Michael Detlef Stich (; 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, as well as 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 with John McEnroe, and the gold medal in men's doubles 1992 Barcelona Olympics, partnering with 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.
Personal life Stich was raised in Elmshorn, Schleswig-Holstein.
Stich was married to the German actress Jessica Stockmann from 1992 to 2003.
In 2005, he married Alexandra Rikowski. They live in Hamburg.
Career
He turned professional in 1988 and won his first top-level singles title in 1990 at Memphis, Tennessee.
Stich surprisingly won the men's singles title Wimbledon in 1991. He defeated the defending champion and world No. 1 Stefan Edberg in the semifinals, without breaking his service once. Then in the final, he beat his compatriot and three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker in straight sets. Edberg and Becker had contested the three previous Wimbledon finals.
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. 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.ATP World Tour Finals#Records and statistics Playing for Germany, Stich also won both the Davis Cup and the Hopman Cup in 1993.
Stich reached his second Grand Slam singles final at the 1994 US Open, where he lost in straight sets to Andre Agassi who was unseeded. Incidentally, Agassi had won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1992, the year after Stich accomplished that feat. Stich also helped Germany win the World Team Cup in 1994.
Stich 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.
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, who went on to lose to Sampras in the final. 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 had a positive career head-to-head record against Sampras.
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.
Grand Slam finals Singles: 3 (1–2) ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreWin 1991WimbledonGrass Boris Becker6–4, 7–6(7–4), 6–4Loss 1994US OpenHard Andre Agassi1–6, 6–7(5–7), 5–7Loss 1996French OpenClay Yevgeny Kafelnikov6–7(4–7), 5–7, 6–7(4–7)
Doubles: 1 (1–0) ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1992WimbledonGrass John McEnroe Jim Grabb Richey Reneberg5–7, 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 19–17
Other significant finals Year-end championships finals Singles: 1 (1–0) ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreWin1993ATP Tour World ChampionshipsCarpet (i) Pete Sampras7–6(7–3), 2–6, 7–6(9–7), 6–2
Grand Slam Cup finals: 2 (1–1) ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreWin 1992Grand Slam CupCarpet (i) Michael Chang6–2, 6–3, 6–2Loss 1993Grand Slam CupCarpet (i) Petr Korda6–2, 4–6, 6–7(5–7), 6–2, 9–11
Olympic men's doubles final ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreGold1992Barcelona OlympicsClay Boris Becker Wayne Ferreira Piet Norval7–6(7–5), 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–3
Masters Series finals Singles: 3 (2–1) ResultYearTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1992HamburgClay Stefan Edberg7–5, 4–6, 1–6Win 1993HamburgClay Andrei Chesnokov6–3, 6–7(1–7), 7–6(9–7), 6–4Win 1993StockholmCarpet (i) Goran Ivanišević4–6, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–3), 6–2
