Match Stats/Report - Curren vs Connors, Wimbledon semi-final, 1985

Waspsting

Hall of Fame
Kevin Curren beat Jimmy Connors 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 in the Wimbledon semi-final, 1985 on grass

Curren would go onto lose to Boris Becker in his only final at the event. He’d beaten defending champion John McEnroe and soon to Australian Open champion Stefan Edberg among others in earlier rounds. Connors was seeded third and looking to enter an Open Era record 7th final at the event. The two had previously met in 1983 edition, with Curren having won

Curren won 91 points, Connors 55

Curren serve-volleyed off all serves, Connors about half the time off first serves and a third of the time off seconds

Serve Stats
Curren...
- 1st serve percentage (43/66) 65%
- 1st serve points won (38/43) 88%
- 2nd serve points won (12/23) 52%
- Aces 17, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 4
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (38/66) 58%

Connors...
- 1st serve percentage (49/80) 61%
- 1st serve points won (27/49) 55%
- 2nd serve points won (12/31) 39%
- Aces 2
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (20/80) 25%

Serve Patterns
Curren served...
- to FH 37%
- to BH 52%
- to Body 11%

Connors served...
- to FH 23%
- to BH 71%
- to Body 6%

Return Stats
Curren made...
- 59 (13 FH, 46 BH)
- 4 Winners (4 BH)
- 18 Errors, comprising...
- 8 Unforced (4 FH, 4 BH)
- 10 Forced (1 FH, 9 BH)
- Return Rate (59/79) 75%

Connors made...
- 24 (7 FH, 17 BH)
- 3 Winners (1 FH, 2 BH)
- 18 Errors, all forced...
- 18 Forced (5 FH, 13 BH)
- Return Rate (24/62) 39%

Break Points
Curren 6/12 (7 games)
Connors 0/1

Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Curren 21 (2 FH, 7 BH, 2 FHV, 3 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 5 OH, 1 BHOH)
Connors 14 (1 FH, 5 BH, 4 BHV, 4 OH)

Curren had 9 from serve-volley points -
- 4 first 'volleys' (2 FHV, 1 BH1/2V, 1 BH at net)... the BH at net was a drop shot
- 5 second 'volleys' (4 OH, 1 BH at net)... 2 OHs were on the bounce after being forced back/retreated (1 from baseline, 1 from no-man's land)

- FH passes - 1 dtl/inside-out, 1 inside-out
- BH passes - 1 dtl return, 3 inside-in returns, 1 lob

Connors had 7 from serve-volley points -
- 4 first volleys (4 BHV)
- 3 second volleys (3 OH)

- FH return pass - 1 dtl
- BH passes - 1 cc return, 2 dtl (1 return), 1 longline
- regular BH - 1 cc

Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Curren 17
- 7 Unforced (2 FH, 4 BH, 1 BHV)... with 1 FH at net
- 10 Forced (1 FH, 4 BH, 3 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 42.9

Connors 31
- 24 Unforced (9 FH, 8 BH, 1 FHV, 5 BHV, 1 OH)... with 1 BH at net & 1 OH on the bounce from the baseline
- 7 Forced (3 FH, 1 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.3

(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
Curren was...
- 38/51 (75%) at net, including...
- 32/44 (73%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 20/25 (80%) off 1st serve and..
- 12/19 (63%) off 2nd serve
---
- 2/3 (67%) forced back/retreated

Connors was...
- 20/40 (50%) at net, including...
- 17/35 (49%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 13/26 (50%) off 1st serve and..
- 4/9 (44%) off 2nd serve
---
- 0/4 forced back

Match Report
Irresistible serving from Curren backed up well, and Connors at his worst make for one sided thrashing

58% unreturned serves for Curren is one of the highest I’ve come across. And nearly half of his 38 unreturned serves are aces and service winners (just 1 service winner). Confined to facts with no room for interpretation, 17/38 are aces

Jimbo has no read on the serve at all. He’s guessing direction and moving one way or the other as Curren delivers. Usually to cover BH. If serve is other way, it’s a sure ace. If Jimbo guesses right, its still a handful to get in play - and would be even if he could reach it comfily. He’s often lunging and hoping even with the guessing

17 aces comes to 40% of first serves. With a serve that effective, might expect a low in count, and chances to get stuck into second serves

Curren serves at 65%. 4% more than Jimbo
Its rare to see a bigger difference between strength of 2 players first serves as here - Curren as big as it gets, Jimbo with a first ‘second’ serve, but when the bigger server leads in-count on top of that difference, things aren’t likely to go well for the other player

65% first serves in, 40% first serve aces and most of the rest hard forcing return errors, Jimbo with no read on the serve… can just skip over Curren’s first serve points as being too good. He almost doesn’t have a ‘ball toss’. Seems to just release ball and strike it immediately

