German tennis player
Michael Detlef Stich (German pronunciation: [ˈmɪçaːʔeːl ˈʃtɪç] ⓘ ; born 18 October 1968) is a German former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in 1993, and No. 9 in men's doubles, achieved in 1991. Stich won 18 ATP Tour -level singles titles, including the 1991 Wimbledon Championships , the 1993 ATP Tour World Championships , and the 1992 Grand Slam Cup . He also won ten doubles titles, including the men's doubles title at the 1992 Wimbledon Championships , partnering John McEnroe , and the gold medal in men's doubles 1992 Barcelona Olympics , partnering Boris Becker . Stich was part of the victorious German team at the 1993 Davis Cup , and was also the singles runner-up at the 1994 US Open and the 1996 French Open .
Stich was raised in Elmshorn , Schleswig-Holstein. He turned professional in 1988 and won his first top-level singles title in 1990 at Memphis, Tennessee.
Stich won Wimbledon in 1991. He defeated the defending champion and world No. 1 Stefan Edberg in the semifinals, 4–6, 7–6, 7–6, 7–6, without breaking his service once. Then in the final, he beat his compatriot and three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker in straight sets.[ 1]
In 1992, Stich teamed with John McEnroe to win the men's doubles title at Wimbledon in a five-set, five-hour final that stretched into Monday (the day after the tournament normally ends) and ended with a 19–17 set. No male player since has won both singles and doubles at Wimbledon.[ 1] Then at the Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Stich teamed with Becker to win the men's doubles gold medal. Stich also won the 1992 Grand Slam Cup , defeating Michael Chang in the final.
A major highlight of 1993 for Stich came at the end-of-year ATP World Championships , where he was the only player in the 1990s history of the Championship tournament to claim the title undefeated, overcoming Pete Sampras in the final.[ 2] Playing for Germany, Stich also won both the Davis Cup and the Hopman Cup in 1993.
He reached his second Grand Slam singles final at the 1994 US Open , where he lost in straight sets to Andre Agassi . Stich also helped Germany win the World Team Cup in 1994.
He upset defending champion Thomas Muster in four sets in the fourth round of the 1996 French Open en route to appearing in his third and final Grand Slam singles final, where he lost to Yevgeny Kafelnikov in straight sets. He also won his final career singles title that year at Antwerp . His last doubles title came in 1997 at Halle .
Stich's all-round ability, both from the baseline and at the net, allowed him to become one of the few players to win both singles and doubles tournaments on all surfaces. He is one of only five players of his generation[clarification needed ] to have a positive career head-to-head record against Sampras.[ 3]
Stich announced his retirement from the professional tour in 1997, after Wimbledon. His last run at Wimbledon started with a win over US top-ten player Jim Courier and ended with a five-set loss to Cédric Pioline in the semifinals.
Since his retirement, he has devoted most of his time to his AIDS foundation. He also works as a tennis commentator for the BBC. In 2018, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame .[ 4] Stich was married to the German actress Jessica Stockmann from 1992 to 2003. In 2005, he married Alexandra Rikowski. They live in Hamburg .
Other significant finals [ edit ]
Year-end championships finals [ edit ]
Grand Slam Cup finals: 2 (1–1)[ edit ]
Olympic men's doubles final[ edit ]
Masters Series finals [ edit ]
Singles: 31 (18–13)[ edit ]
Legend
Grand Slam (1–2)
Year-end championships (1–0)
Grand Slam Cup (1–1)
ATP Masters Series (2–1)
ATP Championship Series (3–3)
ATP World Series (10–6)
Finals by surface
Hard (4–4)
Grass (4–1)
Clay (3–5)
Carpet (7–3)
Result
No.
Date
Tournament
Surface
Opponent
Score
Win
1.
Mar 1990
Memphis , US
Hard
Wally Masur
6–7(5–7) , 6–4, 7–6(7–1)
Loss
1.
Jan 1991
Adelaide , Australia
Hard
Nicklas Kulti
3–6, 6–1, 2–6
Loss
2.
Jan 1991
Sydney , Australia
Hard
Guy Forget
3–6, 4–6
Loss
3.
