Match Stats/Report - Grosjean vs Kafelnikov, Paris final 2001

[Waspsting]

Sebastien Grosjean beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-4 in the Paris final, 2001 on carpet

It would be Grosjean’s only Masters title and he’d finish runner-up at the Year End Championship shortly after. It would be the last of Kafelnikov’s 5 Masters final, all of which he lost

Grosjean won 135 points, Kafelnikov 117

Serve Stats
Grosjean...
- 1st serve percentage (79/126) 63%
- 1st serve points won (59/79) 75%
- 2nd serve points won (33/47) 70%
- Aces 13, Service Winners 2
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (49/126) 39%

Kafelnikov....
- 1st serve percentage (72/126) 57%
- 1st serve points won (59/72) 82%
- 2nd serve points won (24/54) 44%
- Aces 6
- Double Faults 6
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (32/126) 25%

Serve Patterns
Grosjean served...
- to FH 46%
- to BH 49%
- to Body 5%

Kafelnikov served...
- to FH 43%
- to BH 57%

Return Stats
Grosjean made...
- 88 (47 FH, 41 BH), including 9 runaround FHs
- 2 Winners (2 FH), including 1 runaround FH
- 26 Errors, comprising...
- 14 Unforced (7 FH, 7 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 12 Forced (7 FH, 5 BH)
- Return Rate (88/120) 73%

Kafelnikov made...
- 75 (36 FH, 39 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 3 return-approaches
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 34 Errors, comprising...
- 15 Unforced (7 FH, 8 BH)
- 19 Forced (9 FH, 10 BH)
- Return Rate (75/124) 60%

Break Points
Grosjean 4/11 (6 games)
Kafelnikov 1/2 (2 games)

Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Grosjean 31 (17 FH, 7 BH, 2 FHV, 3 BHV, 2 OH)
Kafelnikov 29 (4 FH, 8 BH, 7 FHV, 6 BHV, 3 OH, 1 BHOH)

Grosjean's FHs - 2 cc (1 pass), 7 dtl (1 return, 2 passes, 1 at net), 1 dtl/inside-out, 6 inside-out (1 runaround return), 1 inside-out/dtl
- BHs - 2 cc (1 pass), 4 dtl (1 pass), 1 drop shot

Kafelnikov's FHs - 2 cc, 1 inside-out/longline, 1 net chord dribbler return
- BHs - 4 cc (1 pass), 2 dtl (1 pass), 1 inside-out

- 1 from a serve-volley points, a first 'volley' BH at net

- 1 from a return-approach point, a FHV

- 1 other FHV was a swinging cc shot from close to service line and the BHOH can reasonably be called a BHV

Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Grosjean 54
- 22 Unforced (14 FH, 7 BH, 1 FHV)... the FHV was a baseline shot
- 32 Forced (15 FH, 15 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 49.1

Kafelnikov 49
- 32 Unforced (18 FH, 12 BH, 1 BHV, 1 OH)... the OH was on the bounce from the baseline
- 17 Forced (5 FH, 10 BH, 1 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)... with 1 FH running-down-drop-shot at net, 1 BH at net & 1 BH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.3

(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
Grosjean was 12/19 (63%) at net, with...
- 0/2 forced back/retreated

Kafelnikov was...
- 46/57 (81%) at net, including...
- 4/6 (67%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
---
- 3/3 (100%) return-approaching
- 1/1 forced back

Match Report
Match filled with live-wire, aggressive action - Grosjean firing from the baseline, Kafelnikov coming to net quickly from rallies. Both are brilliant in their different ways, Grosjean wins because he has fewer lulls doing what he does. He’s also exceptionally quick around court, though that isn’t too big a factor in result. Court is quick and low bouncing

31 winners, forcing 17 errors, 22 UEs showing from Gros
Kaf has 29 winners, forces 32 errors for 32 UEs
Very high quality stuff, befitting a match which has a constant sense of aggression from both players