Curren with a big second serve too. On average, bigger than Jimbo’s first (which isn’t necessarily saying much). Wins 63% second serve-volley points, with Jimbo smacking returns. When he can make the return that is. Usual lot of return errors drawn when serve-volleying is involved, but returns are hefty or powerful. Some powerful second serves have Jimbo lunging and being hard forced into errors too. Curren’s smartly on top of whatever’s needed on the volley after

Just 2 ‘volley’ UE by Curren (1 is a groundstroke at net)
Along with 14 winners and 5 FEs (including half-volleys and groundstrokes at net serve-volleying). Jimbo has 5 passing winners (3 returns, 2 regular), so on the pass in play, 2 winners, 4 FEs. 58% freebies is of course, bulk of everything
Faces net high, firm returns. Misses next to nothing easy. Makes about as many tough one’s as he misses. Places volleys well, putsaway what’s there to be putaway. With 58% freebies, he doesn’t have to volley much

Gist, Curren holding easily. He faces just 1 break point in the match. That’s close to lose-proof, but to win, there remains the matter of getting into return games

Connors is terrible. Except for the OH. Make that the OH on the full. He makes a stupid on the bounce OH UE, with his body half-turned backward to a ball he could comfortably have moved to play a normal FH or BH or normal OH to (the excitable Bud Collins call it the Bucharest Twisty-Fisty or something stupid like that, apparently named after Ilie Nastase). But on the smash at net, impeccable from Jimbo. He’s got 4 winners, and some of them are tricky, back-pedalling affairs that he’s fully stretched out for, but strikes with finality

Other than that -
- he’s got 7 ‘volley’ UEs (including 1 groundstoke at net). Almost all of them easy putaways. Curren has 2
- he’s got 16 ground UEs to Curren’s 5

Good few routine third ball misses. Off both sides.

When rally develops, Curren largely chips BH cc, but its not a Jimbo-low-FH-faltering display. Jimbo’s FH has 9 UEs, the BH 7 in baseline rallies - both figures higher than Curren’s total. Curren strikes FHs by contrast, timing them well. Jimbo tends to hop back to play FHs, while holding his ground for BHs. Whatever he does, he’s apt to miss routine groundstrokes

Along with typical harmless serving. Barely a forceful first serve to be seen from Jimbo

He serve-volleys often
55% of the time off first serves. He wins 50% serve-volleying and 57% not (excluding 2 aces)
31% of the time off second serves. He wins 44% serve-volleying and 38% not (excluding 1 double fault)

Gets broken 6 times, holds 5
 
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Waspsting

Hall of Fame
So, Jimbo’s showing in a few nutshells -
- Weak serve
- Helpless on return against top class serve of Curren. No shame in that - Curren’s serve would be too much for most players too handle, but even then, there has to be some numerical line in the sand behind which Jimbo’s returning gets a blackmark. Wherever it is, 39% return rate is probably not far away from it
- Can’t keep groundies in play for long. Without hitting particularly hard or wide and against an opponent who doesn’t hit particularly hard or wide
- Missing easy volleys fairly often

Jimbo with 8 volley winners to go with his 7 UEs and 3 FEs, with UEs being easy. Poor

Jimbo with 14 neutral ground UEs to Curren’s 5. Curren with better of it clearly, but that can be either for Curren being super solid (credit to him), Jimbo sloppy (discredit to him) or some combo of the two. Its far more Jimbo being poor here

Jimbo with 25% freebies. Not far from being closer to a third than half of Curren’s 58%

Jimbo double faults less (just once, to Curren’s 4 times)

1 of Jimbo’s 2 passing winners in play is BH longline that he aims right at Curren, who tries to behind-the-back volley it to no avail. Generally, Jimbo never aims passes at net players, even foregoing it when its best option and against opponents he’s unfriendly with, so this stands out

According to commentary, Bjorn Borg had picked teenager Stefan Edberg as his second favourite for the tournament. Edberg was seeded 14th and won the junior Grand Slam a couple years ago, so probably not completely unknown. He’d win the Australian Open on grass later in the year. Apparently, then as now, Borg tended to know what he’s talking about, while rarely talking

Match Progression
Jimbo lobs Curren back to baseline and forces an error to star the match. 4 unreturned first serves later (including an ace and match’s sole service winner) later, Curren holds

Then breaks to 30, with Jimbo missing a bunch of groundies, one of them after being forced back himself after an unconvincing first smash
Jimbo has his first (and as it turns out, last) break point of the match next game, on back of Curren double faulting twice and missing an easy FH at net. 3 unreturned first serves end the game, including 2 aces
Jimbo gets on the board with a hold to 30, finishing up with a surprise second serve-volley that Curren casually chips back and is putaway BHV for winner

