Michael Stich
Michael Detlef Stich 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.
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 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. 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.
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. 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)
Doubles: 1 (1–0)
Other significant finals
Year-end championships finals
Singles: 1 (1–0)
Grand Slam Cup finals 2 (1–1)
Olympic men's doubles final
Masters Series finals
Singles: 3 (2–1)
Doubles: 3 (1–2)
Career finals
Singles: 31 (18–13)
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1. | Mar 1990 | Memphis, US | Hard |  Wally Masur | 6–7, 6–4, 7–6 |
| 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 |  Ivan Lendl | 5–7, 3–6 |
| Win | 2. | Jul 1991 | Wimbledon, UK | Grass |  Boris Becker | 6–4, 7–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 3. | Jul 1991 | Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany | Clay |  Alberto Mancini | 1–6, 7–6, 6–4, 6–2 |
| Win | 4. | Aug 1991 | Schenectady, US | Hard |  Emilio Sánchez | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 5. | Oct 1991 | Vienna, Austria | Carpet |  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 | Michael Chang | 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 8. | Feb 1993 | Stuttgart, Germany | Carpet | Richard Krajicek | 4–6, 7–5, 7–6, 3–6, 7–5 |
| Loss | 5. | May 1993 | Munich, Germany | Clay | Ivan Lendl | 6–7, 3–6 |
| Win | 9. | May 1993 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay |  Andrei Chesnokov | 6–3, 6–7, 7–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 10. | Jun 1993 | London, 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 | Stefan Edberg | 6–4, 6–7, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 12. | Nov 1993 | Stockholm, Sweden | Carpet |  Goran Ivanišević | 4–6, 7–6, 7–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 13. | Nov 1993 | ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt | Carpet | Pete Sampras | 7–6, 2–6, 7–6, 6–2 |
| Loss | 7. | Dec 1993 | Grand Slam Cup, Munich | Carpet | Petr Korda | 6–2, 4–6, 6–7, 6–2, 9–11 |
| Win | 14. | Feb 1994 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Carpet | 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 |
| Loss | 9. | Oct 1994 | Vienna, Austria | Carpet | Andre Agassi | 6–7, 6–4, 2–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 10. | Feb 1995 | Stuttgart, Germany | Carpet | Richard Krajicek | 6–7, 3–6, 7–6, 6–1, 3–6 |
| Loss | 11. | May 1995 | Munich, Germany | Clay |  Wayne Ferreira | 5–7, 6–7 |
| Loss | 12. | Jun 1995 | Halle, Germany | Grass |  Marc Rosset | 6–3, 6–7, 6–7 |
| Win | 17. | Aug 1995 | Los Angeles, US | Hard | Thomas Enqvist | 6–7, 7–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 18. | Feb 1996 | Antwerp, Belgium | Carpet | Goran Ivanišević | 6–3, 6–2, 7–6 |
| Loss | 13. | Jun 1996 | French Open, Paris | Clay | Yevgeny Kafelnikov | 6–7, 5–7, 6–7 |
Doubles: 16 (10–6)
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1. | 9 October 1989 | Basel, Switzerland | Hard | Udo Riglewski |  Omar Camporese Claudio Mezzadri | 6–3, 4–6, 6–0 |
| Loss | 1. | 26 February 1990 | Memphis, US | Hard | 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 | Udo Riglewski |  Jorge Lozano Todd Witsken | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 5. | 9 January 1991 | Memphis, US | Hard | Udo Riglewski | John Fitzgerald Laurie Warder | 7–5, 6–3 |
| Loss | 4. | 11 February 1991 | Philadelphia, US | Carpet | 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
Top 10 wins
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 |