Points won by each set: [ 30-34, 90-79, 54-57, 30-21, 30-19 ]
Points won directly behind the serve:
34 % Becker – 71 of 204
35 % McEnroe – 84 of 240
Five years after unbelievable Davis Cup rubber against Swedish teenager Wilander #, McEnroe [7] co-created similar monster indoors, that time against another European tennis prodigy – 20-year-old Becker [2]. The match lasted 6 hours 21 minutes (one minute shorter than McEnroe-Wilander despite as many as 55 points fewer were played… Becker used to play in very slow pace between the points as well as BigMac). In the crazy 2nd set (2:35 hrs!), McEnroe leading 11:10 wasted five set points, including a triple one. In the 3rd set, before McEnroe broke in the 18th game, only Becker had had break points (five in total, in three games… at 3-all, 5-all & 6-all). After three murderous sets, and the required break (18 minutes instead of usual 10) the match turned to be anticlimactic as the eight years younger and much fitter West German took the last two sets easily. “I just didn’t have much left,” said McEnroe of the decline in his play in the final two sets. “I gave it what I had, and it was nice to be a part of a great match. I just wish the result had been different.” There were 11,902 people in the Hartford Civic Center during that memorable encounter. Two days later Becker needed 3 hours 42 minutes to struggle past Mayotte.
Hartford (indoors): WEST GERMANY d. USA 3-2 (Playoffs), July 25-27
Eric Jelen (GER) d. Tim Mayotte (USA) 6-8, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
Boris Becker (GER) d. John McEnroe (USA) 4-6, 15-13, 8-10, 6-2, 6-2
Ken Flach/Robert Seguso (USA) d. Eric Jelen/Ricki Osterthun (GER) 6-3, 8-6, 14-12
John McEnroe (USA) d. Eric Jelen (GER) 7-5, 6-2, 6-1
Boris Becker (GER) d. Tim Mayotte (USA) 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-2