Feb 1991
Memphis, US
Hard (i)
Ivan Lendl
5–7, 3–6
Win
2.
Jul 1991
Wimbledon , UK
Grass
Boris Becker
6–4, 7–6(7–4) , 6–4
Win
3.
Jul 1991
Stuttgart Outdoor , Germany
Clay
Alberto Mancini
1–6, 7–6(11–9) , 6–4, 6–2
Win
4.
Aug 1991
Schenectady , US
Hard
Emilio Sánchez
6–2, 6–4
Win
5.
Oct 1991
Vienna , Austria
Carpet (i)
Jan Siemerink
6–4, 6–4, 6–4
Loss
4.
May 1992
Hamburg , Germany
Clay
Stefan Edberg
7–5, 4–6, 1–6
Win
6.
Jun 1992
Rosmalen , Netherlands
Grass
Jonathan Stark
6–4, 7–5
Win
7.
Dec 1992
Grand Slam Cup , Munich
Carpet (i)
Michael Chang
6–2, 6–3, 6–2
Win
8.
Feb 1993
Stuttgart , Germany
Carpet (i)
Richard Krajicek
4–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–4) , 3–6, 7–5
Loss
5.
May 1993
Munich , Germany
Clay
Ivan Lendl
6–7(2–7) , 3–6
Win
9.
May 1993
Hamburg, Germany
Clay
Andrei Chesnokov
6–3, 6–7(1–7) , 7–6(9–7) , 6–4
Win
10.
Jun 1993
London (Queen's Club) , UK
Grass
Wayne Ferreira
6–3, 6–4
Loss
6.
Jul 1993
Stuttgart , Germany
Clay
Magnus Gustafsson
3–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 4–6
Win
11.
Aug 1993
Basel , Switzerland
Hard (i)
Stefan Edberg
6–4, 6–7(5–7) , 6–3, 6–2
Win
12.
Nov 1993
Stockholm , Sweden
Carpet (i)
Goran Ivanišević
4–6, 7–6(8–6) , 7–6(7–3) , 6–2
Win
13.
Nov 1993
ATP Tour World Championships , Frankfurt
Carpet (i)
Pete Sampras
7–6(7–3) , 2–6, 7–6(9–7) , 6–2
Loss
7.
Dec 1993
Grand Slam Cup, Munich
Carpet (i)
Petr Korda
6–2, 4–6, 6–7(5–7) , 6–2, 9–11
Win
14.
Feb 1994
Rotterdam , Netherlands
Carpet (i)
Wayne Ferreira
4–6, 6–3, 6–0
Win
15.
May 1994
Munich, Germany
Clay
Petr Korda
6–2, 2–6, 6–3
Win
16.
Jun 1994
Halle , Germany
Grass
Magnus Larsson
6–4, 4–6, 6–3
Loss
8.
Sep 1994
US Open , New York
Hard
Andre Agassi
1–6, 6–7(5–7) , 5–7
Loss
9.
Oct 1994
Vienna, Austria
Carpet (i)
Andre Agassi
6–7(4–7) , 6–4, 2–6, 3–6
Loss
10.
Feb 1995
Stuttgart, Germany
Carpet (i)
Richard Krajicek
6–7(4–7) , 3–6, 7–6(8–6) , 6–1, 3–6
Loss
11.
May 1995
Munich, Germany
Clay
Wayne Ferreira
5–7, 6–7(6–8)
Loss
12.
Jun 1995
Halle, Germany
Grass
Marc Rosset
6–3, 6–7(11–13) , 6–7(8–10)
Win
17.
Aug 1995
Los Angeles , US
Hard
Thomas Enqvist
6–7(7–9) , 7–6(7–4) , 6–2
Win
18.
Feb 1996
Antwerp , Belgium
Carpet (i)
Goran Ivanišević
6–3, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)
Loss
13.
Jun 1996
French Open , Paris
Clay
Yevgeny Kafelnikov
6–7(4–7) , 5–7, 6–7(4–7)
Legend
Grand Slam (1–0)
Tennis Masters Cup (0–0)
Olympic Gold Medal (1–0)
ATP Masters Series (1–2)
ATP Championship Series (1–1)
ATP World Series (6–3)
Finals by surface
Hard (3–2)
Grass (3–1)
Clay (3–2)
Carpet (1–1)
Result
No.