It is a statistically odd match
First serve in - Gros 63%, Kaf 57%
First serve won - Gros 75%, Kaf 82%
Second serve won - Gros 70%, Kaf 44%

What would you make of that?
Gros near even first and second serve points won suggests superior court game is behind his success (as opposed to the serve shot). Kaf’s big discrepancy suggests the opposite
First serve in doesn’t dispel idea that Kaf depending on big first serve more than Gros to be successful

In reality, that’s not how it is at all, and Gros is actually stronger server by good margin
Gros with 13 aces, 2 service winners (19% of first serves), Kaf 6 (8%)
Unreturned serves - Gros 39%, Kaf 25%

Gros does send down some forceful second serves, but they’re the exception. Norm is just a good second serve - perhaps not easy to attack (Kaf doesn’t try much), but not a weapon. Meanwhile, his first serves are winning all kinds of freebies and not just with aces, so its weird that he’s done almost as well behind his second serve. Only logical conclusion is he plays a lot better behind his second serves than he does firsts, to make up for the much higher lot of freebies he has of first serves

When Kaf can make the return -
Gros wins 50% first serve points but 62% seconds (excluding small 2 double faults, that rises to 66%). That is weird, and no solid explanation for it.

And what of Kaf’s large 38% gap between first and second serve points won, with a particularly high 82% first serve points won?
He’s not winning so high a number of first serve points because of big serve or freebies. 25% unreturneds is straight out low for so high a figure as 82%, and just 6 aces speaks to his serve being far from devastating (14/26 return errors he draws have been marked UEs too), Gros returning first serves with at least normal strength (normal against first serves leaving server with mild/moderate initiative to start rallies)

Some attacking second returning by Gros, but wouldn’t expect it to be enough to account for a 38% gap across serves. Kaf’s 6 double faults (11% second serves) aren’t so big either

Good lot of Kaf’s second serve points begin from similar position as his typical first serve points, with Kaf having minor initiative. Not when where a normal player would look to spank an immediate winner, but where he can take control of the rally with his first groundies

In that light, Kaf’s done particularly well to win 82% first serve points. Gros being better player accounts for Kaf winning minority of second serve points (also Gros winning most of his second serve points) but there’s no solid reason for Kaf winning more first serve points than Gros, who in all other ways, is better court player and who has significantly better first serve

Removing one-sided 6-1 set, where where Kaf can’t buy a first serve (he serves at 28% for the set) and Gros is close to zoning in in inability to miss a shot (he’s not overly aggressive, relative to rest of match but he’s aggressive throughout), basic stats shift to -

First serve in - Gros 66%, Kaf 62%
First serve won - Gros 72%, Kaf 82%
Second serve won - Gros 66%, Kaf 46%

Only slightly less strange than rest of match

So 2-3 questions for which there aren’t any great answers
Why is the strong first serving Grosjean winning almost as many second serve points as firsts?
Why is weaker than opponent first serving Kaf winning more first serve points than Grosjean?
Why is there such a vast gap between how well Kaf does across his 2 serves, when there isn’t a substantial one in his 2 serves or Gros’ returning across the two serves?

Whatever the case, its bloody a fun, lively match

Serve & Return
Largely covered by the intro already
Gros better serve and some good, aggressive second serving to go with a more aggessively placed first. Kaf with a good serve too, though not overwhelming and he returns orthodoxly

On the return, Gros with a minor problem handling power and taking a few chances to attack with second return (few big runaround FHs, including in ad court). He’s quick to move for the return but Kaf in his typical way, doesn’t serve too far wide. If he’s jolted by power of serve (which isn’t so big that its impossible not to be jolted by), he still usually manages to push the return back in play

A solid serve from Kaf, usually in swing zone and not too tasking to reach. Return normally, on average about as forcefully as Gros does. He’s not as quick as the exceptional Gros for the return and he needs it more because Gros goes closer to line with serves