As far as competitive goes, that’s it for the match

Jimbo survives 10 point hold (2 break points) next go around, the only Curren serve that comes back game after that is deftly BH1/2V’d away for a winner and Curren breaks again to end the set (Jimbo missing an easy volley and couple of routine groundstrokes)

Joy for Jimbo as he holds a 16 point game to stay 1-1 at start of second set. Strikes consecutive return-pass winners (FH dtl and BH cc) game after, sandwiched between bunch of aces

Curren breaks for 3-1. Very good, back-pedalling BHOH winner from him in the game on a point he starts with a blasted return and he finishes with a FH inside-out passing one after 5-6 shot exchange against second serve-volleying Jimbo. In between, Jimbo missing another easy FHV and a routine third ball FH

In time, Curren breaks again to end the set, finishing with consecutive BH return-pass winners (dtl and inside-in), prior to which Jimbo misses routine BH and the silly, half-turned OH on the bounce from the baseline mentioned earlier

So it continues in third set, with Curren opening up 5-0 lead. Its in game 3 that Jimbo slams a BH longline at Curren. Point before, Curren with a deft BH drop shot first ‘volley’ winner
Jimbo manages to get on the board at least before Curren serves out to love - 3 aces and an on the bounce smash winner from no-man’s land

Summing up, a bigger mismatch than previous years final. Very big serving from Curren is most eye-catching feature and its backed up by nice, efficient volleying and poised baseline play

Connors volleys badly (missing good lot of easy ones), plays badly from baseline (missing routine groundstrokes off both wings in not long rallies) and his serve is a gimme. Curren’s serve is so devastating that evaluating Connors’ return is more tricky, but 39% return rate is bottom of barrel stuff, even accounting for top class serving

Stats for the final between Boris Becker and Curren - Match Stats/Report - Becker vs Curren, Wimbledon final, 1985 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
 
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jrepac

Hall of Fame
I've never watched this one from start to finish...just the dismal highlights where all I saw were service bombs raining upon Connors. Having watched the full QF match w/Mac, I figured: 1) Curren had surely peaked and 2) Connors would be ready for him. So much for those 2 faulty conclusions! But this was much worse than their '83 tussle which was close, but Jimmy was near top form back then, not so much in '85 and by your description, extremely far away from it. But, sounds to me like Curren may have peaked here....I was not impressed by his form in the final.
 

WCT

Professional
58% of your serves unreturned. Wow. I did stats for the 83 match which was just bits and pieces. Curren unrturned serve % is 25 of 66 37%. He volleyed EXCELLENTLY in that match.

I must have said thi 100 times. When Mcenroe and Lendl were knocked out, I t definitely thought Connors was winning the title. And it never crossed my mind that Curren would just crush him. This was one of the matches that caused me to think, Connors is just not the same player anymore. He's still really good, but clearly declined.
 

jrepac

Hall of Fame
58% of your serves unreturned. Wow. I did stats for the 83 match which was just bits and pieces. Curren unrturned serve % is 25 of 66 37%. He volleyed EXCELLENTLY in that match.

I must have said thi 100 times. When Mcenroe and Lendl were knocked out, I t definitely thought Connors was winning the title. And it never crossed my mind that Curren would just crush him. This was one of the matches that caused me to think, Connors is just not the same player anymore. He's still really good, but clearly declined.
At the very least, I expected a tussle between them. Not like the '83 match was a walkover...very competitive. But Curren's serving was simply unreal from what I saw of the '85 match. Against Mac too, he was pretty otherworldly. And if Connors couldn't hold his own service games, filled with errors off the ground, fuggedabout it. I think after '84 (his last REALLY good year IMHO) he just had a lot more 'bad days' than normal. He was still obviously potent, highly ranked (often #4), but much less of a threat to the top guys.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
Given Curren's impressive form at 1985 Wimbledon it still surprises me that he couldn't carry it through to the final (or maybe wasn't allowed to) against the young, up-and-coming Becker! I bet it surprised him too!!
 

WCT

Professional
At the very least, I expected a tussle between them. Not like the '83 match was a walkover...very competitive. But Curren's serving was simply unreal from what I saw of the '85 match. Against Mac too, he was pretty otherworldly. And if Connors couldn't hold his own service games, filled with errors off the ground, fuggedabout it. I think after '84 (his last REALLY good year IMHO) he just had a lot more 'bad days' than normal. He was still obviously potent, highly ranked (often #4), but much less of a threat to the top guys.
I guess I should have given more weight to the Mcenroe match. The 83 match was very close and played on court 2, the upset court. And he had beaten Curren on grass before. It's not like I gave Curren very little chance. Him winning didn't shock me, it's how he won. Never would I have guessed that he would crush Connors. Connors was in reasonably good form until the semis.
 

jrepac

Hall of Fame
I guess I should have given more weight to the Mcenroe match. The 83 match was very close and played on court 2, the upset court. And he had beaten Curren on grass before. It's not like I gave Curren very little chance. Him winning didn't shock me, it's how he won. Never would I have guessed that he would crush Connors. Connors was in reasonably good form until the semis.
Oh totally agree. With Mac and Lendl out, he immediately became the favorite. I do think he said something about expecting Mac in the semis, which might've thrown him off. Curren was just scarily good in his QF...watching that match I was just amazed how he shut down Mac. Then did it again to Jimmy, even worse. Yet couldn't deliver against Boris. You just don't know how these things will play out....
 

