Borg–McEnroe Rivalry
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The Borg–McEnroe 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
John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ...
, who met 14 times on the regular tour and 22 times in total between November 1978 and September 1981. Their head-to-head was even at 7–7. Their on-court rivalry was highlighted by their contrasting temperaments and playing styles: the Swede Borg was known for his cool and emotionless demeanor on court, while the American McEnroe was famed for his court-side tantrums. As a result, their rivalry was described as "Fire and Ice". They were tied in their five-set matches at 1–1. In 1980, McEnroe reached the singles final at
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 ...
for the first time, where he faced Borg, who was aiming for an Open Era record fifth consecutive Wimbledon title. At the start of the final McEnroe was booed by the crowd as he entered Centre Court following his heated exchanges with officials during his semi-final clash with
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 ...
. In a fourth set tie-breaker that lasted 20 minutes, McEnroe saved five match points (seven altogether in that set) and eventually won 18–16. However, he was unable to break Borg's serve in the fifth set and Borg went on to win 8–6. This match is widely considered one of the best tennis matches ever played. McEnroe then defeated Borg at the US Open final the same year in five sets. In 1981, McEnroe returned to Wimbledon and again faced Borg in the singles final. This time it was the American who prevailed and defeated Borg to end the Swede's run of 41 straight match victories at the All England Club. At the US Open in the same season, McEnroe was again victorious, winning in four sets, after which Borg walked off the court and out of the stadium before the ceremonies and press conference had begun. Borg retired shortly afterwards, having never won the US Open despite reaching four finals. Their final confrontation came in 1983 in Tokyo at the
Suntory Cup The Suntory Cup is a defunct invitational men's tennis tournament that was held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan from 1978 to 1986. The indoor tournament was played in April each year and consisted of a f ...
(invitational tournament), with Borg prevailing in three sets. After their retirements, Borg and McEnroe grew a more friendly relationship. In March 2006, when
Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought t ...
Auction House in London announced that it would auction Borg's Wimbledon trophies and two of his winning rackets on 21 June 2006, McEnroe called from New York and asked Borg, "What's up? Have you gone mad?" The conversation with McEnroe, along with pleas from Jimmy Connors and
Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) 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 101 ...
, eventually persuaded Borg to buy out the trophies from Bonhams at an undisclosed amount.


Head-to-head


Official matches (14)

Borg 7 – McEnroe 7


Breakdown of their rivalry

*All matches: (14) Tied 7–7 *All finals: McEnroe 5–4 **Hard courts: McEnroe 3–1 **Carpet courts: Borg 5–3 **Grass courts: Tied 1–1 **Grand Slam matches: McEnroe 3–1 **Grand Slam finals: McEnroe 3–1 **Masters matches: Borg 2–0 **Masters finals: ''None'' **Davis Cup matches: ''None'' **WCT Finals matches: McEnroe 1–0


Other matches


Invitational matches

Borg–McEnroe (4–4)


Exhibitions

Borg–McEnroe (2–1)


See also

* ''
Borg vs McEnroe ''Borg vs McEnroe'' (, ) is a 2017 biographical film, biographical sports film, sports drama film, focusing on the famous professional Borg–McEnroe rivalry, rivalry between tennis players, Björn Borg and John McEnroe at the 1980 Wimbledon Cha ...
'' – movie * Borg–Connors rivalry * Lendl–McEnroe rivalry * List of tennis rivalries


References


External links


Borg-McEnroe head-to-head
at the main ATP tour {{DEFAULTSORT:Borg-McEnroe rivalry Björn Borg John McEnroe Tennis rivalries Sports rivalries in the United States