First serve ace/service winner rate - Gros 19%, Kaf 8%
Unreturned serves - Gros 39%, Kaf 25%
Second serve double fault rate - Gros 4%, Kaf 11%
Return winners - Gros 2, Kaf 1

… all telling same tale of Gros stronger server and Gros more damaging returner

Its not a categoric difference though and the freebie and ace rate are larger than warranted. Kaf’s figures could be that of a downright average server, but he’s at least a healthy one

 

[Waspsting]

Play - Baseline & Net
Brilliant, attacking tennis from both players

Gros engages in shot-making and attacking point construction from the back. He’s very quick around court and has the artiste’s making-it-up-as-he-goes-along way about him
FH is chief executioner but he might go for the winner off the BH or he might decline to do so of FH when possiblity is there. Comes to net a little too, but primarily, back court aggression is his game

Kaf hits moderately wide shot and comes to net by contrast and net play is 80% of his offence. He doesn’t serve-volley though. Just 6 times and 5 of those are in last 2 service games, so basically, not at all through the match

Generally, a guy who plays like Kaf is usually liable to be outplayed and/or outhit from the baseline. That’s not true here. Hitting strength in neutral baseline rallies is a wash, with the hitting being normal (not powerful). Such rallies tend to not last too long, with one or the other going on the attack in their own way

Winners - Gros 31, Kaf 29
Errors Forced - Gros 17, Kaf 32
(aggressively ended points - Gros 48, Kaf 61)
UEs - Gros 22, Kaf 32

In baseline rallies -
Winners - Gros 18 (13 FH, 5 BH), Kaf 9 (4 FH, 5 BH)
Errors forced - Gros 9, Kaf 7
(aggressively ended points - Gros 27, Kaf 16)
UEs - Gros 22 (including a strange FHV), Kaf 31

That’s very convincing superiority from baseline for Gros

FH’s huge lead in winners - just 1 shy of all other groundies - is just what looks like. It’s the shot-making and risk taking that makes it effective; he does not outhit Kaf to set up simple putaways , nor does serve set him up for. Goes for his winning shot from not-obvious positions (and not all the time, sometimes he’ll hit more moderate shot, or even a neutral one), and usually makes them

Gros has better of consistency too, especially off the BH. UEs by shot -
- Gros BH 7
- Kaf BH 12, Gros FH 14
- Kaf FH 18

With just 1 net UE in the match, gauging attacking effectiveness is easy

Gros with 18 winners, 7 winner attempt UEs, Kaf 9 and 3
Kaf more efficient but Gros much more often going for it and coming out on top

Gros forcing 9 errors at cost of 6 attacking UEs, Kaf forcing 7 errors at cost of 9 attacking UEs
Gros’ quickness is useful here (though he usually goes on to lose points after making difficult gets when Kaf takes net). Its quick enough court that attacking shots have good chance of finishing points. And to be clear, Kaf’s no slow poke or defensively weak, Gros just happens to be better in that area

Neutral UEs - Gros 9, Kaf 19
Great outcome for Gros. He’s firing winners and zipping around court, but fundamentally sound. Far more than a not bad Kaf. This would mostly be about BHs

Gros attacking more, Gros more successful attacking, Gros more secure off the ground. Would be a thorough thrashing if it were a baseline match

Its not a baseline match. Corresponding to Gros’ shot-making is Kaf’s net play, where he wins 81% of his 57 approaches (Gros has 19 approaches to contextualize). Just rallying to net, its 39/48, still at 81%
3-4 of the 11 points he loses at net are running-down-drop-shots at net or hopeless forays to meet an at net Gros (that is, not voluntary approaches and nothing to do with his volleying skill)

Beautifully played from Kaf. From lead position in rally, he hits wide and comes in. Would almost certainly win bulk of such points were he to remain on baseline and attack from there too - but probably not 81% of the time. Gros isn’t winning 81% points from similar position with his ground attacks, impressive as they are