Date
Tournament
Surface
Partner
Opponents
Score
Win
1.
Oct 1989
Basel , Switzerland
Hard (i)
Udo Riglewski
Omar Camporese Claudio Mezzadri
6–3, 4–6, 6–0
Loss
1.
Feb 1990
Memphis , US
Hard (i)
Udo Riglewski
Darren Cahill Mark Kratzmann
5–7, 2–6
Loss
2.
May 1990
Hamburg , Germany
Clay
Udo Riglewski
Sergi Bruguera Jim Courier
6–7, 2–6
Win
2.
May 1990
Munich , Germany
Clay
Udo Riglewski
Petr Korda Tomáš Šmíd
6–1, 6–4
Win
3.
Jun 1990
Rosmalen , Netherlands
Grass
Jakob Hlasek
Jim Grabb John McEnroe
7–6, 6–3
Loss
3.
Aug 1990
Long Island , US
Hard
Udo Riglewski
Guy Forget Jakob Hlasek
6–2, 3–6, 4–6
Win
4.
Oct 1990
Vienna , Austria
Carpet (i)
Udo Riglewski
Jorge Lozano Todd Witsken
6–4, 6–4
Win
5.
Jan 1991
Memphis, US
Hard (i)
Udo Riglewski
John Fitzgerald Laurie Warder
7–5, 6–3
Loss
4.
Feb 1991
Philadelphia , US
Carpet (i)
Udo Riglewski
Rick Leach Jim Pugh
4–6, 4–6
Win
6.
Apr 1992
Monte Carlo , Monaco
Clay
Boris Becker
Petr Korda Karel Nováček
6–4, 6–4
Loss
5.
May 1992
Hamburg, Germany
Clay
Carl-Uwe Steeb
Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez
7–5, 4–6, 3–6
Loss
6.
Jun 1992
Rosmalen, Netherlands
Grass
John McEnroe
Jim Grabb Richey Reneberg
4–6, 7–6, 4–6
Win
7.
Jul 1992
Wimbledon , London
Grass
John McEnroe
Jim Grabb Richey Reneberg
5–7, 7–6, 3–6, 7–6, 19–17
Win
8.
Aug 1992
Summer Olympics , Barcelona
Clay
Boris Becker
Wayne Ferreira Piet Norval
7–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3
Win
9.
Aug 1993
Los Angeles , US
Hard
Wayne Ferreira
Grant Connell Scott Davis
7–6, 7–6
Win
10.
Jun 1997
Halle , Germany
Grass
Karsten Braasch
David Adams Marius Barnard
7–6, 6–3
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
DNQ
A
NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
1 Held as Stockholm Masters until 1994, Stuttgart Masters from 1995 onward.
Season
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Total
Wins
0
0
0
1
7
6
14
3
6
2
0
39
#
Player
Rank
Event
Surface
Rd
Score
1990
1.
Brad Gilbert
9
Paris , France
Carpet (i)
3R
6–4, 6–4
1991
2.
Stefan Edberg
1
Hamburg , Germany
Clay
QF
6–2, 7–6(7–4)
3.
Goran Ivanišević
8
World Team Cup , Düsseldorf
Clay
RR
6–3, 6–4
4.
Jim Courier
4
Wimbledon , United Kingdom
Grass
QF
6–3, 7–6(7–2) , 6–2
5.
Stefan Edberg
1
Wimbledon , United Kingdom
Grass
SF
4–6, 7–6(7–5) , 7–6(7–5) , 7–6(7–2)
6.
Boris Becker
2
Wimbledon , United Kingdom
Grass
F
6–4, 7–6(7–4) , 6–4
7.
Jim Courier
3
Davis Cup , Kansas City
Clay (i)
RR
6–4, 7–5, 6–4
8.
Guy Forget
7
Grand Slam Cup , Munich
Carpet (i)
QF
7–6(10–8) , 6–4
1992
9.
Boris Becker
4
Hamburg , Germany
Clay
SF
6–1, 6–1
10.
