1 Response to doha98korda_santoro

1. Voo de Mar says:

   January 7, 2026 at 1:04 pm

   Points won by each set: | 25-8, 36-25 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   24 % Korda – 13 of 53
   17 % Santoro – 7 of 41

   There was 6-0, *4:0 (30-all) when Korda [13] missed his backhand which would have given him a game point, so a first double bagel in the Open Era – as far as the main-level finals are concerned – was on the horizon. A few things contributed the the super one-sided progress:
   – Korda was in an extraordinary form at the turn of o 1997 and 1998 (potentially under the influence of illegal substances)
   – Santoro had an issue with his left thigh (due to rain, on Saturday he’d played five sets while Korda two, and what’s quite intriguing Santoro defeated the best serving left-handers, Rusedski and Ivanisevic, breaking them plenty of times)
   – in the second game of the final, Santoro lost a point which he thought he should have won (called ‘out’ his passing-shot) which he couldn’t accept and got a warning for inappropriate behaviour, and it frustrated him
   The Frenchman [29] improved in the mid 2nd set, and even had a break point to erase the double break deficit… In the first game of the match there was a problem with the net after Korda’s serve, the repair took a few minutes.

   Korda’s route to his 9th title:
   1 Olivier Delaitre 7-5, 6-1
   2 Lars Burgsmuller 6-3, 6-2
   Q Tim Henman 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
   S Andrei Medvedev 6-3, 6-4
   W Fabrice Santoro 6-0, 6-3

   Serve & volley: Korda 0, Santoro 1/5

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