Michael Stich

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Michael Stich as commentator at the French Open 2003.
Michael Stich as commentator at the French Open 2003.
Olympic medal record
Men’s Tennis
Gold 1992 Barcelona Men's Doubles

Michael Stich (born October 18, 1968, in Pinneberg, Germany) is a former professional tennis player from Germany. He is best remembered for winning the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1991. He also won the men's doubles titles at both Wimbledon and the Olympic Games, and was a singles runner-up at the US Open and the French Open.

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[edit] Career

Stich was raised in Elmshorn, Schleswig-Holstein. He turned professional in 1988, and won his first top-level singles title in 1990 at Memphis.

The highlight of Stich's career came in 1991 at Wimbledon. He shocked the tennis world first in the semi-finals, where he defeated the defending champion and World No. 1 Stefan Edberg 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6. Then in the final he went on to beat his compatriot and three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker in straight sets 6-4, 7-6, 6-4.

1992 saw Stich enjoy notable success in doubles. He teamed up with John McEnroe to win the men's doubles title at Wimbledon in an epic five-set and five-hour final which stretched into Monday (the day after the tournament normally ends), and ended with a 19-17 final set. And then at the summer's Olympic Games in Barcelona, Stich teamed up with Becker to win the men's doubles Gold Medal for Germany. Stich also won the 1992 Grand Slam Cup, defeating Michael Chang in straight sets in the final.

A major highlight of 1993 for Stich came at the end-of-year ATP World Championships, where he defeated Pete Sampras 7-6, 2-6, 7-6, 6-2 in the final to claim the title. Playing for Germany, Stich also won both the Davis Cup and the Hopman Cup in 1993.

Stich reached his second Grand Slam singles final at the 1994 US Open, where he lost in straight sets to Andre Agassi 6-1, 7-6, 7-5. Stich's impressive run of success playing for Germany continued in 1994, when he was part of the German team which won the World Team Cup.

Stich's third and final Grand Slam singles final appearance came in 1996, when he was defeated in a tight final at the French Open by Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7-6, 7-5, 7-6. He also won his final career singles title that year at Antwerp. His last doubles title came in 1997 at Halle.

Stich's talent and all-round ability, mastering serve-and-volley as well as baseline play, especially with his one-handed backhand, allowed him to become one of the few players to win tournaments on all surfaces. He is one of only five players of his generation to have a positive career head-to-head record against Pete Sampras (the others being Sergi Bruguera, Leander Paes, Paul Haarhuis and Richard Krajicek).

During his career, Stich won 18 singles titles and 10 doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 2 in 1993.

Stich retired from the professional tour in 1997, after a loss to Cedric Pioline in a Wimbledon semifinal match. Since his retirement, he has devoted most of his time to his own AIDS foundation. He also works as a tennis commentator for the BBC. Stich was married to the German actress Jessica Stockmann from 1992-2003. In 2005 he married Alexandra Rikowski. They live in Hamburg.

[edit] Grand Slam singles finals

[edit] Wins (1)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1991 Wimbledon Flag of Germany Boris Becker 6-4, 7-6, 6-4

[edit] Runner-ups (2)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1994 U.S. Open Flag of United States Andre Agassi 6-1, 7-6, 7-5
1996 French Open Flag of Russia Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7-6, 7-5, 7-6

[edit] Grand Slam results (singles)

Tournament 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989
Australian Open 2r - 3r 1r SF QF 3r 3r -
French Open - F 4r 2r 4r 3r SF 2r 2r
Wimbledon SF 4r 1r 1r QF QF W 3r 1r
US Open - 2r 4r F 1r 2r QF 2r 1r

[edit] ATP Masters Series singles finals

[edit] Wins (2)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1993 Hamburg Flag of Russia Andrei Chesnokov 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4
1993 Stockholm Flag of Croatia Goran Ivanišević 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-2

[edit] Runner-up (1)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1992 Hamburg Flag of Sweden Stefan Edberg 5-7, 6-4, 6-1

[edit] Singles titles (18)

[edit] External links