Michael Detlef Stich (German pronunciation: [ˈmɪçaːʔeːl ˈʃtɪç] ; born 18 October 1968) is a German former professional tennis player. 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, achieved in 1993.

Michael Stich
Stich in 2003
Country (sports) Germany[notes 1]
ResidenceElmshorn, Germany
Born (1968-10-18) 18 October 1968 (age 56)
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 (68.6%)
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 record162–111
Career titles10
Highest rankingNo. 9 (22 March 1991)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenQF (1992)
French Open3R (1989, 1991)
WimbledonW (1992)
US OpenQF (1991)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (1993)
Hopman CupW (1993)
Medal record
Olympic Games – Tennis
Gold medal – first place 1992 Barcelona Men's doubles

Career

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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.

Grand Slam finals

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Singles: 3 (1–2)

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Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win 1991 Wimbledon Grass   Boris Becker 6–4, 7–6(7–4), 6–4
Loss 1994 US Open Hard   Andre Agassi 1–6, 6–7(5–7), 5–7
Loss 1996 French Open Clay   Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6–7(4–7), 5–7, 6–7(4–7)

Doubles: 1 (1–0)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1992 Wimbledon Grass   John McEnroe   Jim Grabb
  Richey Reneberg
5–7, 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 19–17

Other significant finals

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Year-end championships finals

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Singles: 1 (1–0)

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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)

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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

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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

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Singles: 3 (2–1)

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Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1992 Hamburg Clay   Stefan Edberg 7–5, 4–6, 1–6
Win 1993 Hamburg Clay   Andrei Chesnokov 6–3, 6–7(1–7), 7–6(9–7), 6–4
Win 1993 Stockholm Carpet (i)   Goran Ivanišević 4–6, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–3), 6–2

Doubles: 3 (1–2)

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Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1990 Hamburg Clay   Udo Riglewski   Sergi Bruguera
  Jim Courier
6–7, 2–6
Win 1992 Monte Carlo Clay   Boris Becker   Petr Korda
  Karel Nováček
3–6, 6–1, 6–4
Loss 1992 Hamburg Clay   Carl-Uwe Steeb   Sergio Casal
  Emilio Sánchez
7–5, 4–6, 3–6

Career finals

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Singles: 31 (18–13)

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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)

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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

Performance timelines

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Singles

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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.
Tournament 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 SR W–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 championships
ATP Finals Did not qualify RR DNQ W Did not qualify 1 / 2 5–3
Grand Slam Cup Not Held DNQ SF W F DNQ 1R DNQ 1 / 4 9–3
National representation
Summer Olympics A Not Held 2R Not Held A NH 0 / 1 1–1
Davis Cup A A QF SF PO W SF SF QF A 1 / 6 21–9
Grand Prix ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells A A A SF SF 2R A 3R A A 0 / 4 8–4
Miami A A 2R 4R A 4R A 2R A A 0 / 4 5–4
Monte Carlo A A 1R A QF 2R 3R 2R A 2R 0 / 6 5–6
Rome A A A 1R 1R A QF A 2R A 0 / 4 4–3
Hamburg A 1R 1R SF F W SF 3R A 2R 1 / 8 18–7
Canada A A 2R A A A A QF A A 0 / 2 3–2
Cincinnati A A A A A QF SF SF A A 0 / 3 8–3
Stockholm1 A A A 2R 3R W QF A 2R A 1 / 5 9–4
Paris A A QF A 3R QF 2R A 1R A 0 / 5 6–5
Win–loss N/A 0–1 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

1 Held as Stockholm Masters until 1994, Stuttgart Masters from 1995 onward.

Doubles

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Tournament 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 SR W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 1R QF 1R A 1R A A A 0 / 4 3–4
French Open A 3R 2R 3R A A A A A A 0 / 3 5–3
Wimbledon A 1R 2R 1R W 3R SF A A A 1 / 6 13–5
US Open A 1R 1R QF SF 3R A A A A 0 / 5 9–5
Win–loss 0–0 2–3 2–4 8–4 10–2 4–2 4–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 1 / 18 30–17
National representation
Summer Olympics A not held G not held A NH 1 / 1 4–0
Davis Cup A A QF SF PO W SF SF QF A 1 / 6 14–2
Career statistics
Titles 0 1 3 1 3 1 0 0 0 1 10
Finals 0 1 6 2 5 1 0 0 0 1 16
Year-end ranking 216 73 27 27 16 76 89 156 359 206

Top 10 wins

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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

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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 Ríos 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

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  1. ^ West Germany prior to 1990

References

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  1. ^ a b "Michael Stich: thirty years on". Wimbledon.com. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  2. ^ ATP World Tour Finals#Records and statistics
  3. ^ "FedEx ATP Head 2 Head – Tennis – ATP World Tour". Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  4. ^ "International Tennis Hall of Fame". Tennisfame.com. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
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Awards
Preceded by German Sportsman of the Year
1991
Succeeded by