WCT

Professional
Oh totally agree. With Mac and Lendl out, he immediately became the favorite. I do think he said something about expecting Mac in the semis, which might've thrown him off. Curren was just scarily good in his QF...watching that match I was just amazed how he shut down Mac. Then did it again to Jimmy, even worse.
Didn't see the Mcenroe match in 85. I did watch some, not all of it, on youtube. He beat Mcenroe badly as well. Didn't obliterate him like Connors, but it was one sided.
 

sandy mayer

Semi-Pro
So, Jimbo’s showing in a few nutshells -
- Weak serve
- Helpless on return against top class serve of Curren. No shame in that - Curren’s serve would be too much for most players too handle, but even then, there has to be some numerical line in the sand behind which Jimbo’s returning gets a blackmark. Wherever it is, 39% return rate is probably not far away from it
- Can’t keep groundies in play for long. Without hitting particularly hard or wide and against an opponent who doesn’t hit particularly hard or wide
- Missing easy volleys fairly often

Jimbo with 8 volley winners to go with his 7 UEs and 3 FEs, with UEs being easy. Poor

Jimbo with 14 neutral ground UEs to Curren’s 5. Curren with better of it clearly, but that can be either for Curren being super solid (credit to him), Jimbo sloppy (discredit to him) or some combo of the two. Its far more Jimbo being poor here

Jimbo with 25% freebies. Closer to a third than half of Curren’s 58%

Jimbo double faults less (just once, to Curren’s 4 times)

1 of Jimbo’s 2 passing winners in play is BH longline that he aims right at Curren, who tries to behind-the-back volley it to no avail. Generally, Jimbo never aims passes at net players, even foregoing it when its best option and against opponents he’s unfriendly with, so this stands out

According to commentary, Bjorn Borg had picked teenager Stefan Edberg as his second favourite for the tournament. Edberg was seeded 14th and won the junior Grand Slam a couple years ago, so probably not completely unknown. He’d win the Australian Open on grass later in the year. Apparently, then as now, Borg tended to know what he’s talking about, while rarely talking

Match Progression
Jimbo lobs Curren back to baseline and forces an error to star the match. 4 unreturned first serves later (including an ace and match’s sole service winner) later, Curren holds

Then breaks to 30, with Jimbo missing a bunch of groundies, one of them after being forced back himself after an unconvincing first smash
Jimbo has his first (and as it turns out, last) break point of the match next game, on back of Curren double faulting twice and missing an easy FH at net. 3 unreturned first serves end the game, including 2 aces
Jimbo gets on the board with a hold to 30, finishing up with a surprise second serve-volley that Curren casually chips back and is putaway BHV for winner

As far as competitive goes, that’s it for the match

Jimbo survives 10 point hold (2 break points) next go around, the only Curren serve that comes back game after that is deftly BH1/2V’d away for a winner and Curren breaks again to end the set (Jimbo missing an easy volley and couple of routine groundstrokes)

Joy for Jimbo as he holds a 16 point game to stay 1-1 at start of second set. Strikes consecutive return-pass winners (FH dtl and BH cc) game after, sandwiched between bunch of aces

Curren breaks for 3-1. Very good, back-pedalling BHOH winner from him in the game on a point he starts with a blasted return and he finishes with a FH inside-out passing one after 5-6 shot exchange against second serve-volleying Jimbo. In between, Jimbo missing another easy FHV and a routine third ball FH

In time, Curren breaks again to end the set, finishing with consecutive BH return-pass winners (dtl and inside-in), prior to which Jimbo misses routine BH and the silly, half-turned OH on the bounce from the baseline mentioned earlier

So it continues in third set, with Curren opening up 5-0 lead. Its in game 3 that Jimbo slams a BH longline at Curren. Point before, Curren with a deft BH drop shot first ‘volley’ winner
Jimbo manages to get on the board at least before Curren serves out to love - 3 aces and an on the bounce smash winner from no-man’s land

Summing up, a bigger mismatch than previous years final. Very big serving from Curren is most eye-catching feature and its backed up by nice, efficient volleying and poised baseline play