No waiting around. Kaf’s often in off the third ball or otherwise, early in rally as soon as he gets a weaker ball. He’s as lively to attack as the flashy Gros
And he volleys virtually perfectly. 1 measly UE the whole match and it comes right at the end. And it comes as a shock because he can’t seem to miss a volley if he tried
He’s not faced with many tough volleys (credit to his set-up), but makes every volley and with authority. Gros’ speed necessitates well placed volleying and Kaf can’t seem to not place one where they’re difficult to reach if he tried

On the ‘volley’, Kaf has 18 winners, 1 UE, 3 FEs (including a crucial BH at net serve-volleying)
On the pass, Gros has 5 winners and 23 FEs

Gros’ figures look poor, but all credit to Kaf’s net play for it (both the approaching and volleying), who leaves him nothing but poor, running looks

So, 2 players attacking very differently - Gros from the back, Kaf the front, both doing so superbly to put on a wonderful spectacle of all-court aggressive tennis

What could Kaf reasonably look to do to edge ahead? His trailing neutral UEs is unfortunate for him. And his inability to outhit Gros to take net more in return games. He’s not outhit in rallies and though not soft of shot, could look to outhit Gros more than he does. Whether he’d be able to remains to be seen, but action just doesn’t go in that direction. Looks more like Kaf’s waiting around for a bad game of attacking UEs by Gros to break, which ends up not coming

Match Progression
No break points heading into tiebreak in first set. Gros has negligibly better of it and serves 31 points for his 6 holds, to Kaf’s 33

Gros goes for his shots and attacks the net. In this part of the match, Kaf isn’t too net thirsty and plays similarly to Gros but less aggressive. Plenty of fine tennis

Kaf hits a tweener in first game of the match and Gros, who’d remained on baseline as Kaf was being forced back, gives up error to it
Not much trouble for either server going into ‘breaker

Gros commands it in opening up 6-1 lead. Starts with a FH dtl return winner and strikes a running FH cc pass winner against Kaf serve-volleying for the first time (next time he’d do so is right at end of match. Kaf doesn’t help by missing a couple of attack BH cc’s

Gros wraps up with a brilliant FH inside-out winner from normal position

Kaf can’t buy a first serve in second set and Gros can barely miss a ball (he has low in count too)
Kaf makes 5/18 first serves, Gros better than that at least with 8/18
And Gros runs through it 6-1, with double faults being a problem for Kaf. He has 3 in 8 point game (including last 2 points) to lose serve for second time and 1 in earlier break game, where Gros is quick and solid from baseline

Kaf has better of third set, serving 29 points for 6 games to Gros’ 40 (both players are broken once). Despite that, its Gros who breaks first for 4-3, putting him a skip and jump away from victory before Kaf breaks back at once

Kaf switches to rallying to net regularly in this set and is at net 27 times (he’d been to net 10 and 4 times respectively in previous set). Gros though continues firing with his shots from the back

Kaf brings up his first break point of the match at 3-2 with a winning, biffed BH cc but misses slightly wide but routine enough FH on it. Gorgeous third ball BH drop shot winner by Gros point after that stands out even amidst high standard of match and he goes on to hold

2 trade breaks right after. For a change, its net play that gets Gros to 0-40 (along with another double fault) and after a couple of aces, net chord dribbling return gets him the break

Strong, deep returns and net play by Kaf to break back to 30 at once and awhile later, its another tiebreak
Its an odd one. Kaf wins his service points with by now, routine net play, but returns poorly in missing 4/6 returns (3 of them marked UEs). But other 2 return points are an ambitious third ball FH drop shot winner miss and a double faults, so all of 1 time either player touches ball with racquet post return in 6 points on Gros’ serve

Both players are probably tiring by fourth set. Its actually Gros who shows it a little and he’s huffing and puffing a bit and plays rare throwawy points. Kaf is poker faced but cuts back his approaching some and despite looking stronger, he has worse of the set and has to save 3 break points across 2 different games in reaching 4-5 while having none himself

Down 15-40 at 3-4, Kaf serve-volleys for first time since his sole effort in first set tiebreak. Does so to save both break points and holds with couple other strong serves

