Michael Stich

Michael Detlef Stich (born 18 October 1968) is a former professional tennis player from Germany. He won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1991, the men's doubles titles at both Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in 1992, and was a singles runner-up at the 1994 US Open and the 1996 French Open. Stich won 18 singles titles and ten doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 2 in 1993.

For the American television soap opera director, see Michael Stich (director).

Michael Stich
Country (sports) Germany[notes 1]
ResidenceElmshorn, Germany
Born (1968-10-18) 18 October 1968
Pinneberg, West Germany
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Turned pro1988
Retired1997
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$12,592,483
Int. Tennis HoF2018 (member page)
Singles
Career record385–176
Career titles18
Highest rankingNo. 2 (22 November 1993)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenSF (1993)
French OpenF (1996)
WimbledonW (1991)
US OpenF (1994)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsW (1993)
Grand Slam CupW (1992)
Olympic Games2R (1992)
Doubles
Career record165–111
Career titles10
Highest rankingNo. 9 (22 March 1991)
Grand Slam Doubles results
WimbledonW (1992)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (1993)
Medal record
Olympic Games – Tennis
1992 BarcelonaMen's Doubles

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, 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.

In 1992, Stich teamed with John McEnroe to win the men's doubles title at Wimbledon in a five-set and five-hour final that stretched into Monday (the day after the tournament normally ends) and ended with a 19–17 final set. 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.[1] 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 was defeated by 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 to have a positive career head-to-head record against Sampras.[2]

Stich announced his retirement from the professional tour in 1997, following 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 own AIDS foundation. He also works as a tennis commentator for the BBC. In 2018, he became an International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee.[3] Stich was married to the German actress Jessica Stockmann from 1992 to 2003. In 2005, he married Alexandra Rikowski. They live in Hamburg.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 3 (1–2)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win1991WimbledonGrass Boris Becker6–4, 7–6(7–4), 6–4
Loss1994US OpenHard Andre Agassi1–6, 6–7(5–7), 5–7
Loss1996French OpenClay Yevgeny Kafelnikov6–7(4–7), 5–7, 6–7(4–7)

Doubles: 1 (1–0)
Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win1992WimbledonGrass John McEnroe Jim Grabb
Richey Reneberg		5–7, 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 19–17

Other significant finals

Year-end championships finals

Singles: 1 (1–0)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win 1993 ATP Tour World Championships Carpet (i) Pete Sampras 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 7–6(9–7), 6–2

Grand Slam Cup finals 2 (1–1)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win 1992 Grand Slam Cup Carpet (i) Michael Chang 6–2, 6–3, 6–2
Loss 1993 Grand Slam Cup Carpet (i) Petr Korda 6–2, 4–6, 6–7(5–7), 6–2, 9–11

Olympic men's doubles final
Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Gold 1992 Barcelona Olympics Clay Boris Becker Wayne Ferreira
Piet Norval		 7–6(7–5), 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–3

Masters Series finals

Singles: 3 (2–1)
Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss1992HamburgClay Stefan Edberg7–5, 4–6, 1–6
Win1993HamburgClay Andrei Chesnokov6–3, 6–7(1–7), 7–6(9–7), 6–4
Win1993StockholmHard (i) Goran Ivanišević4–6, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–3), 6–2

Doubles: 3 (1–2)
Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss1990HamburgClay Udo Riglewski Sergi Bruguera
Jim Courier		6–7, 2–6
Win1992Monte CarloClay Boris Becker Petr Korda
Karel Nováček		3–6, 6–1, 6–4
Loss1992HamburgClay Carl-Uwe Steeb Sergio Casal
Emilio Sánchez		7–5, 4–6, 3–6

Career finals

Singles: 31 (18–13)
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)

