The courts seemed to play very fast in this tournament which suited Steffi's game. She hit 10 aces in the final against Seles and most of the rallies were very short.
Steffi played very distracted and sloppy tennis in that U.S Open even though she managed to win it without dropping a set. I think part of the problem was that she wasn't all that well prepared as she only played one hardcourt warm-up tournament due to knee issues.
I remember Barbara Potter saying that Steffi had been notably slow to get going in her matches that US Open, saving set points in round 1 against Basuki and then in the semi finals against Hingis. Oddly enough, it was the only time that Steffi won the US Open without dropping a set
@@zeddeka She was also down in the first set in this match but also against Zvereva as well in an earlier match. The only two players who didn't give her any troubles were Kournikova and Kschwendt.
@gk891 At her only warm-up tournament for the 96 Open, Steffi defeated Majoli and Venus Williams (first match between the two). She lost in the final to Davenport. In that match, Steffi was so unhappy with her play that at the end of one game she flung her racquet at her chair. I had never seen Steffi do that. (I watched the matches live.)
@@zeddeka IIRC, she did play Leipzig but withdrew after playing one match or two. But then she didn't play again until Philadelphia where she withdrew from the final against Novotna due to back pain. And while she did win the year ending championships, her tennis was far from inspiring.
The courts seemed to play very fast in this tournament which suited Steffi's game. She hit 10 aces in the final against Seles and most of the rallies were very short.
I think it was against Martina Hingis in the semi final where Steffi really had to grind out a lot of the points
Steffi played very distracted and sloppy tennis in that U.S Open even though she managed to win it without dropping a set. I think part of the problem was that she wasn't all that well prepared as she only played one hardcourt warm-up tournament due to knee issues.
I remember Barbara Potter saying that Steffi had been notably slow to get going in her matches that US Open, saving set points in round 1 against Basuki and then in the semi finals against Hingis. Oddly enough, it was the only time that Steffi won the US Open without dropping a set
@@zeddeka She was also down in the first set in this match but also against Zvereva as well in an earlier match. The only two players who didn't give her any troubles were Kournikova and Kschwendt.
Interesting too that Steffi didn't play again after this US Open for another 9 weeks. The injuries must have really started to affect her.
@gk891 At her only warm-up tournament for the 96 Open, Steffi defeated Majoli and Venus Williams (first match between the two). She lost in the final to Davenport. In that match, Steffi was so unhappy with her play that at the end of one game she flung her racquet at her chair. I had never seen Steffi do that. (I watched the matches live.)
@@zeddeka IIRC, she did play Leipzig but withdrew after playing one match or two. But then she didn't play again until Philadelphia where she withdrew from the final against Novotna due to back pain. And while she did win the year ending championships, her tennis was far from inspiring.