Doubles: 3 (1–2) ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1990HamburgClay Udo Riglewski Sergi Bruguera Jim Courier6–7, 2–6Win 1992Monte CarloClay Boris Becker Petr Korda Karel Nováček3–6, 6–1, 6–4Loss 1992HamburgClay Carl-Uwe Steeb Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez7–5, 4–6, 3–6
Career finals Singles: 31 (18 wins / 13 losses) LegendGrand 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 surfaceHard (4–4)Grass (4–1)Clay (3–5)Carpet (7–3)
ResultW-L DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreWin1–0Mar 1990Memphis, USHard Wally Masur6–7(5–7), 6–4, 7–6(7–1)Loss1–1Jan 1991Adelaide, AustraliaHard Nicklas Kulti3–6, 6–1, 2–6Loss1–2Jan 1991Sydney, AustraliaHard Guy Forget3–6, 4–6Loss1–3Feb 1991Memphis, USHard (i) Ivan Lendl5–7, 3–6Win2–3Jul 1991Wimbledon, UKGrass Boris Becker6–4, 7–6(7–4), 6–4Win3–3Jul 1991Stuttgart Outdoor, GermanyClay Alberto Mancini1–6, 7–6(11–9), 6–4, 6–2Win4–3Aug 1991Schenectady, USHard Emilio Sánchez6–2, 6–4Win5–3Oct 1991Vienna, AustriaCarpet (i) Jan Siemerink6–4, 6–4, 6–4Loss5–4May 1992Hamburg, GermanyClay Stefan Edberg7–5, 4–6, 1–6Win6–4Jun 1992Rosmalen, NetherlandsGrass Jonathan Stark6–4, 7–5Win7–4Dec 1992Grand Slam Cup, MunichCarpet (i) Michael Chang6–2, 6–3, 6–2Win8–4Feb 1993Stuttgart, GermanyCarpet (i) Richard Krajicek4–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–4), 3–6, 7–5Loss8–5May 1993Munich, GermanyClay Ivan Lendl6–7(2–7), 3–6Win9–5May 1993Hamburg, GermanyClay Andrei Chesnokov6–3, 6–7(1–7), 7–6(9–7), 6–4Win10–5Jun 1993London (Queen's Club), UKGrass Wayne Ferreira6–3, 6–4Loss10–6Jul 1993Stuttgart, GermanyClay Magnus Gustafsson3–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 4–6Win11–6Aug 1993Basel, SwitzerlandHard (i) Stefan Edberg6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–2Win12–6Nov 1993Stockholm, SwedenCarpet (i) Goran Ivanišević4–6, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–3), 6–2Win13–6Nov 1993ATP Tour World Championships, FrankfurtCarpet (i) Pete Sampras7–6(7–3), 2–6, 7–6(9–7), 6–2Loss13–7Dec 1993Grand Slam Cup, MunichCarpet (i) Petr Korda6–2, 4–6, 6–7(5–7), 6–2, 9–11Win14–7Feb 1994Rotterdam, NetherlandsCarpet (i) Wayne Ferreira4–6, 6–3, 6–0Win15–7May 1994Munich, GermanyClay Petr Korda6–2, 2–6, 6–3Win16–7Jun 1994Halle, GermanyGrass Magnus Larsson6–4, 4–6, 6–3Loss16–8Sep 1994US Open, New YorkHard Andre Agassi1–6, 6–7(5–7), 5–7Loss16–9Oct 1994Vienna, AustriaCarpet (i) Andre Agassi6–7(4–7), 6–4, 2–6, 3–6Loss16–10Feb 1995Stuttgart, GermanyCarpet (i) Richard Krajicek6–7(4–7), 3–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–1, 3–6Loss16–11May 1995Munich, GermanyClay Wayne Ferreira5–7, 6–7(6–8)Loss16–12Jun 1995Halle, GermanyGrass Marc Rosset6–3, 6–7(11–13), 6–7(8–10)Win17–12Aug 1995Los Angeles, USHard Thomas Enqvist6–7(7–9), 7–6(7–4), 6–2Win18–12Feb 1996Antwerp, BelgiumCarpet (i) Goran Ivanišević6–3, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)Loss18–13Jun 1996French Open, ParisClay Yevgeny Kafelnikov6–7(4–7), 5–7, 6–7(4–7)
Doubles: 16 (10 wins / 6 losses) LegendGrand 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 surfaceHard (3–2)Grass (3–1)Clay (3–2)Carpet (1–1)
