John McEnroe versus Bjorn Borg...1980 U. S. Open Finals

[don_budge]

Borg the Great...he wins the third with his foot in the door

Their match up was perfect, the best I've witnessed in my lifetime - two opposites in every sense.

When I think of McEnroe I think of geometry. I've said many times on the forum that he could play perfect tennis...right tactics, yes...but also the right the shot at the right time. No one else has ever achieved that or anything close to it.

More thoughts on this later...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZKxKWfzUic

John McEnroe vs. Björn Borg...1980 U. S. Open Championships

Third set...102.32

The third set begins a bit auspiciously as McEnroe volleys a routine forehand volley wide. He hasn’t really missed anything routine up to this point. But he manages to hold his serve...on the ad point he serves wide to the Borg backhand, Borg returns lamely with only one hand on the racquet and John calmly knifes a backhand volley into the vacant court. During this game Tony Trabert points out that Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe have played eight times to this point in their careers with Borg holding the 5-3 edge head to head.

Borg to serve at 105.30. The first point of the game Borg show’s his true uncertainty on this Deco Turf surface. He really isn’t certain about the timing of the net approach. Compared to his grass court play he looks rather amateurish at the U. S. Open. He hits the third forehand volley weakly in the net. None of the forehand volleys that he missed were particularly hard but he made the same mistake on all three...he didn’t close nearly fast enough as all of McEnroe’s balls were softly played and he doesn’t keep the racquet head high enough. He lets it drop below the level of his hand. He not only drops the racquet head...he lets the ball drop too low. He is not a true volley or all court player...not in the strictest sense of the word. He has simply learned to make do...being the great, great champion that he was. On the second point of the game McEnroe gives us a subtle look again once again at his genius. He plays the point from the backcourt and out duels and displays more patience when Borg hits a forehand long. During this point McEnroe oscillated between topspin and underspin off of his backhand six strokes in a row...an incredible display of control for 0-30. Borg manages to hold his serve.

McEnroe starts his service game with a huge hooking serve to Borg’s backhand for his third ace. It’s hard to imagine getting that much spin on the ball with a standard sized wooden racquet. The next serve he swings Borg way wide again and it appears that now McEnroe has shifted his serving tactics once more...focusing on the wide serve. For the moment...he’s entirely unpredictable. Tony Trabert says as much at this point. Another serve to the Borg backhand...a wild return long. A fourth serve to the backhand...another error on the return. Game to McEnroe.

On the first four points on the Borg serve at 1-2, McEnroe is attacking the net. He wins three of the four. McEnroe attempts yet again on the fifth point but Borg bails himself out with a fine backhand pass. On the sixth point McEnroe all but commits himself to follow his return in but second guess’s himself and applies the brakes and scramble back into position. After a backcourt exchange Borg finishes at the net with a better executed forehand volley...he closes, he keeps the racquet head up and he doesn’t let the ball get too low on him. During the game the camera has panned to Fred Perry and now Arthur Ashe...great players from the past. Ashe to captain the U. S. Davis Cup team with Trabert giving way. Borg evens up the set...2-2.

With McEnroe serving Tony Trabert makes the following observation. He says that with Borg facing a John McEnroe who is two sets up and playing so well that he would be very surprised if Borg could pull it off. He recognizes what a deep hole the Swede is in...not that it couldn’t be done. The odds are against it. On the third point McEnroe anticipates a Borg thunderball off of the backhand much as we saw Nastase in his Open final against Ashe....McEnroe anticipate the precise point and perfectly nips off the volley with a crushing backhand. He crushes a volley for 30-15...what a cool shot with no swing. All balance and weight control. Trabert once again uses a phrase that I have picked up somewhere through the years...”happy feet”...McEnroe has them. He is everywhere...balance and poised on his toes. The announcers talk about dancing...as I have referred to dancing with the tennis ball. John holds for 3-2.

