The seven biggest rivalries in men's tennis history, part 2: Björn Borg vs. John McEnroe
We look back on rivalries that have shaped tennis. Part two of our, of course extremely subjective, review: the duels between Björn Borg and John McEnroe .
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Mar 17, 2020, 08:40 pm
In times of Novak Djokovic , Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer , the tennis fan could think that for the greatest in sports, among whom the three are without question, all wishes come true: The Big Three of the present time have the career grand slam Long in your pocket, won the Davis Cup at least once and also got precious metal at the Olympic Games, in different metal alloys.
Björn Borg and John McEnroe cannot say that about themselves. Well, at the weddings of the two legends, tennis was missing from the Olympic program, and this flaw could not have been remedied athletically. But McEnroe's desire to succeed at the French Open remained as unfulfilled as Borg's dream of winning the US Open. And it was precisely in the latter that John McEnroe had his brilliant fingers involved.
Borg wins the Davis Cup for Sweden
We are right to look back at the Wimbledon final in 1980, with the historic tie-break in the fourth set - and the last iconic image of a Borg thanked the tennis gods on his knees who won the most important tournament for the fifth time in a row. At the time, the sympathy seemed to be on the side of the introverted Borg, who nevertheless achieved star fame with his Davis Cup success with Sweden in 1975 at the latest. In times before social media, where you could only see selected tennis matches worldwide.
A few weeks after the epic Borg coup in London, however, John McEnroe took grim revenge in Flushing Meadows, defeating Borg in five sets. In 1981, the New Yorker ended Borg's winning streak on Church Road - and in the 14th and final duel, again in the final of the US Open, gave him the sporting death blow.
It was to be the last big appearance in the career of Björn Borg, who won only two matches on the ATP tour after this defeat. McEnroe, three years his junior, dominated the tennis scene for a few years, winning again in Wimbledon in 1983 and 1984. In Roland Garros, however, the American failed year after year - which Björn Borg had nothing to do with. Rather, it was Ivan Lendl who caught up with John McEnroe in 1984 after a 2-2 deficit.
McEnroe always on board as a TV expert
If one can trust the records of John McEnroe, the rivalry with Björn Borg was actually only limited to the sporting area. Away from the tennis court, the two developed a friendly relationship that grew stronger and stronger during evenings on exhibition combat tours. Similar to Vitas Gerulaitis. And quite in contrast to Jimmy Connors, with whom John McEnroe had an intimate hostility.
In recent years Björn Borg has not shown up too often at major tennis tournaments, while McEnroe, as a TV expert, has never lost touch with current game events. Since 2017, however, Borg and McEnroe have been meeting each other for almost a week at the Laver Cup, as captains of the two rival teams. Whether it will work in Boston in September 2020 is still a question in the current situation.
The facts:
| Bjorn Borg | John McEnroe | |
| Born | 1956 | 1959 |
| Tournament victories | 64 (including eleven Grand Slam victories) | 77 (including eight Grand Slam victories) |
| Head to head | 7 victories | 7 victory |
Encounters on the ATP tour
| year | Tournament (rubber) | winner | Result |
| 1981 | US Open (hard court) | McEnroe | 4: 6, 6: 2, 6: 4, 6: 3 |
| 1981 | Wimbledon (lawn) | McEnroe | 4: 6, 7: 6, 7: 6, 6: 4 |
| 1981 | Milan (hall / carpet) | McEnroe | 7: 6, 6: 4 |
| 1980 | Masters New Yotk (hall / carpet) | Borg | 6: 4, 6: 7, 7: 6 |
| 1980 | Stockholm (hall / carpet) | Borg | 6: 3, 6: 4 |
| 1980 | US Open (hard court) | McEnroe | 7: 6, 6: 1, 6: 7, 5: 7, 6: 4 |
| 1980 | Wimbledon (lawn) | Borg | 1: 6, 7: 5, 6: 3, 6: 7, 8: 6 |
| 1979 | Masters New York (hall / carpet) | Borg | 6: 7, 6: 3, 7: 6 |
| 1979 | Toronto (hard court) | Borg | 6: 3, 6: 3 |
| 1979 | Dallas (hall / carpet) | McEnroe | 7: 5, 4: 6, 6: 2, 7: 6 |
| 1979 | Rotterdam (hall / carpet) | Borg | 6: 2, 6: 4 |
| 1979 | New Orleans (hall / carpet) | McEnroe | 5: 7, 6: 1, 7: 6 |
| 1979 | Richmond (hall / carpet) | Borg | 4: 6, 7: 6, 6: 3 |
| 1978 | Stockholm (Halle / Hartplatz) | McEnroe | 6: 3, 6: 4 |