from serve-volley points
- 5 first 'volleys' (3 FHV, 1 BH1/2V, 1 OH)
- 3 second volleys (1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
- 1 re-approach volley (1 BHV)
- FHs - 3 cc (2 passes - 1 return), 1 dtl pass and 1 inside-in
- BHs - 2 dtl (1 pass) and 1 inside-out pass
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Courier 23
- 11 Unforced (3 FH, 6 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV)... with 2 BH pass attempts
- 12 Forced (7 FH, 3 BH, 1 FH1/2V, 1 BHV)... with 2 FH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.5
Sampras 28
- 20 Unforced (6 FH, 11 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)... with 1 BH at net
- 8 Forced (2 FH, 5 BH, 1 BHV)
- 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 for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Courier was...
- 11/23 (48%) at net, including...
- 5/11 (45%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
--
- 0/1 forced back
Sampras was...
- 32/44 (73%) at net, including...
- 26/33 (79%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 24/30 (80%) off 1st serve and...
- 2/3 (67%) off 2nd serve
Match Report
Good match on a fast carpet court, with next to nothing between the two players. Courier serving above himself and dominating baseline rallies keeps him about level with Sampras usual serve-volley based game and he comes out ahead in two somewhat strange tiebreaks to take the match
Pete serve-volleys off all but 1 first serve (and his staying back on that one serve proves critical), while virtually never doing so off seconds (just 3 times). Courier himself serve-volleys 11 times or exactly 33% of the time off 1st serve and not at all of 2nds
Note Courier surprisingly leading on aces (17 to 12) and unreturned rate (44% to 40%). Crucially, he also has a huge lead in 2nd serve points won (63% to 48%). The key to that is his dominance of baseline rallies and ability to break down Pete's BH, which has match high 11 UEs - the same as Courier's total figure
Serve, Return, Serve-Volley Choices & Net Play
Strong serving from both, as high unreturned rates and aces imply, extending to the second serve. Good number of genuinely forceful second serves and for Sampras in particular, regular heavy second serving
Sampras plays around with standing inside court to presumably look for an attacking return to some 2nd serves. Very rarely can he actually get one off. About 3-4 of Courier's aces are attributable to Pete making little effort to return, particularly late in games that he's well down in but overwhelming bulk are great serves
Great low volleying and half-volleying from Sampras. Courier struggles to get returns in play, but when he does, they're usually hard hit to the feet. Yet Pete has just 1 forecourt FE... he makes every 1/2volley, a fair few with authority even. And a sublime, first 'volley' BH1/2V winner
Would serve-volleying more off 2nd serves have been a good move from Pete? Probably. Serve is strong enough to come in behind and gives top notch low volleying, why not? But he only does so 3 times, winning 2. Staying back off 2nd serves by contrast, he's 12/26. And just 2 double faults in that. From the baseline, he's barely in Courier's league for the match... so why not 2nd serve-volley more - with a serve strong enough and while volleying so well?
Courier throws in serve-volleying at just about the right amount. He's not too good at it, winning just 5/11 and doesn't do much with his volleys beyond plonking them in play. He's not faced with many difficult first volleys either. Still, its a good change up from his baseline play, which though highly rewarding, doesn't seem like it will last. 3 points in a row where Sampras' BH holds up could see Courier get broken
The boatload of aces and other unreturned serves gives him a cushion to guard against that without needing to trust to serve-volleying much. Sampras doesn't return particularly well. Note the 6 return UEs (Courier has 3)... more than half of Courier's second serves are regulation to above average of quality and not too tough to put in play
Courier would go onto lose the final to Boris Becker. Courier had finished second in his group (wins over Michael Chang and Richard Krajicek, loss to the unbeaten Goran Ivanisevic), Sampras had topped his groups unbeaten (wins over Becker, Stefan Edberg and Petr Korda). The two had played the previous year's final, with Sampras winning
Courier won 79 points, Sampras 73
Sampras serve-volleyed off all but 1 first serve, Courier occasionally off first serves
Serve Stats
Courier...
- 1st serve percentage (49/79) 62%
- 1st serve points won (38/49) 78%
- 2nd serve points won (19/30) 63%
- Aces 17 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (35/79) 44%
Sampras...
- 1st serve percentage (44/73) 60%
- 1st serve points won (37/44) 84%
- 2nd serve points won (14/29) 48%
- Aces 12, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (29/73) 40%
Serve Patterns
Courier served...
- to FH 43%
- to BH 54%
- to Body 3%
Sampras served...
