As well as Pioline played in this match and the whole tournament, you really have to say that Jim Courier played well below his best in this particular match - his serve was not effective and he committed many unforced errors from the baseline, which was normally his strength to dominate from the back of the court. In his desperation he often came to the net after rather weak approach shots and was subsequently passed again and again by Pioline.
I think this match pretty much marked the beginning of Jim Courier's decline. After this loss to Pioline he would not only lose ultimately his No. 1 position in the rankings to Sampras, but he also would not win a lot of matches for the rest of 1993 and 1994 was a huge disappointment for him, too. He fell out of the top 10 for the first time since the beginning of 1991. In 1995 he kind of had a comeback and made it back to the top 10, but 1996 was another disappointing year for him.
As well as Pioline played in this match and the whole tournament, you really have to say that Jim Courier played well below his best in this particular match - his serve was not effective and he committed many unforced errors from the baseline, which was normally his strength to dominate from the back of the court. In his desperation he often came to the net after rather weak approach shots and was subsequently passed again and again by Pioline.
I think this match pretty much marked the beginning of Jim Courier's decline. After this loss to Pioline he would not only lose ultimately his No. 1 position in the rankings to Sampras, but he also would not win a lot of matches for the rest of 1993 and 1994 was a huge disappointment for him, too. He fell out of the top 10 for the first time since the beginning of 1991. In 1995 he kind of had a comeback and made it back to the top 10, but 1996 was another disappointing year for him.