1 Response to toulouse94larsson_palmer

1. Voo de Mar says:

   May 16, 2026 at 7:37 pm

   Points won by each set: | 26-13, 30-18 |
   Unreturned serves:
   34 % Larsson – 15 of 43
   18 % Palmer – 11 of 48

   Palmer [51] is one of the best doubles specialists born in the 70s (no. 1 in the world in 2000), but when he was 23, he somehow found a way to get good results in singles too – within a non-calendar year he moved from no. 127 to 35. In that period he played two ATP finals: won on a green clay in Pinehurst, lost on a hardcourt (indoors) in Toulouse. In Southern France he had no chance against one year older Larsson [40] who began there the best period of his tennis life when after several years of being a dangerous floater he turned into a super consistent player reaching at least a quarterfinal wherever he travelled, yet a serious injury after Roland Garros’ 95 derailed his career at the top of the game. In the fourth game of the Toulouse final occurred an unusual rally consisted of 21 strokes with the last 15 marked by an exchange of cross-court backhand slices! Larsson broke for a 4:0 lead with that rally and it must have been really satisfying for him given he was a two-handed backhand player as opposed to his opponent.

   Larsson’s route to his 5th title:
   1 Mark-Kevin Goellner 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
   2 Luiz Mattar 7-5, 6-4
   Q Cedric Pioline 6-2, 6-4
   S Andrey Chesnokov 6-1, 1-6, 6-1
   W Jared Palmer 6-1, 6-3

   Serve & volley: Larsson 2/3, Palmer 7/10

   ☆ They face each other one more time, Pinehurst ’95, and Larsson survives 6-7(5), 7-6(2), 7-6(6) withstanding two match points

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