Stefan Edberg beat Michael Stich 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 in the Hamburg final, 1992 on clay
It was Edberg's sole Masters level title on clay. He won 3 titles on the surface in total. Stich also won 3 career titles on clay
Edberg won 102 points, Stich 100
Edberg serve-volleyed off all but 4 first serves, Stich 2. Both players serve-volleyed minority of time off seconds
(Note: An Edberg service game cuts off at 40-30 that Edberg won. Based on time elapsed, its been assumed there was 1 further point. I'm missing serve direction and return data for 1 other point
Missing point - Set 2, Game 9, Point 6
Partial missing point - Set 2, Game 3, Point 3)
Serve Stats
Edberg...
- 1st serve percentage (69/110) 63%
- 1st serve points won (44/69) 64%
- 2nd serve points won (22/41) 54%
- Unknown serve point (1/1)
- Aces 2
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (26/110) 24%
Stich...
- 1st serve percentage (62/91) 68%
- 1st serve points won (41/62) 66%
- 2nd serve points won (15/29) 52%
- Aces 1, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (18/91) 20%
Serve Patterns
Edberg served...
- to FH 13%
- to BH 73%
- to Body 14%
Stich served...
- to FH 23%
- to BH 74%
- to Body 2%
Return Stats
Edberg made...
- 72 (14 FH, 58 BH), including 4 return-approaches
- 5 Winners (1 FH, 4 BH)
- 16 Errors, comprising...
- 2 Unforced (2 BH)
- 14 Forced (5 FH, 9 BH)… including 1 return-approach attempt
- Return Rate (72/90) 80%
Stich made...
- 82 (15 FH, 66 BH, 1??), including 1 runaround FH & 1 return-approach
- 9 Winners (9 BH)
- 24 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (3 BH)
- 21 Forced (2 FH, 19 BH)
- Return Rate (82/108) 76%
Break Points
Edberg 4/8 (5 games)
Stich 2/7 (4 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Edberg 38 (3 FH, 11 BH, 11 FHV, 11 BHV, 2 OH)
Stich 41 (3 FH, 19 BH, 5 FHV, 12 BHV, 1 OH, 1 BHOH)
Edberg had 17 from serve-volley points
- 12 first volleys (6 FHV, 6 BHV)… 1 BHV was not clean and 1 was a net chord dribbler
- 4 second volleys (2 FHV, 2 BHV)
- 1 third volley (1 FHV)
- FHs (all passes) - 1 dtl, 1 inside-out return and 1 lob
- BH passes - 2 cc (1 return), 7 dtl (2 returns) and 1 inside-in return
- regular BH - 1 cc
Stich had 17 from serve-volley points
- 9 first 'volleys' (4 FHV, 4 BHV, 1 BH at net)… the BH at net was a drop shot
- 8 second volleys (1 FHV, 5 BHV, 1 OH, 1 BHOH)
- FH passes - 1 cc and 1 dtl
- regular FH - 1cc
- BH passes - 11 cc (7 returns - 1 Edberg left, 1 running-drop-volley) and 5 dtl (2 returns - 1 Edberg left)
- regular BHs - 1 dtl and 1 net chord dribbler (with Edberg at net)
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Edberg 39
- 16 Unforced (6 FH, 6 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
- 23 Forced (6 FH, 8 BH, 8 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)… with 1 BH at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.1
Stich 36
- 18 Unforced (5 FH, 6 BH, 4 FHV, 3 BHV)… with 1 BH pass attempt
- 18 Forced (6 FH, 6 BH, 4 FHV, 2 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.8
(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
Edberg was...
- 58/93 (62%) at net, including...
- 46/73 (63%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 41/63 (65%) off 1st serve and...
- 5/10 (50%) off 2nd serve
---
- 2/4 (50%) return-approaching
- 0/1 forced back
Stich was...
- 46/75 (61%) at net, including...
- 41/66 (62%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 37/58 (64%) off 1st serve and...
- 4/8 (50%) off 2nd serve
---
- 0/1 return-approaching
- 1/3 (33%) forced back/retreated
Match Report
High quality serve-volley match on clay, especially the first set which is filled with long and tightly contested games. Rest of match is still good, though comfortable for the server and there's little in it. Its more like a fast court, serve-volley match where a couple of good or bad shots decide outcome than a clay one where one player comes off better than the other
Both players serve-volley virtually all the time off first serves (Edberg 94% of the time, Stich 97%) and to similar degree off seconds (Edberg 26%, Stich 29%). Edberg serves a lot more points (110-91) due to having couple of longer games in the tough first set (and serving 1 game extra). Starting from the back court, Edberg is keener to take net
103/202 points take place in the first set, where Edberg's games include 18 and 12 point games to go along with a couple of normal deuce games. Stich has a 16 point game also on top of a standard, 8 point deuce one
Serve, Return & Volley
The surprise stat here is unreturned serves: Edberg serving at 63% with 24% unreturned to Stich serving at 68% with 20% unreturned. And this is with both players serve-volleying at about the same rate (Stich slightly more, in fact)
In general, Stich has a much bigger serve. So what's going on here?
