The Borg–Connors rivalry was a tennis rivalry between

Björn Borg Björn Rune Borg (; born 6 June 1956) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 109 weeks. Borg won 66 singles titles during his caree ...

and

Jimmy Connors James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 2 ...

. They met 23 times during their careers, and 42 times including invitational and exhibition tournaments. Borg leads 15–8 in their official head-to-head, 8–5 in finals, 5–3 in

Grand Slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

meetings and they are 2–2 in Grand Slam finals. Connors leads 7–3 and 8–1 in invitational and exhibition matches, respectively. In 1975 Connors met Borg in the semifinals of the

U.S. Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...

and defeated him in straight sets, on clay. Connors defeated Borg again at the U.S. Open again in 1976, this time in a four-set final, capturing his second U.S. Open title. In 1977 they met in the

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

final, and Borg won in five sets. Borg defeated Connors at Wimbledon again in the 1978 final, this time in straight sets, to claim his third straight Wimbledon title. Two months later, Connors defeated Borg at the U.S. Open in a straight-set final on a hard surface "DecoTurf II", ending Borg's 43-match winning streak. In 1979 they met at Wimbledon again, and Borg won a straight-set semifinal. In 1981, Borg defeated Connors in a five-set semifinal at Wimbledon and a straight-set semifinal at the U.S. Open, his tenth consecutive win against Connors. Soon afterwards Borg retired from the regular tour. They faced each other three times at the season-ending Masters Championship in New York City: in January 1978 (ending the 1977 season), January 1980 (ending the 1979 season) and January 1981 (ending the 1980 season). Connors won the first meeting, Borg the latter two.

Head-to-head

Official matches (23)

Borg 15 – Connors 8

Breakdown of their rivalry

*All matches: (23) Borg, 15–8 *All finals: Borg, 8–5 **Clay court matches: Tied, 3–3 **Grass court matches: Borg, 4–0 **Indoor matches: Borg, 6–3 **Outdoor hard court matches: Tied, 2–2 **Grand Slam matches: Borg, 5–3 **Grand Slam finals: Tied, 2–2 **Masters matches: Borg, 2–1 **Masters finals: Connors, 1–0

Other matches

Invitational matches

Borg–Connors (3–7)

Exhibitions

Borg–Connors (1–8)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borg-Connors rivalry Björn Borg Jimmy Connors Tennis rivalries