2 Responses to ao83wilander_mcenroe

1. Voo de Mar says:

   January 11, 2023 at 8:27 am

   Points won by each set: | 28-36, 33-29, 34-24, 32-24 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   28 % Wilander – 31 of 110
   30 % McEnroe – 39 of 130

   Looking in retrospect, [2] McEnroe’s biggest chance to play finals at all four majors in his Aussie Open debut. “Slow” grass at Kooyong didn’t suit him as much as fast grass at Wimbledon, nonetheless he was the biggest grass-court specialist at the time while the 19-year-old Wilander [5] was mainly associated with clay-courts. McEnroe entered the match with heavy strapped right calf though, and perhaps that injury caused his ponderous movement – mesnwhile a brilliant baseliner, Wilander, took advantage of it passing McEnroe mercilessly. In the 4th set McEnroe led 2:1* (40/30) when his backhand passing-shot was wide not by much. Who knows, maybe if he had played a better shot then, the final scoreline would have been very similar to their US Open ’85 semifinal. McEnroe skipped the Aussie Open in 1984 being almost invincible – after retirement he regretted that decision.

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2. Voo de Mar says:

   January 12, 2023 at 3:32 am

   The first Aussie Open of the Open Era with a strong field: among the four best players in the world, only Connors skipped the event (8 players of the Top 20 participated)… a year before, the two top seeds were players outside the Top 10!

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