Stich holds back some on serve. Note just the 1 ace (and 1 service winner). On very rare occasions when he lets go with a big 1, it becomes apparent just how much he's held back. Both first serves he stays back on are unreturned and it seems like he didn't bother coming to net behind them because he knew they would be. Basically, he's chosen to hold back on serve to get a high percentage in, trusting to his volleys more than the serve
I would still primarily credit Edberg's returning, which is very consistent with return rate of 80%. The trade-off to that would usually be he's returning safely - which would manifest as leaving Stich easy first volleys
That's not what happens though. While Edberg doesn't return as attackingly as Stich (Edberg has 5 return winners. Stich 9), he returns about as offensively as you could hope with 80% return rate
Its not even 'offensive returning' exactly.... more like his regular return against serve-volleys is very good. Very few easy first volleys for Stich. The volleys that would be marked unforced error had he missed (he has 7 volleying UEs) tend to be tricky - balls about net high, or slow but dropping. The kind its not hard to put in play but difficult to hit winners and not easy to volley as to leave a difficult pass off
Stich's volleying suffers by comparison to Edberg, but is good. Makes most of the tricky ones and deals well with the tough ones. 6 FEs on the volley for Stich to Edberg's 9
On flip side, Edberg serves about his usual, less than strong showing. He goes less to the body than he's wont (14% there isn't high for him). Stich strainlessly attacks with returns... so strainlessly, you'd wonder if he is attacking or like Edberg, its just that his stock returning is this good. The 9 return winners testify to its damaging ability. Its precise placement more than power that does the damage - though he hits them firmly enough
Edberg has to be at his quickest and sharpest on the first volley. The first volleys he's presented with are typically against harder hit balls than the ones' he give Stich, with a good few that are wide and some low too. He's very secure on the volley with just 3 UEs (plus a bad OH miss)
To counter-balance, the 9 forecourt FEs are relatively not hard... below the knees but not to the feet, firm but not overpowering, coverable with 2 steps to the side but not at other end of court type stuff. Still very much forced, but worth noting Edberg's FEs aren't of the flagrant sort
Note both players serving about 75% to BH (Edberg 73%, Stich 74%). Edberg's strategy is more question here... Stich looks grooved and ready on the BH return, and better to mix it up to him a bit more. Stich's serve is strong enough that Edberg doesn't look in command when returning
Note unusual distribution of Edberg's BHV errors. 1 UE and 9 FEs (including 1 BH1/2V). The UE comes right at the end of the match and is about as tough as a UE can be. Serving to Stich's BH so much and with Stich preferring returning cc, the Edberg BHV is chief under the gun
It was Edberg's sole Masters level title on clay. He won 3 titles on the surface in total. Stich also won 3 career titles on clay
Edberg won 102 points, Stich 100
Edberg serve-volleyed off all but 4 first serves, Stich 2. Both players serve-volleyed minority of time off seconds
(Note: An Edberg service game cuts off at 40-30 that Edberg won. Based on time elapsed, its been assumed there was 1 further point. I'm missing serve direction and return data for 1 other point
Missing point - Set 2, Game 9, Point 6
Partial missing point - Set 2, Game 3, Point 3)
Serve Stats
Edberg...
- 1st serve percentage (69/110) 63%
- 1st serve points won (44/69) 64%
- 2nd serve points won (22/41) 54%
- Unknown serve point (1/1)
- Aces 2
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (26/110) 24%
Stich...
- 1st serve percentage (62/91) 68%
- 1st serve points won (41/62) 66%
- 2nd serve points won (15/29) 52%
- Aces 1, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (18/91) 20%
Serve Patterns
Edberg served...
- to FH 13%
- to BH 73%
- to Body 14%
Stich served...
- to FH 23%
- to BH 74%
- to Body 2%
Return Stats
Edberg made...
- 72 (14 FH, 58 BH), including 4 return-approaches
- 5 Winners (1 FH, 4 BH)
- 16 Errors, comprising...
- 2 Unforced (2 BH)
- 14 Forced (5 FH, 9 BH)… including 1 return-approach attempt
- Return Rate (72/90) 80%
Stich made...
- 82 (15 FH, 66 BH, 1??), including 1 runaround FH & 1 return-approach
- 9 Winners (9 BH)
- 24 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (3 BH)
- 21 Forced (2 FH, 19 BH)
- Return Rate (82/108) 76%
Break Points
Edberg 4/8 (5 games)
Stich 2/7 (4 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Edberg 38 (3 FH, 11 BH, 11 FHV, 11 BHV, 2 OH)
Stich 41 (3 FH, 19 BH, 5 FHV, 12 BHV, 1 OH, 1 BHOH)
Edberg had 17 from serve-volley points
- 12 first volleys (6 FHV, 6 BHV)… 1 BHV was not clean and 1 was a net chord dribbler
- 4 second volleys (2 FHV, 2 BHV)
- 1 third volley (1 FHV)
- FHs (all passes) - 1 dtl, 1 inside-out return and 1 lob
- BH passes - 2 cc (1 return), 7 dtl (2 returns) and 1 inside-in return
- regular BH - 1 cc
Stich had 17 from serve-volley points
- 9 first 'volleys' (4 FHV, 4 BHV, 1 BH at net)… the BH at net was a drop shot
- 8 second volleys (1 FHV, 5 BHV, 1 OH, 1 BHOH)
- FH passes - 1 cc and 1 dtl
- regular FH - 1cc
- BH passes - 11 cc (7 returns - 1 Edberg left, 1 running-drop-volley) and 5 dtl (2 returns - 1 Edberg left)
- regular BHs - 1 dtl and 1 net chord dribbler (with Edberg at net)
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Edberg 39
- 16 Unforced (6 FH, 6 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
- 23 Forced (6 FH, 8 BH, 8 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)… with 1 BH at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.1
Stich 36
- 18 Unforced (5 FH, 6 BH, 4 FHV, 3 BHV)… with 1 BH pass attempt
- 18 Forced (6 FH, 6 BH, 4 FHV, 2 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.8
(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
Edberg was...