Connors volleys badly (missing good lot of easy ones), plays badly from baseline (missing routine groundstrokes off both wings in not long rallies) and his serve is a gimme. Curren’s serve is so devastating that evaluating Connors’ return is more tricky, but 39% return rate is bottom of barrel stuff, even accounting for top class serving

Stats for the final between Boris Becker and Curren - Match Stats/Report - Becker vs Curren, Wimbledon final, 1985 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
I am very surprised that 25% of Connors' serves did not come back.
 

sandy mayer

Semi-Pro
Given Curren's impressive form at 1985 Wimbledon it still surprises me that he couldn't carry it through to the final (or maybe wasn't allowed to) against the young, up-and-coming Becker! I bet it surprised him too!!
Curren only served 47% first serves in against Becker, compared to 65% against Connors. That stat more than any, explains why Curren lost the final. I don't think Curren had the temperament to match Wimbledon winners like Becker. Curren had the game to win Wimbledon, but not the mind.
 

jrepac

Hall of Fame
Didn't see the Mcenroe match in 85. I did watch some, not all of it, on youtube. He beat Mcenroe badly as well. Didn't obliterate him like Connors, but it was one sided.
Very one-sided...he was in total control, although the score was closer and Mac more competitive than Jimmy.
In my mind, I figured it would be one of those situations where someone downed Mac, but Connors was another animal entirely.
Like Scanlon at the '83 USO...taking out Mac w/relative ease...but crapping out vs. Connors.
But, Curren, to his credit, had no letdown. If anything, maybe he played even better.
Again, have to watch the SF in full and maybe that QF too, to refresh my memory of events.
 

jrepac

Hall of Fame
Curren only served 47% first serves in against Becker, compared to 65% against Connors. That stat more than any, explains why Curren lost the final. I don't think Curren had the temperament to match Wimbledon winners like Becker. Curren had the game to win Wimbledon, but not the mind.
Oh, I don't know WTH happened to his serve in the final. He looked nothing like the guy from the QF and SF. I'd suspect that moving from the underdog status to slight favorite, even if just in his own mind, freaked him out. Boris is great, no question, but not like he was so much more of a threat than either Mac or Jimmy, nor more intimidating. Fearless, yes, but he was certainly unproven at this young age/stage and did yet have their sort of status in the game. Curren's mind let him down, totally agree. It was disappointing to watch. While I was bummed that Mac and Connors lost, I was thinking this guy really, really deserved to win based on form. So much for that!
 

sandy mayer

Semi-Pro
Oh, I don't know WTH happened to his serve in the final. He looked nothing like the guy from the QF and SF. I'd suspect that moving from the underdog status to slight favorite, even if just in his own mind, freaked him out. Boris is great, no question, but not like he was so much more of a threat than either Mac or Jimmy, nor more intimidating. Fearless, yes, but he was certainly unproven at this young age/stage and did yet have their sort of status in the game. Curren's mind let him down, totally agree. It was disappointing to watch. While I was bummed that Mac and Connors lost, I was thinking this guy really, really deserved to win based on form. So much for that!
Curren actually said he would rather face Jarryd than Becker because he feared Becker's serve. While I admire his honesty, that shows how scared he was of Becker, and how he was not in a right frame of mind going into the final. Curren's first service game in the final was absolutely awful. Every pro in the Wimbledon draw would have broken Curren in that first game with that level of play. With that awful game Curren handed the break to Becker, and with it the first set and probably the whole match. I don't think Curren could handle the pressure of a Wimbledon final, nor the pressure of being expected to win. Becker amazingly could handle the pressure at just 17.
 
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jrepac

Hall of Fame
Curren actually said he would rather face Jarryd than Becker because he feared Becker's serve. While I admire his honesty, that shows how scared he was of Becker, and how he was not in a right frame of mind going into the final. Curren's first service game in the final was absolutely awful. Every pro in the Wimbledon draw He handed the break to Becker, and with it the first set and probably the whole match. I don't think Curren could handle the pressure of a Wimbledon final, nor the pressure of being expected to win. Becker amazingly could handle the pressure at just 17.
Boris was pretty amazing....he was just a young kid. And winning Queens out of nowhere was a big achievement...I don't think anyone anticipated him winning W. But yeah, Curren is afraid of Becker's serve but not Mac's? I mean, it's whacky when you think about it. I agree, he blew it right in the first set. I also felt like he gagged a bit in the earlier AO final vs. Wilander. Not to forget '83 when he lost to Chris Lewis in the W semi, I mean really?? These are the kinds of situations that separate the extremely talented from the greats, I suppose. Though Curren is always top of mind for me as someone who was good enough to win and should have won a GS event.
 