He’s finally broken in a pretty bad game to end the match. Starts the game missing a high BHV he’d set up with a nice BH dtl. His only volley UE for the match and it sticks out like a sore thumb in an otherwise virtually perfect net showing. Routine third ball FH cc miss gets him further into trouble and he gain, turns to serve-volleying, which sees him to deuce before attempted wrong-footing FH miss sees him down break/match point

Gros mishits return that moons its way to back court, where Kaf lets it bounce and unleashes a smash that lands in the net

Summing up, wonderful match of lively all-court action. Grosjean unleashes his shots from the back of the court, while being very quick in getting around it. Kafelnikov settles on hitting wide and coming to net for aggression and is virtually perfect in his net play

Grosjean’s standard never wavering despite much not high percentage play, while Kafelnikov’s rarely doing so is enough to settle result

 

[Galvermegs]

Play - Baseline & Net
Brilliant, attacking tennis from both players

Gros engages in shot-making and attacking point construction from the back. He’s very quick around court and has the artiste’s making-it-up-as-he-goes-along way about him
FH is chief executioner but he might go for the winner off the BH or he might decline to do so of FH when possiblity is there. Comes to net a little too, but primarily, back court aggression is his game

Kaf hits moderately wide shot and comes to net by contrast and net play is 80% of his offence. He doesn’t serve-volley though. Just 6 times and 5 of those are in last 2 service games, so basically, not at all through the match

Generally, a guy who plays like Kaf is usually liable to be outplayed and/or outhit from the baseline. That’s not true here. Hitting strength in neutral baseline rallies is a wash, with the hitting being normal (not powerful). Such rallies tend to not last too long, with one or the other going on the attack in their own way

Winners - Gros 31, Kaf 29
Errors Forced - Gros 17, Kaf 32
(aggressively ended points - Gros 48, Kaf 61)
UEs - Gros 22, Kaf 32

In baseline rallies -
Winners - Gros 18 (13 FH, 5 BH), Kaf 9 (4 FH, 5 BH)
Errors forced - Gros 9, Kaf 7
(aggressively ended points - Gros 27, Kaf 16)
UEs - Gros 22 (including a strange FHV), Kaf 31

That’s very convincing superiority from baseline for Gros

FH’s huge lead in winners - just 1 shy of all other groundies - is just what looks like. It’s the shot-making and risk taking that makes it effective; he does not outhit Kaf to set up simple putaways , nor does serve set him up for. Goes for his winning shot from not-obvious positions (and not all the time, sometimes he’ll hit more moderate shot, or even a neutral one), and usually makes them

Gros has better of consistency too, especially off the BH. UEs by shot -
- Gros BH 7
- Kaf BH 12, Gros FH 14
- Kaf FH 18

With just 1 net UE in the match, gauging attacking effectiveness is easy

Gros with 18 winners, 7 winner attempt UEs, Kaf 9 and 3
Kaf more efficient but Gros much more often going for it and coming out on top

Gros forcing 9 errors at cost of 6 attacking UEs, Kaf forcing 7 errors at cost of 9 attacking UEs
Gros’ quickness is useful here (though he usually goes on to lose points after making difficult gets when Kaf takes net). Its quick enough court that attacking shots have good chance of finishing points. And to be clear, Kaf’s no slow poke or defensively weak, Gros just happens to be better in that area

Neutral UEs - Gros 9, Kaf 19
Great outcome for Gros. He’s firing winners and zipping around court, but fundamentally sound. Far more than a not bad Kaf. This would mostly be about BHs

Gros attacking more, Gros more successful attacking, Gros more secure off the ground. Would be a thorough thrashing if it were a baseline match

Its not a baseline match. Corresponding to Gros’ shot-making is Kaf’s net play, where he wins 81% of his 57 approaches (Gros has 19 approaches to contextualize). Just rallying to net, its 39/48, still at 81%
3-4 of the 11 points he loses at net are running-down-drop-shots at net or hopeless forays to meet an at net Gros (that is, not voluntary approaches and nothing to do with his volleying skill)