Pete Sampras
3
World Team Cup , Düsseldorf
Clay
RR
6–7(6–8) , 6–2, 6–4
11.
Stefan Edberg
2
Grand Slam Cup , Munich
Carpet (i)
1R
7–6(7–4) , 6–7(4–7) , 8–6
12.
Richard Krajicek
10
Grand Slam Cup , Munich
Carpet (i)
QF
7–6(7–4) , 7–5
13.
Pete Sampras
3
Grand Slam Cup , Munich
Carpet (i)
SF
7–6(7–3) , 7–6(7–5) , 3–6, 7–6(7–2)
14.
Michael Chang
6
Grand Slam Cup , Munich
Carpet (i)
F
6–2, 6–3, 6–2
1993
15.
Ivan Lendl
7
Hamburg , Germany
Clay
QF
6–3, 6–2
16.
Stefan Edberg
3
World Team Cup , Düsseldorf
Clay
RR
6–2, 6–0
17.
Boris Becker
4
Queen's Club , United Kingdom
Grass
QF
6–4, 7–6(7–2)
18.
Petr Korda
10
Wimbledon , United Kingdom
Grass
4R
7–6(7–4) , 6–4, 7–6(7–3)
19.
Stefan Edberg
5
Davis Cup , Borlänge
Clay (i)
RR
6–1, 6–1
20.
Stefan Edberg
5
Basel , Switzerland
Hard (i)
F
6–4, 6–7(5–7) , 6–3, 6–2
21.
Stefan Edberg
6
Stockholm , Sweden
Carpet (i)
QF
1–6, 6–2, 6–4
22.
Goran Ivanišević
10
Stockholm , Sweden
Carpet (i)
F
4–6, 7–6(8–6) , 7–6(7–3) , 6–2
23.
Andriy Medvedev
6
ATP Tour World Championships , Frankfurt
Carpet (i)
RR
6–3, 6–4
24.
Michael Chang
7
ATP Tour World Championships , Frankfurt
Carpet (i)
RR
4–6, 7–6(7–3) , 6–2
25.
Jim Courier
2
ATP Tour World Championships , Frankfurt
Carpet (i)
RR
7–5, 6–4
26.
Goran Ivanišević
8
ATP Tour World Championships , Frankfurt
Carpet (i)
SF
7–6(7–2) , 7–6(12–10)
27.
Pete Sampras
1
ATP Tour World Championships , Frankfurt
Carpet (i)
F
7–6(7–3) , 2–6, 7–6(9–7) , 6–2
28.
Stefan Edberg
5
Grand Slam Cup , Munich
Carpet (i)
SF
2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3, 6–1
1994
29.
Pete Sampras
1
World Team Cup , Düsseldorf
Clay
RR
3–6, 7–6(9–7) , 6–2
30.
Sergi Bruguera
6
World Team Cup , Düsseldorf
Clay
F
2–6, 6–4, 6–3
31.
Sergi Bruguera
4
Davis Cup , Halle
Grass
RR
7–6(7–4) , 5–7, 7–5, 6–2
1995
32.
Goran Ivanišević
5
Davis Cup , Karlsruhe
Hard (i)
RR
7–6(7–3) , 4–6, 6–1, 6–4
33.
Boris Becker
3
Stuttgart , Germany
Carpet (i)
SF
6–0, 6–3
34.
Richard Krajicek
10
Davis Cup , Utrecht
Hard (i)
RR
3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4
35.
Magnus Larsson
10
World Team Cup , Düsseldorf
Clay
RR
7–5, 7–6(7–5)
36.
Pete Sampras
2
Cincinnati , United States
Hard
QF
6–7(5–7) , 7–6(7–3) , 6–1
37.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov
6
Davis Cup , Moscow
Clay (i)
RR
6–1, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
1996
38.
Goran Ivanišević
9
Antwerp , Belgium
Carpet (i)
F
6–3, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)
39.
Thomas Muster
2
French Open , Paris
Clay
4R
4–6, 6–4, 6–1, 7–6(7–1)
Record against No. 1 players [ edit ]
Stich's match record against players who have been ranked world No. 1.
Michael Stich Achievements
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