WCT

Professional
I am very surprised that 25% of Connors' serves did not come back.
That wasn't THAT unusual on grass. Not claiming it was the norm, though. Still, I've done stats on a bunch of grass court matches where he is in the 20s; Waspsting too.
He is in the 20s for 3 of the 4 Mcenroe Wimbledon matches. And I don't know that he wasn't in their 82 match, I just didn't keep the stat. Add in that Curren isn't known for his return and I can see it getting into the 20s;

What I find very surprising if that he got 25% and still got thumped that badl
 

WCT

Professional
Boris was pretty amazing....he was just a young kid. And winning Queens out of nowhere was a big achievement...I don't think anyone anticipated him winning W. But yeah, Curren is afraid of Becker's serve but not Mac's? I mean, it's whacky when you think about it. I agree, he blew it right in the first set. I also felt like he gagged a bit in the earlier AO final vs. Wilander. Not to forget '83 when he lost to Chris Lewis in the W semi, I mean really?? These are the kinds of situations that separate the extremely talented from the greats, I suppose. Though Curren is always top of mind for me as someone who was good enough to win and should have won a GS event.
Certainly good enough to win one on grass. I looked and saw he still had 40% unreturned in the final. That's still pretty high. 58% is just insane. I can/t imagine that 65% was anywhere near his average. Mcenroe, who I saw so much more with Curren, was having a really good day if he was in the 60s. No way he averaged that.
That's eye test, though, not my having any extensive stats to back it up.
 

sandy mayer

Semi-Pro
That wasn't THAT unusual on grass. Not claiming it was the norm, though. Still, I've done stats on a bunch of grass court matches where he is in the 20s; Waspsting too.
He is in the 20s for 3 of the 4 Mcenroe Wimbledon matches. And I don't know that he wasn't in their 82 match, I just didn't keep the stat. Add in that Curren isn't known for his return and I can see it getting into the 20s;

What I find very surprising if that he got 25% and still got thumped that badl
I agree that is what surprises me: that Connors suffered one of his most one sided losses, yet 25% of his serves were not returned. That tells me Connors played really badly. He should have been able to hold serve alot more but played really badly, making too many errors. Curren served wonderfully but was helped by one of Connors' worst ever performances. I wonder why he played so badly? Maybe the pressure of Curren serving so well and holding so easily made Connors make more errors in his own service games.
 

NedStark

Professional
Boris was pretty amazing....he was just a young kid. And winning Queens out of nowhere was a big achievement...I don't think anyone anticipated him winning W. But yeah, Curren is afraid of Becker's serve but not Mac's? I mean, it's whacky when you think about it. I agree, he blew it right in the first set. I also felt like he gagged a bit in the earlier AO final vs. Wilander. Not to forget '83 when he lost to Chris Lewis in the W semi, I mean really?? These are the kinds of situations that separate the extremely talented from the greats, I suppose. Though Curren is always top of mind for me as someone who was good enough to win and should have won a GS event.
To be fair, Becker’s serve was a different kind of beast. McEnroe relied on disguise to throw off his opponents - but in the QF Curren had a good read on Mac serve and Mac was toasted. Becker simply blew them off the court. Perhaps Curren feared the latter more because it was the same as his own game, but Becker served even bigger than Curren himself while at the same time had better return.
 
For whatever reason, Curren did not play as well in the final as he did in the QF and SF. His serve wasn't quite as good and he didn't return as well.
One thing that always gets overlooked with Curren's wins over Connors and Mcenroe was how well he returned serve. He broke Connors 6 times in a three-set match. Obviously, Connors did not have a big serve, but he almost always held his serve a much higher % of the time at Wimbledon.
 

sandy mayer

Semi-Pro
For whatever reason, Curren did not play as well in the final as he did in the QF and SF. His serve wasn't quite as good and he didn't return as well.
One thing that always gets overlooked with Curren's wins over Connors and Mcenroe was how well he returned serve. He broke Connors 6 times in a three-set match. Obviously, Connors did not have a big serve, but he almost always held his serve a much higher % of the time at Wimbledon.
Yet Curren failed to return Connors' serve 25% of the time, not great against Connors, especially as he was not even serving well by his mediocre serving standards. Curren served out of this world against Connors, but I wouldn't say he was exceptional apart from the serve that day. The story of the match was Curren dominated because he put up one of the greatest serving displays of all time, and Connors played terribly. Personally, I think Connors was freaked out by coming up against the best serving he ever faced, and his strength of his return was nullified, and his whole game fell apart as a result. Connors said afterwards that Curren tended to serve his best against Connors.
 

