Borg–McEnroe rivalry

The tennis players Björn Borg and John McEnroe met 14 times on the regular tour and 22 times in total, with their on-court rivalry highlighted by their contrasting temperaments and styles.^[1] Borg was known for his cool and emotionless demeanor on court, while McEnroe was famed for his court-side tantrums. Their rivalry extended between 1978 and 1981, with each player winning seven times against the other.^[2] Because of their contrasting personalities, their rivalry was described as "Fire and Ice".^[3]

In 1980 McEnroe reached the men's singles final at Wimbledon 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. 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 the Swede went on to win 8–6. This match is widely considered one of the greatest tennis matches ever played. McEnroe exacted his revenge by defeating Borg at the US Open final the same year in five sets.

In 1981 McEnroe returned to Wimbledon and again faced Borg in the men's 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, afterwards 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 (invitational tournament), with Borg prevailing 6–4, 2–6, 6–2.

In March 2006, when Bonhams 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 told Borg, "What's up? Have you gone mad?" The conversation with McEnroe, paired with pleas from Jimmy Connors and Andre Agassi, eventually persuaded Borg to buy out the trophies from Bonhams at an undisclosed amount.^[4][5]

Head-to-head

Official Matches (Borg 7–7 McEnroe)

No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Round	Winner	Score
1.	1978	Stockholm	Hard (i)	SF	McEnroe	6–3, 6–4
2.	1979	Richmond	Carpet	SF	Borg	4–6, 7–6(10–8), 6–3
3.	1979	New Orleans	Carpet	SF	McEnroe	5–7, 6–1, 7–6(8–6)
4.	1979	Rotterdam	Carpet	F	Borg	6–4, 6–2
5.	1979	WCT Finals, Dallas	Carpet	F	McEnroe	7–5, 4–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)
6.	1979	Toronto	Hard	F	Borg	6–3, 6–3
7.	1979	Masters, New York City	Carpet	SF	Borg	6–7(5–7), 6–3, 7–6(7–1)
8.	1980	Wimbledon	Grass	F	Borg	1–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–7(16–18), 8–6
9.	1980	US Open	Hard	F	McEnroe	7–6(7–4), 6–1, 6–7(5–7), 5–7, 6–4
10.	1980	Stockholm	Carpet	F	Borg	6–3, 6–4
11.	1980	Masters, New York City	Carpet	RR	Borg	6–4, 6–7(3–7), 7–6(7–2)
12.	1981	Milan	Carpet	F	McEnroe	7–6(7–2), 6–4
13.	1981	Wimbledon	Grass	F	McEnroe	4–6, 7–6(7–1), 7–6(7–4), 6–4
14.	1981	US Open	Hard	F	McEnroe	4–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–3

Invitational Matches (Borg 4-4 McEnroe)

No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Round	Winner	Score
1.	1979	Velo Tennis Cup, Vienna	Carpet	F	Borg	3–6, 6–1, 6–4
2.	1979	Brooklyn Masters, Milan	Carpet	F	Borg	1–6, 6–1, 6–4
3.	1981	Molson Light Challenge, Toronto	Carpet	SF	McEnroe	6–3, 3–6, 7–6(10–8)
4.	1982	Swan Lager Super Challenge, Perth	Carpet	F	McEnroe	6–1, 6–4
5.	1982	AKAI Gold Challenge, Sydney	Carpet	RR	Borg	3–6, 6–4, 7–5, 6–2
6.	1982	Europe vs. Americas, Barcelona	Carpet	RR	McEnroe	6–3, 2–6, 6–4
7.	1982	European Community Championship, Antwerp	Carpet	SF	McEnroe	2–6, 6–4, 6–3
8.	1983	Suntory Cup, Tokyo	Carpet	SF	Borg	6–4, 2–6, 6–2

Exhibitions

No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Round	Winner	Score
1.	1981	Benson & Hedges Challenge, Sydney [6]	Indoor	–	Borg	6–0, 6–4
2.	1981	Benson & Hedges Challenge, Sydney	Indoor	–	Borg	6–2, 6–4
3.	1981	Benson & Hedges Challenge, Melbourne [7]	Outdoor	F	McEnroe	6–4, 1–6, 7–6, 6–4

Breakdown of their rivalry

• All matches: Tied, 11–11
• Official matches (ATP website): Tied, 7-7
• Outdoor hard courts: McEnroe, 2-1
• Clay courts: None
• Grass courts: Tied, 1–1
• Indoor carpet/hard courts: Borg, 9–8
• 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
• All finals: Tied, 6–6
• Official finals (ATP website): Tied, 4-4
• Invitational matches: Tied, 4-4

See also

• Borg–Connors rivalry
• Lendl–McEnroe rivalry
• List of tennis rivalries
• 1980 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles final

References

External links

• Borg-McEnroe head-to-head at the main tour