Points by each set: | 30-36, 32-30, 23-31, 31-19, 32-21 |
Points won directly on serve:
26 % McEnroe – 38 of 144
18 % Wilander – 26 of 141

Bizarre semifinal lasting 3:50 hrs, their second five-set match after a Davis Cup-QF rubber three years before… McEnroe [1] looked dead-tired already in the mid-2nd set [115 degrees (46 Celsius!)]. Wilander [3] won the most entertaining point of the match to lead 2:0* (15/0) in the 4th set when an unexpected shift of the momentum occurred – McEnroe took four consecutive points thanks to good serves and five games in succession! In the 5th set, the Swede led *2:0 again – this time lost four games in a row. McEnroe seemed like an unquestionable ruler of the US Open at the time, shockingly he didn’t play another semifinal there until 1990.