Steffi Graf with a novelty, Boris Becker and Michael Stich as a double target: Alexander Zverev joined a standout roster with his Olympic final entry in Tokyo. A look back at its predecessors since 1988.
One victory missing for gold and German tennis history: Alexander Zverev She could become Germany’s first female Olympic champion in the men’s singles final against Russia’s Karen Chachanov, who was a final upset, on Sunday.
Sports icon boasted ‘I went crazy’ Boris Becker In a congratulatory message distributed via Eurosport, it encouraged the “devil” Zverev after the victory over the Serbs Novak Djokovic: “Only there is a problem: you have to play another match. Surely you have silver, now bring gold to Germany!”
With an insane turnaround and world-class performance, the 24-year-old from Hamburg made a first-class Olympic semi-final against the season’s dominant tennis star. And you can’t hold back the tears. “I am ready to do everything in my power to get the gold medal for Germany on Sunday,” Zverev declared. How emotional will his latest appearance in Tokyo be?
Baker, Michael Stich, Steffi Graf and Angelique Kerber It made memorable Olympic finals with German participation in the past. A look back at the passions, drama, and triumphs – beginning with Graf’s successes in 1988.
1988 in Seoul: When a new term for graph was introduced
The 19-year-old outperforms everyone else. Steffi Graf has been a hit that is still unparalleled by both men and women to this day. She initially won all four of her Grand Slam tournaments, then celebrated Olympic gold: 6:3, 6:3 in the final against Argentina’s Gabriella Sabatini. The Golden Slam was perfect. 33 years later, Zverev emphasized in Tokyo that Graf’s success remained something new: it spoiled Djokovic’s chance of winning gold.
1992 in Barcelona: Baker and Stitch win double gold
The path of the Fit Alliance ended as a successful duo with Olympic gold in the doubles. Baker and Stitch raised their arms, looked for each other first, then ran toward each other and fell around their necks. 7:6 (7:5), 4:6, 7:6 (7:5), 6:3 in the final against South Africans Wayne Ferreira and Pete Norval made cuddles possible. In fact, there was a distance between the German winners of Wimbledon, and they are completely different. In the women’s final, Graf had to admit defeat to Jennifer Capriati of the United States.
2000 in Sydney: When Haas didn’t want to compete
As the first German tennis player after Graf, Haas earned an Olympic medal in the single. At first he didn’t want to participate due to back problems, then he reached the final and defeated rookie Swiss Roger Federer on the way there. The final developed into a five-act tennis drama: despite the strong fighting performance, Haas lost 6:7 (4:7), 6:3, 2:6, 6:4, 3:6 to Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
2004 in Athens: Kiefer and Schüttler Prize for the two matches
Nicholas Kiefer and Rainer Schuettler won the silver in the doubles, but lost the gold. Four match points at 6:2 in the fourth set tiebreak weren’t enough to repeat Baker and Stitch’s Olympic victory twelve years earlier. At 2.39 a.m. Athens time, Chilean Fernando Gonzalez/Nicolas Massu converted the third match point. The five-action drama ended with 2:6, 6:4, 6:3, 6:7 (7:9), 4:6 – and with bitter tears from Kiefer. “It’s so brutal. You only get such an opportunity once in a lifetime,” he said.
2016 in Rio: When Kerber had a great season
It also took Kerber quite a bit to make friends with Silver. She was the runner-up in the final, but lost 4:6, 6:4, 1:6 against exciting winner Monica Puig of Puerto Rico. After a few hours I realized that the medal was “icing on the cake”. In a crazy year, Kerber previously won the Australian Open and reached the Wimbledon final. After the silver trial, she won the US Open and climbed to number one in the world.
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