Mats Wilander vs. Slobodan Zivojinovic French Open 1988 PART 5

[@VastKrutEmpire]

Wilander specialized in winning wars of attrition in the majors due to his level of fitness (especially in '88) and his superior ability to maintain focus. His opponents were frequently spent both mentally and physically by the fourth or fifth set. An example of this occurred in the semifinals of this very tournament when Agassi was reduced to running on fumes in the fifth set and Mats won it 6-0. But this match against Slobodan was played over two days, which robbed Wilander of his key advantage. Fatigue didn't play a role in the match's final set and Mats was in all kinds of trouble. You could say he was lucky, sure, but his toughness and resilience ultimately proved decisive. He was a true champion, Wilander.

[@MultiStar83]

Also what people tend to forget is that Wilander was quite versatile and therefore a reasonable net player. He would come to the net only to distract the opponent's rhythm. The US Open 1988 final against Lendl for instance was not just a war of attrition or ball bashing from the baseline, but Wilander came to the net as often as never before. And Lendl was not able to handle that. Wilander simply knew that he could not win against Ivan Lendl from the baseline. He had to change the game plan and he did it successfully.

[@brucefake2732]

I remember that match very clearly. Great Mats

[@NicoMKDC]

So I've watched the whole match, thank you for the upload. Whoever faced Mats, I'd root for the swede... but some 30 years after, I feel sorry for Zivo who played a great tennis the whole match, leading two sets to one, 5-3 in the fifth, 30-30... Great serve, volleys and slice backhands... and he seems to be a nice chap too!! Mats was a bit lucky to go through but his resilience prevailed. Congrats guys, it was a good match.

[@MultiStar83]

Finally I have watched the whole match myself, too. I think it was not all the time a great match. For example, in the 2nd set there were a lot of unforced errors, especially of course by Zivojinovic, who was a very risky player. And both players took a lot of time between the points. That was a little bit hard for me to endure. But all in all the match was good.

[@NicoMKDC]

@@MultiStar83 I agree, the time they took between points made the rythme of the match overall pretty slow. The absence of commentaries, which make you live the match (even if you don't necessarily speak the same language) was maybe a reason why. A good match, maybe not a classic but as a fan of Mats, I enjoyed it.

[@cesareborgia6431]

I really enjoyed re-watching this match. Basically all I remembered was the smash Bobo sent into the net at 5-3 30-30 (well actually it was at 30-40). Thank you for uploading it!!

[@JD-jc8gp]

Can't find part 4.

[@MultiStar83]

Min. 6:06: This clock showing the "official match time" of 4 hours 37 minutes cannot be valid. The match was way shorter. It must have taken about 4 hours 10 minutes, so almost 40 minutes shorter, but this is not really important...

[@jangerhards1253]

Slobo was so disappointed after the match. He knew, he missed a big chance!

[@angelococo5411]

Mats was luky in this match.

[@dontsayitisntbecauseitis3845]

Tennis commentary is some of the emptiest discourse I can think of. Take it away and you remember how beautiful the game is. The windy silence before service towards the end of a fifth set is akin to a gunfight. If Mark Petchey was the answer, someone should have been shot for asking the question.

[@evenkat6780]

A wrongfooting volley would have made it for Bobo, wilander was lucky. He worked hard in this match, sanchez in QF and then again agassi. Finals was his even before it was played as leconte was a mixed player...

[@nathanmiller6051]

👍🙏

[@MrVoodemar]

many parts disappeared :(

[@MultiStar83]

Yes, actually the first 4 parts...It must have happened just recently, because when I have last checked it a couple of days ago only one part was blocked due to copyright issues. If you planned to make statistics about this match you are probably too late now...Sorry.

[@MrVoodemar]

@@MultiStar83 yes, I planned to do this this year

[@gregorymgm1415]

Why the referee didn't say "game set and match" at the end??? Very strange video here

[@MultiStar83]

Maybe the umpire's microphone was not working properly. I think you could hear him announce the final score in the end very quietly.

[@ms-jl6dl]

Otkud ovo?

[@MultiStar83]

Paris, France. Roland Garros/French Open 1988.

[@leliondescavernes1747]

Zivojinovic s'est trompé de côté à 5 jeux à 3 pour lui..il place sa volée de revers croisée sur le replacement de Wilander

[@sonlampham9685]

Et Leconte aurait gagné Roland Garros.

[@phoenix-records]

Tout à fait exact

[@leliondescavernes1747]

@@phoenix-records on ne pourra jamais savoir ,mais je pense qu'avec l'élimination de Wilander, la place de finaliste (ou vainqueur),face à Leconte se serait joué entre Zivojinovic, Emilio Sanchez et Agassi..à ça tient quand même, le destin d'une carrière où d'un tournoi...