Borg hits a backhand winner then an ace to hold his serve. He seems to have picked up the level somewhat...he is being more aggressive. Both players are playing well at this point...this is a culmination point for Borg. He has to make something happen...and soon. Little by little that is just what Borg does. How do you eat an elephant? Answer...one bite at a time. Borg begins by chipping away at the McEnroe service...which has just a bit of a bumpy patch at this juncture of the match. Borg gets the ball back in play on the return and it works for him. Both players are playing well and the action is heating up. Now it is Borg’s turn to serve once again...but this time he is up a break and 4-3.

Borg holds his serve for a 5-3 lead. He is moving his feet again and he is being more aggressive. The Swedish flag is being flown in the crowd...the yellow cross against the sky blue background. Legend has it that a Swedish king was going to battle and the sun was so bright against the blue Swedish sky that he took it as a sign from heaven that he was destined to win. The Swedes are invoking the will of Oden for their young hero...Borg as Thor. An gruff American voice in the crowd yells out...”do it now John”. Just do it...Nike. He holds for 4-5 Borg to serve.

Check out 130.00 for a nice little touch point of McEnroe’s. The video here has some problems and we more or less miss McEnroe breaking Borg’s serve once again. Three times now he has broken the Swede as he served for a set in this match. McEnroe goes up quickly 40-0...and proceeds to serve it out. 5-6 Borg to serve.

Since the American feed of video seems to have hit a troubled spot...surprise! We have the Swedish telecast substituted at 133.00 and it poses no problem for yours truly. I understand Swedish. The irony of life...it never ceases to amaze me. To the excitement of the Swedish announcer Borg serves his way into the tie-breaker.

Borg takes the first point with a backhand pass but McEnroe gets it back with an attack of the net. An incredible net rush culminating with an extremely acute angled volley makes it 2-1 for McEnroe and a service winner makes it 3-1. It is getting extremely critical for Borg here. He come up with the goods on a quick exchange with McEnroe at the net for 2-3...his serve. An incredible backhand pass that McEnroe disputes for 3-3...the players switch sides. A great exchange in the backcourt as McEnroe is teasing the Swede with an assortment of tantalizing underspin backhands and continental gripped forehands. The Swede relentlessly pounds away and swiftly charges forward and he crushes a forehand volley with no backswing. He is really on his toes now. Feeling the moment. He has let the game come to him once more and he has his teeth into the set. McEnroe feels the first hint of pressure now. Up to this point he has been floating along...everything he has touched has turned to gold. He has had the Midas touch but now the Swede is challenging him.

Two serve for McEnroe. All day long he has had Bjorn off balance as he has mixed up his location very cleverly. Where will he place this most important serve at 139.40? It’s an ace up the middle. One more serve at 4-4...and Borg lashes a backhand by the encroaching McEnroe to make it 5-4. The set is on Borg’s racquet. He misses the first serve then pattycakes the second in and McEnroe is charging behind his return. Another lash of the Swede’s backhand...set point.

At 141.00 and set point against him McEnroe takes the air out of the ball and more or less says to Borg...hit it by me. He plays a wonderful assortment of defensive strategically placed slice backhands...a majority of them at the two handed side while moving him over to the forehand to draw him ever so slightly off balance until finally he wins the duel of patience and Borg misses. 6-5 to Borg...McEnroe to serve. Where will he serve? He goes for the wide one...Borg’s return is exquisite. High over the shoulder and down the line...McEnroe cannot handle this ball and the set goes to the Swede. He is still behind one set to two...but now he has his foot in the door.

John McEnroe leads two set to one.

[stotty]

I haven't seen this match before so it's interesting for me.

I just finished watching the second set. I like to watch with the sound down so I can form my own judgement. I often do this.

I found Borg disinterested...bored stiff. Other than a brief spell here and there where he looked like he might ignite, he was completely disinterested. I found that odd considering the match he was in. He barely ran for the first three games of that set. McEnroe must have thought he was going to be handed the match on a plate.

