Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe will face off against each other for the first time in New York City since their famous 1981 US Open men’s singles final when the two square off in World Team Tennis action Thursday night at Randall’s Island. McEnroe’s New York Sportimes will face off against Bjorn Borg and the Philadelphia Freedoms starting at 7 pm (go to www.WTT.com for information on obtaining tickets, private bus transportation to and from New York City, etc.) Borg is a last-minute replacement for Jimmy Connors who was originally scheduled to compete against McEnroe, but was forced to withdraw with an injury.
Here are a look at some of the classic McEnroe vs. Borg matches from the past, as excerpted from my book ON THIS DAY IN TENNIS HISTORY ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.TennisHistoryBook.com). We also recommend to great books on McEnroe vs. Borg – EPIC by Matt Cronin, available here: http://www.amazon.com/Epic-McEnroe-Greatest-Tennis-Season/dp/0470190620/ref=zg_bs_16637_40 and HIGH STRUNG by Steve Tignor available here: http://www.amazon.com/High-Strung-McEnroe-Tenniss-Fiercest/dp/0062009842/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310562866&sr=8-1
July 4
1981 – Twenty-two-year-old John McEnroe wins the men’s singles title at Wimbledon for the first time in his career, ending five-time defending champion Bjorn Borg’s 41-match winning streak at the All England Club with a 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-6 (4), 6-4 final round victory. “On all the important points,” says Borg after the final, “John hit his first serve. And that was crucial, especially in the tiebreakers.” McEnroe goes on to win two more Wimbledon titles (1983, 1984), while Borg never again plays in The Championships, virtually retiring from the sport at the end of the 1981 season.
July 5
1980 – In one of the greatest matches in the history of the sport, Bjorn Borg wins his fifth consecutive Wimbledon singles title, defeating John McEnroe 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (16), 8-6 in 3 hours, 53 minutes. McEnroe saves five match points in the titanic 34-point fourth-set tie-break that itself is called “The Battle of 18-16.” Writes Neil Amdur of the New York Times, “If this marathon was not the greatest major championship final ever played – and tennis historians treasure the past with reverence – it ranked as one of the most exciting.” Says Borg, who collects $50,000 first prize for the victory, ”For sure, it is the best match I have ever played at Wimbledon.”
September 7
1980 – Two months after their epic Wimbledon final, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg stage one of the greatest U.S. Open finals as the 21-year-old McEnroe fends off a Borg comeback to win his second consecutive Open title and avenge his Wimbledon loss by a 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-7 (5), 5-7, 6-4 margin. Borg, attempting to win the third leg of a possible Grand Slam, is denied by the tempestuous native New Yorker. Writes Neil Amdur of the New York Times, “The match may have lacked Wimbledon’s fourth-set tie-breaker intensity and fifth-set drama in the minds of the players. But it had the same number of total games, 55; two tense tie-breakers and was especially noteworthy for McEnroe’s amazing stamina.”
September 13
1981 – Bjorn Borg leaves the U.S. Open – never to return to major championship tennis – losing to John McEnroe 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 in the men’s singles final of the U.S. Open. McEnroe earns in third straight U.S. Open singles crown with the victory, while Borg is left to ponder his fourth defeat in an Open final. Due to two death threats phoned into the USTA National Tennis Center telephone switchboard, Borg immediately leaves the court following the loss, surrounded by plain-clothed policemen, skipping the trophy ceremony and post-match press conference. Borg drops out of the sport at the start of the 1982 season and never plays another major tournament in his career. McEnroe becomes the first player to win three straight U.S. men’s singles titles since Bill Tilden won six straight titles from 1920 to 1925.
November 9
1980 – Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe register semifinal victories at the Stockholm Open in Sweden to set up their third meeting of the 1980 season – after splitting major finals earlier in the year. Borg defeats Gene Mayer 6-2, 7-5, while McEnroe defeats Bob Lutz 6-3, 6-3 to set up their final round match at the world’s oldest indoor tennis tournament. Borg wins the final the next day 6-3, 6-4.
November 12
1978 – In the first ever meeting between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, the 19-year-old McEnroe defeats the 22-year-old Borg 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Stockholm Open in Sweden. The loss marks the first-ever professional loss for Borg to a younger player. The McEnroe-Borg rivalry becomes one of the greatest in the sport as the two titans scare off 14 times in all – each player winning seven times. The two play in four memorable major finals, McEnroe winning three of the four at the 1980 and 1981 U.S. Opens and at Wimbledon in 1981. Their epic final at Wimbledon in 1980 is regarded as one of the greatest matches of all-time, Borg winning his fifth consecutive title in a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (16), 8-6 epic. McEnroe wins the Stockholm singles title the next day, defeating fellow American Tim Gullikson 6-2, 6-2 in the final.
January 15
1981 – Bjorn Borg, the calm, cool and collected “ice man” of tennis, puts John McEnroe – and a stunned crowd of 19,103 – in shock by losing his temper and is assessed two penalty points that virtually gives McEnroe the second set of his 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 round-robin win at the Masters at Madison Square Garden in New York. With the score knotted at 3-3 in the second-set tie-break, Borg hits a forehand that the linesman calls good, but chair umpire Mike Lugg overrules the call, giving McEnroe the 4-3 lead. Says Borg after his victory, “It should have been 4-3 for me, a very important point.” Borg walks to the chair and argues the call. After 30 seconds, Lugg announces a warning against Borg, then, after another 30 seconds, he gives Borg a point penalty. After continued arguments, Borg is assessed another point penalty, giving McEnroe a 6-3 lead in the tie-break, that he claims when he wins the next point. Writes Bud Collins of the Boston Globe of Borg’s lost temper, “It seemed as likely as the statue of the same name in Columbus Circle leaping and screaming that the world was flat after all.” Says McEnroe of Borg’s behavior, “Unbelievable. I was in shock watching Bjorn do that. He gave me the second set when he kept arguing and got those penalties. Borg hasn’t played a tournament in about six weeks, and I guess he got a little nervous, but I really can’t explain it. He just never does that.”