- 58/93 (62%) at net, including...
- 46/73 (63%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 41/63 (65%) off 1st serve and...
- 5/10 (50%) off 2nd serve
---
- 2/4 (50%) return-approaching
- 0/1 forced back
Stich was...
- 46/75 (61%) at net, including...
- 41/66 (62%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 37/58 (64%) off 1st serve and...
- 4/8 (50%) off 2nd serve
---
- 0/1 return-approaching
- 1/3 (33%) forced back/retreated
Match Report
High quality serve-volley match on clay, especially the first set which is filled with long and tightly contested games. Rest of match is still good, though comfortable for the server and there's little in it. Its more like a fast court, serve-volley match where a couple of good or bad shots decide outcome than a clay one where one player comes off better than the other
Both players serve-volley virtually all the time off first serves (Edberg 94% of the time, Stich 97%) and to similar degree off seconds (Edberg 26%, Stich 29%). Edberg serves a lot more points (110-91) due to having couple of longer games in the tough first set (and serving 1 game extra). Starting from the back court, Edberg is keener to take net
103/202 points take place in the first set, where Edberg's games include 18 and 12 point games to go along with a couple of normal deuce games. Stich has a 16 point game also on top of a standard, 8 point deuce one
Serve, Return & Volley
The surprise stat here is unreturned serves: Edberg serving at 63% with 24% unreturned to Stich serving at 68% with 20% unreturned. And this is with both players serve-volleying at about the same rate (Stich slightly more, in fact)
In general, Stich has a much bigger serve. So what's going on here?
Stich holds back some on serve. Note just the 1 ace (and 1 service winner). On very rare occasions when he lets go with a big 1, it becomes apparent just how much he's held back. Both first serves he stays back on are unreturned and it seems like he didn't bother coming to net behind them because he knew they would be. Basically, he's chosen to hold back on serve to get a high percentage in, trusting to his volleys more than the serve
I would still primarily credit Edberg's returning, which is very consistent with return rate of 80%. The trade-off to that would usually be he's returning safely - which would manifest as leaving Stich easy first volleys
That's not what happens though. While Edberg doesn't return as attackingly as Stich (Edberg has 5 return winners. Stich 9), he returns about as offensively as you could hope with 80% return rate
Its not even 'offensive returning' exactly.... more like his regular return against serve-volleys is very good. Very few easy first volleys for Stich. The volleys that would be marked unforced error had he missed (he has 7 volleying UEs) tend to be tricky - balls about net high, or slow but dropping. The kind its not hard to put in play but difficult to hit winners and not easy to volley as to leave a difficult pass off
Stich's volleying suffers by comparison to Edberg, but is good. Makes most of the tricky ones and deals well with the tough ones. 6 FEs on the volley for Stich to Edberg's 9
On flip side, Edberg serves about his usual, less than strong showing. He goes less to the body than he's wont (14% there isn't high for him). Stich strainlessly attacks with returns... so strainlessly, you'd wonder if he is attacking or like Edberg, its just that his stock returning is this good. The 9 return winners testify to its damaging ability. Its precise placement more than power that does the damage - though he hits them firmly enough
Edberg has to be at his quickest and sharpest on the first volley. The first volleys he's presented with are typically against harder hit balls than the ones' he give Stich, with a good few that are wide and some low too. He's very secure on the volley with just 3 UEs (plus a bad OH miss)
To counter-balance, the 9 forecourt FEs are relatively not hard... below the knees but not to the feet, firm but not overpowering, coverable with 2 steps to the side but not at other end of court type stuff. Still very much forced, but worth noting Edberg's FEs aren't of the flagrant sort
Note both players serving about 75% to BH (Edberg 73%, Stich 74%). Edberg's strategy is more question here... Stich looks grooved and ready on the BH return, and better to mix it up to him a bit more. Stich's serve is strong enough that Edberg doesn't look in command when returning
Note unusual distribution of Edberg's BHV errors. 1 UE and 9 FEs (including 1 BH1/2V). The UE comes right at the end of the match and is about as tough as a UE can be. Serving to Stich's BH so much and with Stich preferring returning cc, the Edberg BHV is chief under the gun
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