ResultW-L DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin1–0Oct 1989Basel, SwitzerlandHard (i) Udo Riglewski Omar Camporese Claudio Mezzadri6–3, 4–6, 6–0Loss1–1Feb 1990Memphis, USHard (i) Udo Riglewski Darren Cahill Mark Kratzmann5–7, 2–6Win2–1May 1990Munich, GermanyClay Udo Riglewski Petr Korda Tomáš Šmíd6–1, 6–4Loss2–2May 1990Hamburg, GermanyClay Udo Riglewski Sergi Bruguera Jim Courier6–7, 2–6Win3–2Jun 1990Rosmalen, NetherlandsGrass Jakob Hlasek Jim Grabb John McEnroe7–6, 6–3Loss3–3Aug 1990Long Island, USHard Udo Riglewski Guy Forget Jakob Hlasek6–2, 3–6, 4–6Win4–3Oct 1990Vienna, AustriaCarpet (i) Udo Riglewski Jorge Lozano Todd Witsken6–4, 6–4Win5–3Jan 1991Memphis, USHard (i) Udo Riglewski John Fitzgerald Laurie Warder7–5, 6–3Loss5–4Feb 1991Philadelphia, USCarpet (i) Udo Riglewski Rick Leach Jim Pugh4–6, 4–6Win6–4Apr 1992Monte Carlo, MonacoClay Boris Becker Petr Korda Karel Nováček6–4, 6–4Loss6–5May 1992Hamburg, GermanyClay Carl-Uwe Steeb Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez7–5, 4–6, 3–6Loss6–6Jun 1992Rosmalen, NetherlandsGrass John McEnroe Jim Grabb Richey Reneberg4–6, 7–6, 4–6Win7–6Jul 1992Wimbledon, LondonGrass John McEnroe Jim Grabb Richey Reneberg5–7, 7–6, 3–6, 7–6, 19–17Win8–6Aug 1992Summer Olympics, BarcelonaClay Boris Becker Wayne Ferreira Piet Norval7–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3Win9–6Aug 1993Los Angeles, USHard Wayne Ferreira Grant Connell Scott Davis7–6, 7–6Win10–6Jun 1997Halle, GermanyGrass Karsten Braasch David Adams Marius Barnard7–6, 6–3
Performance timelines
Singles
Tournament1988198919901991199219931994199519961997 Grand Slam tournamentsAustralian OpenAA3R3RQFSF1R3RA2R0 / 716–7French OpenA2R2RSF3R4R2R4RFA0 / 822–8WimbledonA1R3RWQFQF1R1R4RSF1 / 925–8US OpenA1R2RQF2R1RF4R2RA0 / 815–8Win–loss0–01–36–417–311–412–47–48–410–36–21 / 3278–31Year-end championshipsATP FinalsDid not qualifyRRDNQWDid not qualify1 / 25–3Grand Slam CupNot HeldDNQSFWFDNQ1RDNQ1 / 49–3National representationSummer OlympicsANot Held2RNot HeldANH0 / 11–1Davis CupAAQFSFPOWSFSFQFA1 / 621–9Grand PrixATP Masters SeriesIndian WellsAAASFSF2RA3RAA0 / 48–4MiamiAA2R4RA4RA2RAA0 / 45–4Monte CarloAA1RAQF2R3R2RA2R0 / 65–6RomeAAA1R1RAQFA2RA0 / 44–3HamburgA1R1RSFFWSF3RA2R1 / 818–7CanadaAA2RAAAAQFAA0 / 23–2CincinnatiAAAAAQFSFSFAA0 / 38–3Stockholm1AAA2R3RWQFA2RA1 / 59–4ParisAAQFA3RQF2RA1RA0 / 56–5Win–lossN/A0–15–510–511–616–513–57–62–32–22 / 4066–37Career statisticsTitles001426311018Finals001739542031Year-end ranking2691004241529121664
1 Held as Stockholm Masters until 1994, Stuttgart Masters from 1995 onward.
Doubles Tournament1988198919901991199219931994199519961997 Grand Slam tournamentsAustralian OpenAA1RQF1RA1RAAA0 / 43–4French OpenA3R2R3RAAAAAA0 / 35–3WimbledonA1R2R1RW3RSFAAA1 / 613–5US OpenA1R1RQFSF3RAAAA0 / 59–5Win–loss0–02–32–48–410–24–24–20–00–00–01 / 1830–17National representation Summer OlympicsAnot heldGnot heldANH1 / 14–0Davis CupAAQFSFPOWSFSFQFA1 / 614–2Career statisticsTitles013131000110Finals016251000116Year-end ranking216732727167689156359206
Top 10 wins Season19871988198919901991199219931994199519961997TotalWins00017614362039