- to FH 45%
- to BH 51%
- to Body 4%
Return Stats
Courier made...
- 42 (18 FH, 24 BH)
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 16 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (1 FH, 2 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 13 Forced (7 FH, 6 BH)
- Return Rate (42/71) 59%
Sampras made...
- 41 (16 FH, 25 BH), including 3 runaround FHs
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 18 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (1 FH, 5 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 12 Forced (9 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (41/76) 54%
Break Points
Courier 1/1
Sampras 1/4 (2 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Courier 14 (7 FH, 2 BH, 1 FHV, 3 BHV, 1 OH)
Sampras 18 (5 FH, 3 BH, 5 FHV, 2 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 2 OH)
Courier's FHs - 1 cc return pass, 1 dtl at net, 3 inside-out (2 passes), 1 inside-out/dtl and 1 inside-in/cc pass
- BH passes - 2 cc
- 2 from serve-volley points - both 2nd volley, BHVs
Sampras had 9 from serve-volley points
- 5 first 'volleys' (3 FHV, 1 BH1/2V, 1 OH)
- 3 second volleys (1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
- 1 re-approach volley (1 BHV)
- FHs - 3 cc (2 passes - 1 return), 1 dtl pass and 1 inside-in
- BHs - 2 dtl (1 pass) and 1 inside-out pass
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Courier 23
- 11 Unforced (3 FH, 6 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV)... with 2 BH pass attempts
- 12 Forced (7 FH, 3 BH, 1 FH1/2V, 1 BHV)... with 2 FH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.5
Sampras 28
- 20 Unforced (6 FH, 11 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)... with 1 BH at net
- 8 Forced (2 FH, 5 BH, 1 BHV)
- 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 for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Courier was...
- 11/23 (48%) at net, including...
- 5/11 (45%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
--
- 0/1 forced back
Sampras was...
- 32/44 (73%) at net, including...
- 26/33 (79%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 24/30 (80%) off 1st serve and...
- 2/3 (67%) off 2nd serve
Match Report
Good match on a fast carpet court, with next to nothing between the two players. Courier serving above himself and dominating baseline rallies keeps him about level with Sampras usual serve-volley based game and he comes out ahead in two somewhat strange tiebreaks to take the match
Pete serve-volleys off all but 1 first serve (and his staying back on that one serve proves critical), while virtually never doing so off seconds (just 3 times). Courier himself serve-volleys 11 times or exactly 33% of the time off 1st serve and not at all of 2nds
Note Courier surprisingly leading on aces (17 to 12) and unreturned rate (44% to 40%). Crucially, he also has a huge lead in 2nd serve points won (63% to 48%). The key to that is his dominance of baseline rallies and ability to break down Pete's BH, which has match high 11 UEs - the same as Courier's total figure
Serve, Return, Serve-Volley Choices & Net Play
Strong serving from both, as high unreturned rates and aces imply, extending to the second serve. Good number of genuinely forceful second serves and for Sampras in particular, regular heavy second serving
Sampras plays around with standing inside court to presumably look for an attacking return to some 2nd serves. Very rarely can he actually get one off. About 3-4 of Courier's aces are attributable to Pete making little effort to return, particularly late in games that he's well down in but overwhelming bulk are great serves
Great low volleying and half-volleying from Sampras. Courier struggles to get returns in play, but when he does, they're usually hard hit to the feet. Yet Pete has just 1 forecourt FE... he makes every 1/2volley, a fair few with authority even. And a sublime, first 'volley' BH1/2V winner
Would serve-volleying more off 2nd serves have been a good move from Pete? Probably. Serve is strong enough to come in behind and gives top notch low volleying, why not? But he only does so 3 times, winning 2. Staying back off 2nd serves by contrast, he's 12/26. And just 2 double faults in that. From the baseline, he's barely in Courier's league for the match... so why not 2nd serve-volley more - with a serve strong enough and while volleying so well?
Courier throws in serve-volleying at just about the right amount. He's not too good at it, winning just 5/11 and doesn't do much with his volleys beyond plonking them in play. He's not faced with many difficult first volleys either. Still, its a good change up from his baseline play, which though highly rewarding, doesn't seem like it will last. 3 points in a row where Sampras' BH holds up could see Courier get broken
The boatload of aces and other unreturned serves gives him a cushion to guard against that without needing to trust to serve-volleying much. Sampras doesn't return particularly well. Note the 6 return UEs (Courier has 3)... more than half of Courier's second serves are regulation to above average of quality and not too tough to put in play