Doubles: 16 (10–6)
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. 9 October 1989 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Udo Riglewski Omar Camporese
Claudio Mezzadri		 6–3, 4–6, 6–0
Loss 1. 26 February 1990 Memphis, US Hard (i) Udo Riglewski Darren Cahill
Mark Kratzmann		 5–7, 2–6
Loss 2. 7 May 1990 Hamburg, Germany Clay Udo Riglewski Sergi Bruguera
Jim Courier		 6–7, 2–6
Win 2. 17 May 1990 Munich, Germany Clay Udo Riglewski Petr Korda
Tomáš Šmíd		 6–1, 6–4
Win 3. 18 June 1990 Rosmalen, Netherlands Grass Jakob Hlasek Jim Grabb
John McEnroe		 7–6, 6–3
Loss 3. 20 August 1990 Long Island, US Hard Udo Riglewski Guy Forget
Jakob Hlasek		 6–2, 3–6, 4–6
Win 4. 22 October 1990 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) Udo Riglewski Jorge Lozano
Todd Witsken		 6–4, 6–4
Win 5. 9 January 1991 Memphis, US Hard (i) Udo Riglewski John Fitzgerald
Laurie Warder		 7–5, 6–3
Loss 4. 11 February 1991 Philadelphia, US Carpet (i) Udo Riglewski Rick Leach
Jim Pugh		 4–6, 4–6
Win 6. 27 April 1992 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Boris Becker Petr Korda
Karel Nováček		 6–4, 6–4
Loss 5. 4 May 1992 Hamburg, Germany Clay Carl-Uwe Steeb Sergio Casal
Emilio Sánchez		 7–5, 4–6, 3–6
Loss 6. 8 June 1992 Rosmalen, Netherlands Grass John McEnroe Jim Grabb
Richey Reneberg		 4–6, 7–6, 4–6
Win 7. 6 July 1992 Wimbledon, London Grass John McEnroe Jim Grabb
Richey Reneberg		 5–7, 7–6, 3–6, 7–6, 19–17
Win 8. 3 August 1992 Summer Olympics, Barcelona Clay Boris Becker Wayne Ferreira
Piet Norval		 7–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3
Win 9. 9 August 1993 Los Angeles, US Hard Wayne Ferreira Grant Connell
Scott Davis		 7–6, 7–6
Win 10. 16 June 1997 Halle, Germany Grass Karsten Braasch David Adams
Marius Barnard		 7–6, 6–3

Singles performance timeline
Tournament1988198919901991199219931994199519961997SRW–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 3R 3R QF SF 1R 3R A 2R 0 / 7 16–7
French Open A 2R 2R SF 3R 4R 2R 4R F A 0 / 8 22–8
Wimbledon A 1R 3R W QF QF 1R 1R 4R SF 1 / 9 25–8
US Open A 1R 2R QF 2R 1R F 4R 2R A 0 / 8 15–8
Win–Loss 0–0 1–3 6–4 17–3 11–4 12–4 7–4 8–4 10–3 6–2 1 / 32 78–31
Year-end championship
ATP Finals Did Not Qualify RR DNQ W Did Not Qualify 1 / 2 5–3
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells NMS A SF SF 2R A 3R A A 0 / 4 8–4
Miami NMS 2R 4R A 4R A 2R A A 0 / 4 5–4
Monte Carlo NMS 1R A QF 2R 3R 2R A 2R 0 / 6 5–6
Rome NMS A 1R 1R A QF A 2R A 0 / 4 4–3
Hamburg NMS 1R SF F W SF 3R A 2R 1 / 7 18–6
Canada NMS 2R A A A A QF A A 0 / 2 3–2
Cincinnati NMS A A A QF SF SF A A 0 / 3 8–3
Stockholm / Stuttgart NMS A 2R 3R W QF A 2R A 1 / 5 9–4
Paris NMS QF A 3R QF 2R A 1R A 0 / 5 6–5
Win–Loss N/A 5–5 10–5 11–6 16–5 13–5 7–6 2–3 2–2 2 / 40 66–37
Career statistics
Titles 0 0 1 4 2 6 3 1 1 0 18
Finals 0 0 1 7 3 9 5 4 2 0 31
Year-end ranking 269 100 42 4 15 2 9 12 16 64

Top 10 wins
Season19871988198919901991199219931994199519961997Total
Wins00017614362039
# 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

Stich's match record against players who have been ranked world No. 1.

Player Years Matches Record Win % Hard Clay Grass Carpet
Patrick Rafter 1994–1995 2 2–0 100% 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
Marcelo Rios 1994 1 1–0 100% 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
Mats Wilander 1991 1 1–0 100% 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
Jimmy Connors 1990–1992 4 3–1 75% 2–1 1–0 0–0 0–0
Stefan Edberg 1991–1996 16 10–6 63% 1–3 5–1 1–0 3–2
Thomas Muster 1992–1996 5 3–2 60% 0–0 2–2 0–0 1–0
Jim Courier 1990–1997 12 7–5 58% 2–2 1–2 2–0 2–1
Pete Sampras 1991–1995 9 5–4 56% 1–1 2–1 0–1 2–1
John McEnroe 1990–1992 2 1–1 50% 0–1 0–0 1–0 0–0
Boris Becker 1990–1996 12 4–8 33% 0–1 1–0 2–1 1–6
Yevgeny Kafelnikov 1993–1997 11 3–8 27% 1–1 1–4 0–1 1–2
/ Ivan Lendl 1989–1993 7 1–6 14% 0–3 1–1 0–1 0–1
Andre Agassi 1990–1994 6 0–6 0% 0–3 0–1 0–0 0–2
Total 1989–1997 88 41–47 47% 11–16 14–12 6–4 10–15

Notes
  1. West Germany prior to 1990

References
  1. ATP World Tour Finals#Records
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. www.tennisfame.com Retrieved 17 April 2019
Awards
Preceded by
Boris Becker		 German Sportsman of the Year
1991		 Succeeded by
Dieter Baumann
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