Beautifully played from Kaf. From lead position in rally, he hits wide and comes in. Would almost certainly win bulk of such points were he to remain on baseline and attack from there too - but probably not 81% of the time. Gros isn’t winning 81% points from similar position with his ground attacks, impressive as they are

No waiting around. Kaf’s often in off the third ball or otherwise, early in rally as soon as he gets a weaker ball. He’s as lively to attack as the flashy Gros
And he volleys virtually perfectly. 1 measly UE the whole match and it comes right at the end. And it comes as a shock because he can’t seem to miss a volley if he tried
He’s not faced with many tough volleys (credit to his set-up), but makes every volley and with authority. Gros’ speed necessitates well placed volleying and Kaf can’t seem to not place one where they’re difficult to reach if he tried

On the ‘volley’, Kaf has 18 winners, 1 UE, 3 FEs (including a crucial BH at net serve-volleying)
On the pass, Gros has 5 winners and 23 FEs

Gros’ figures look poor, but all credit to Kaf’s net play for it (both the approaching and volleying), who leaves him nothing but poor, running looks

So, 2 players attacking very differently - Gros from the back, Kaf the front, both doing so superbly to put on a wonderful spectacle of all-court aggressive tennis

What could Kaf reasonably look to do to edge ahead? His trailing neutral UEs is unfortunate for him. And his inability to outhit Gros to take net more in return games. He’s not outhit in rallies and though not soft of shot, could look to outhit Gros more than he does. Whether he’d be able to remains to be seen, but action just doesn’t go in that direction. Looks more like Kaf’s waiting around for a bad game of attacking UEs by Gros to break, which ends up not coming

Match Progression
No break points heading into tiebreak in first set. Gros has negligibly better of it and serves 31 points for his 6 holds, to Kaf’s 33

Gros goes for his shots and attacks the net. In this part of the match, Kaf isn’t too net thirsty and plays similarly to Gros but less aggressive. Plenty of fine tennis

Kaf hits a tweener in first game of the match and Gros, who’d remained on baseline as Kaf was being forced back, gives up error to it
Not much trouble for either server going into ‘breaker

Gros commands it in opening up 6-1 lead. Starts with a FH dtl return winner and strikes a running FH cc pass winner against Kaf serve-volleying for the first time (next time he’d do so is right at end of match. Kaf doesn’t help by missing a couple of attack BH cc’s

Gros wraps up with a brilliant FH inside-out winner from normal position

Kaf can’t buy a first serve in second set and Gros can barely miss a ball (he has low in count too)
Kaf makes 5/18 first serves, Gros better than that at least with 8/18
And Gros runs through it 6-1, with double faults being a problem for Kaf. He has 3 in 8 point game (including last 2 points) to lose serve for second time and 1 in earlier break game, where Gros is quick and solid from baseline

Kaf has better of third set, serving 29 points for 6 games to Gros’ 40 (both players are broken once). Despite that, its Gros who breaks first for 4-3, putting him a skip and jump away from victory before Kaf breaks back at once

Kaf switches to rallying to net regularly in this set and is at net 27 times (he’d been to net 10 and 4 times respectively in previous set). Gros though continues firing with his shots from the back

Kaf brings up his first break point of the match at 3-2 with a winning, biffed BH cc but misses slightly wide but routine enough FH on it. Gorgeous third ball BH drop shot winner by Gros point after that stands out even amidst high standard of match and he goes on to hold

2 trade breaks right after. For a change, its net play that gets Gros to 0-40 (along with another double fault) and after a couple of aces, net chord dribbling return gets him the break

Strong, deep returns and net play by Kaf to break back to 30 at once and awhile later, its another tiebreak
Its an odd one. Kaf wins his service points with by now, routine net play, but returns poorly in missing 4/6 returns (3 of them marked UEs). But other 2 return points are an ambitious third ball FH drop shot winner miss and a double faults, so all of 1 time either player touches ball with racquet post return in 6 points on Gros’ serve