WCT

Professional
I agree that is what surprises me: that Connors suffered one of his most one sided losses, yet 25% of his serves were not returned. That tells me Connors played really badly. He should have been able to hold serve alot more but played really badly, making too many errors. Curren served wonderfully but was helped by one of Connors' worst ever performances. I wonder why he played so badly? Maybe the pressure of Curren serving so well and holding so easily made Connors make more errors in his own service games.
Truth is, I never watched the match. I had to work that day and had no vcr at that point. I saw some extended highlights. Since it's been up on the net I guess I could have watched it, but it's such a route. Now, I don't mind when Connors is doing the routing. I was so disappointed when I heard the result that day. I really had him winning the tournament after Lendl and Mcenroe were out. He'd beaten Curren on grass before. Sure as hell not that day, though.
 

sandy mayer

Semi-Pro
Truth is, I never watched the match. I had to work that day and had no vcr at that point. I saw some extended highlights. Since it's been up on the net I guess I could have watched it, but it's such a route. Now, I don't mind when Connors is doing the routing. I was so disappointed when I heard the result that day. I really had him winning the tournament after Lendl and Mcenroe were out. He'd beaten Curren on grass before. Sure as hell not that day, though.
I did watch it. I like you thought Connors would win, but he was flat.
 

Waspsting

Hall of Fame
Given Curren's impressive form at 1985 Wimbledon it still surprises me that he couldn't carry it through to the final (or maybe wasn't allowed to) against the young, up-and-coming Becker! I bet it surprised him too!!

Curren only served 47% first serves in against Becker, compared to 65% against Connors. That stat more than any, explains why Curren lost the final. I don't think Curren had the temperament to match Wimbledon winners like Becker. Curren had the game to win Wimbledon, but not the mind.

Oh, I don't know WTH happened to his serve in the final. He looked nothing like the guy from the QF and SF. I'd suspect that moving from the underdog status to slight favorite, even if just in his own mind, freaked him out. Boris is great, no question, but not like he was so much more of a threat than either Mac or Jimmy, nor more intimidating. Fearless, yes, but he was certainly unproven at this young age/stage and did yet have their sort of status in the game. Curren's mind let him down, totally agree. It was disappointing to watch. While I was bummed that Mac and Connors lost, I was thinking this guy really, really deserved to win based on form. So much for that!

Probably nerves got to him in the final

47% in count isn't good obviously but can and does happen for servers with this calibre of serves. Boris himself has counts like this not infrequently
The weird thing was all the foot-faults

I don't remember the finer points of the final, but my report notes "I'd estimate 12-15 foot faults from Curren…. was this normal for him? He also has 10-15 first serve lets"

What a waste. Cut out all those foot faults, (lets say he made 12 of them) and lets say he makes first serves on 7/12 of those serves. His in count would have been 51%

A lot of first serve lets is probably even more suggestive of being tense and lacking rhythm, the very opposite of this showing against Connors
Its better than faulting, so could have been even worse for Curren
 

NedStark

Professional
Yet Curren failed to return Connors' serve 25% of the time, not great against Connors, especially as he was not even serving well by his mediocre serving standards. Curren served out of this world against Connors, but I wouldn't say he was exceptional apart from the serve that day. The story of the match was Curren dominated because he put up one of the greatest serving displays of all time, and Connors played terribly. Personally, I think Connors was freaked out by coming up against the best serving he ever faced, and his strength of his return was nullified, and his whole game fell apart as a result. Connors said afterwards that Curren tended to serve his best against Connors.
A lot of those 25% unreturnables were unforced errors due to aggressive returns.
 

WCT

Professional
I did watch it. I like you thought Connors would win, but he was flat.
Flat as a tire, apparently. As I said before. I think this is when it first set in that Connors had really declined some. He lost like this to Mcenroe the year before, but that loss is to an all time great having one of the greatest years. Vintage Connors does not lose to Kevin Curren like this. This was the last major where I felt that strongly that he was going to win it.
 

WCT

Professional
Probably nerves got to him in the final

47% in count isn't good obviously but can and does happen for servers with this calibre of serves. Boris himself has counts like this not infrequently
The weird thing was all the foot-faults

I don't remember the finer points of the final, but my report notes "I'd estimate 12-15 foot faults from Curren…. was this normal for him? He also has 10-15 first serve lets"

What a waste. Cut out all those foot faults, (lets say he made 12 of them) and lets say he makes first serves on 7/12 of those serves. His in count would have been 51%

A lot of first serve lets is probably even more suggestive of being tense and lacking rhythm, the very opposite of this showing against Connors
Its better than faulting, so could have been even worse for Curren
I've got to believe that 47% was closer to his average % than 65 . I might bet that it was with Mcenroe and Curren's serve was bigger than his. Damn, that's a lot of foot faults. Zero recollection of him being that prone to that. Not that I remember him in nearly the detail that I do many other players.
 

buscemi

Legend
Curren actually said he would rather face Jarryd than Becker because he feared Becker's serve. While I admire his honesty, that shows how scared he was of Becker, and how he was not in a right frame of mind going into the final. Curren's first service game in the final was absolutely awful. Every pro in the Wimbledon draw would have broken Curren in that first game with that level of play. With that awful game Curren handed the break to Becker, and with it the first set and probably the whole match. I don't think Curren could handle the pressure of a Wimbledon final, nor the pressure of being expected to win. Becker amazingly could handle the pressure at just 17.
But it's important to note that Curren fought back from that terrible first service game and losing the first set. He took the second set in a tiebreaker and then broke Becker to go up 4-3 in the third set. Becker then broke back and took the third set in another tiebreaker before winning the fourth set and the match.
 
