Points won by each set: | 27-13, 40-41, 44-41, 25-17 |
Points won directly on serve:
34 % Pioline – 43 of 126
28 % Masur – 35 of 122

The most unexpected (almost 3-hour) US Open semifinal of the 90s. Pioline [14] was a big favorite even though he hadn’t won a title at the time; the 30-year-old Masur [24] advanced to his second major semifinal not defeating anyone ranked higher. In the 2nd set the Australian withstood a triple mini-set point at 4-all with three service winners (two off the second serve). His best outlook to win the 3rd set occurred at 3-all when he had a break point – Pioline erased it with an ace. The tie-breaks (3/7, 7/2). They’d also met at Wimbledon ’93 a few months earlier and Pioline survived on a fifth match point 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-7(4), 8-6 in the fourth round.