Both players are probably tiring by fourth set. Its actually Gros who shows it a little and he’s huffing and puffing a bit and plays rare throwawy points. Kaf is poker faced but cuts back his approaching some and despite looking stronger, he has worse of the set and has to save 3 break points across 2 different games in reaching 4-5 while having none himself

Down 15-40 at 3-4, Kaf serve-volleys for first time since his sole effort in first set tiebreak. Does so to save both break points and holds with couple other strong serves

He’s finally broken in a pretty bad game to end the match. Starts the game missing a high BHV he’d set up with a nice BH dtl. His only volley UE for the match and it sticks out like a sore thumb in an otherwise virtually perfect net showing. Routine third ball FH cc miss gets him further into trouble and he gain, turns to serve-volleying, which sees him to deuce before attempted wrong-footing FH miss sees him down break/match point

Gros mishits return that moons its way to back court, where Kaf lets it bounce and unleashes a smash that lands in the net

Summing up, wonderful match of lively all-court action. Grosjean unleashes his shots from the back of the court, while being very quick in getting around it. Kafelnikov settles on hitting wide and coming to net for aggression and is virtually perfect in his net play

Grosjean’s standard never wavering despite much not high percentage play, while Kafelnikov’s rarely doing so is enough to settle result

I very much enjoyed the match and indeed the event. Both deserved to make the final. Yevgeny really had one last chance at a masters and kind of blew it. I guess he just was already was slightly past his peak.. several of his wins in the majors showed how he could unravel. This wasnt a bad performance at all from him but he did just capitulate a bit. Grosjean was a fun player and looked happy to be out there. A showman too.

The next meetings with grosjean and kafelnikov were very one sided... more so than this one.

 

[BlackSilver]

I guess Grosjean was just far more comfortable with the surface? Was this Kafelnikov last (or one of) good result? He started to decline very early for today standards, although more or less in conformity with its peers, although I do not remember him suffering an injury as most of them

 

[Galvermegs]

I guess Grosjean was just far more comfortable with the surface? Was this Kafelnikov last (or one of) good result? He started to decline very early for today standards, although more or less in conformity with its peers, although I do not remember him suffering an injury as most of them

Well yevgeny dealt with grosjean find on french soil not long prior to paris bercy. It could be that the number of lost masters finals was making it harder and harder to produce his best.

Kafelnikov did of course help win russia win davis cup in 2002.. so that pretty much was his last hurrah. 2003 he had only the odd decent showing but wasnt a real contender overall.

 

[buscemi]

I guess Grosjean was just far more comfortable with the surface? Was this Kafelnikov last (or one of) good result? He started to decline very early for today standards, although more or less in conformity with its peers, although I do not remember him suffering an injury as most of them

Grosjean was 32-25 (56.1%) on carpet for his career, with 2 titles, including this one.

Kafelnikov was 166-60 (73.5%) on carpet for his career, with 11 titles.

As you note, this was one of the last good results for Kafelnikov. He would win Halle and Tashkent in 2002 for his final titles, but both without beating a top 30 player.

 

[Galvermegs]

Grosjean was 32-25 (56.1%) on carpet for his career, with 2 titles, including this one.

Kafelnikov was 166-60 (73.5%) on carpet for his career, with 11 titles.

As you note, this was one of the last good results for Kafelnikov. He would win Halle and Tashkent in 2002 for his final titles, but both without beating a top 30 player.

The davis cup did count as a title, but obviously a team event. I give YK credit for his versatility in singles, doubles and team events. Sampras had to play at his best to help the us to win the cup on clay in russia.

 

[BlackSilver]

Thanks to both for the answers.

 

[Galvermegs]

Thanks to both for the answers.

The match can be found who knows where last i looked. I as usual preferred this era to the relatively bland tennis from AO this year.