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sandy mayer

Semi-Pro
But it's important to note that Curren fought back from that terrible first service game and losing the first set. He took the second set in a tiebreaker and then broke Becker to go up 4-3 in the third set. Becker then broke back and took the third set in another tiebreaker before winning the fourth set in the match.
Curren had good moments against Becker, but his performance was lower than it was against Connors and McEnroe.
 

Waspsting

Hall of Fame
I've got to believe that 47% was closer to his average % than 65 . I might bet that it was with Mcenroe and Curren's serve was bigger than his. Damn, that's a lot of foot faults. Zero recollection of him being that prone to that. Not that I remember him in nearly the detail that I do many other players.

I'm sure your right
I'd estimate him to be a 50% server
And with that 'ball toss' - its more like a ball 'ball release' - I imagine when he had a bad day, it was a real stinker. Below 40%

Commentators talk about their '83 match and say Curren had 32 aces in it (they either said 32 or 34, think 32)
That struck me more than this match. 32 aces in 4 sets would be uncommon even for Goran Ivanaisevic 10-15 years later. And Connors isn't the easiest guy to ace

Now if he had 32 or 34 aces and match was still competitive, you can gauge the reason for this one being one-sided is Connors playing poorly
 

NedStark

Professional
But it's important to note that Curren fought back from that terrible first service game and losing the first set. He took the second set in a tiebreaker and then broke Becker to go up 4-3 in the third set. Becker then broke back and took the third set in another tiebreaker before winning the fourth set and the match.
Even though Curren did not serve great, Becker was clearly better at everything off the serve as well, especially returns & passes.
 

buscemi

Legend
Even though Curren did not serve great, Becker was clearly better at everything off the serve as well, especially returns & passes.
I don't know about that. Waspsting's match report has Becker winning 51% of points on his second serve vs. Curren winning 50% of points on his second serve. That matches my impression from watching the match that they were pretty evenly matched aside from Becker serving better and Curren serving significantly worse than he did in the SF & QF. I'd say there was a slight edge to Becker aside from the serve, not a significant one.
 

WCT

Professional
I'm sure your right
I'd estimate him to be a 50% server
And with that 'ball toss' - its more like a ball 'ball release' - I imagine when he had a bad day, it was a real stinker. Below 40%

Commentators talk about their '83 match and say Curren had 32 aces in it (they either said 32 or 34, think 32)
That struck me more than this match. 32 aces in 4 sets would be uncommon even for Goran Ivanaisevic 10-15 years later. And Connors isn't the easiest guy to ace

Now if he had 32 or 34 aces and match was still competitive, you can gauge the reason for this one being one-sided is Connors playing poorly
It was 33 aces in 1983, at least according to the newspaper reports the next day. I checked and that's right. But that was to make sure. For some reason I've always remembered that it was 33. Plus, it is mentioned at the end of the match.

The 83 match is so different. It's not 33 aces in 4 sets is so much more impressive than 17 in 3. The 85 match is a massacre while the 83 match is very close. 2 tiebreakers and 2 6-3 sets. What % of the serves were aces? 17 in 66 is incredibly high.

As I said before. I did stats for the 83 match. It's just bits and pieces, 96 total points. IIRC, it was what HBO showed that day because I watched it. No way they showed the entire match.

My stats had Curren with 66 serves. He had 11 aces and 25 unreturned serves which is 37%. As I also said, Curren volleyed excellently. When Connors got the return in play, a bunch of them were really hard and low. He has a couple break points which he didn't convert.

I also did stats for their 1982 Queens match. I have Curren serving 47 points with 7 aces and 21 unreturned serves. That is almost 45%
 

NedStark

Professional
I don't know about that. Waspsting's match report has Becker winning 51% of points on his second serve vs. Curren winning 50% of points on his second serve. That matches my impression from watching the match that they were pretty evenly matched aside from Becker serving better and Curren serving significantly worse than he did in the SF & QF. I'd say there was a slight edge to Becker aside from the serve, not a significant one.
Becker had a significantly higher first serve point won percentage (like 85% compared to Curren’s 75%). Plus, Waspsting also noted that Becker’s returns, even return errors, were of higher quality on average.
 
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