I've seen Borg play badly - the first set of Wimbledon 1980 for example - but to play badly and be disinterested as well...odd. Must have been the beginning of the end for him.

I will look forward to sets 3, 4 and 5.

[don_budge]

Borg the Great wins the fourth...it's 2 sets all.

I found Borg disinterested. Bored stiff.

He doesn't look bored any longer. Maybe tired. But both players are playing deep into their reserve tanks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZKxKWfzUic

John McEnroe vs. Björn Borg...1980 U. S. Open Championships

The fourth set... part 1 1.43.00

Bjorn Borg tries to capitalize on his little swell of momentum...his little swell of confidence. He wins the first game of the set with a routine service game. A rarity in this match.

In McEnroe’s first service game of the fourth set at 30-0, he does something that he hasn’t done the whole match...he returns a ball to the ball boy. These two have not learned the art of microscopically differentiating the tennis balls that every single player on the circuit today specializes in the modern game of tennis. You see how they all mimic that same thing. Same strokes...same game styles. It is the herd mentality. Coaches participate in this charade as well. McEnroe and Borg are having none of it. These two have clear and definite ideas about their identities...they are men of their times.

At 1.46.27 a classic McEnroe serve and volley. Serve up the middle to the Borg forehand, a backhand volley from inside the service line to move Borg to his left...closing to within a meter and a half of the net he knocks off the forehand volley down the other line. Pure and simple...vintage McEnroe. Nobody does it better.

Pat Summerall says, “so many times he has picked off that volley when Borg has tried to go crosscourt like that. Should Borg change it up a little bit...what do you think?” Trabert makes the usual astute reply, “he may, but it can also be a situation where McEnroe reads the way he’s set up...it may just be a good guess.” McEnroe proceeds to miss his first serve and hits his second not quite so wide but up high on Borg’s backhand...Borg’s return gets up just a bit so McEnroe consequently moves in just a bit closer and hits the most exquisite high backhand volley for a clean winner cross court. It was a similar point to the set point that Borg won the third set with only McEnroe’s serve was not as wide and as a consequence Borg’s return was not so wide, therefore leaving McEnroe with the routine high backhand instead of the unplayable volley. Interesting point to note...the serve and volleyer is always making constant adjustments and decisions based on the activity of his opponent. Another routine service game for John.

On the first point of Borg’s service game at 1.47.48 Borg approaches hard up the line and McEnroe hits an extremely high lob that Borg camps under. I have noticed that when Borg gets this kind of overhead smash attempt his left hand and his racquet are sort of dangling instead of poising his hands and arms in a ready like position. It’s just his style and perhaps it doesn’t conform to fundamental correctness (FC) but he gets a way with it...it is his style.

At this point the network displays the television programming that will be on the air that particular evening and the lineup looks like this: 60 Minutes...Archie Bunker’s Place...One Day At A Time...Alice...The Jeffersons...and Trapper John, M. D. Talking about the times a changing. Borg complete another easy, routine service game for a 2-1 lead.

McEnroe crowds the Borg forehand with his first serve of the game...Trabert remarks that somehow Borg looks to be somewhat uncomfortable. Another forehand miss for 30-0 to McEnroe. Pat Summeral chimes in again with the obvious...confirming what Trabert said. He says that Borg doesn’t look like everything is quite like he would like it to be...McEnroe contributes just a bit more to Borg’s discomfort at 1.49.30 as he serves up the middle this time...fooling Borg yet again with his service placement and Borg if forced a one hand attempt off of the backhand and floats it just a bit...quick as a cat McEnroe pounces on it and hits a feathery touched forehand volley with his tongue hanging over the net with such an acute angle crosscourt Borg only thinks about moving in that direction. Another serve up the middle to the Borg forehand...another netted return. McEnroe has really exposed the forehand return the entire match...but he has done just as Trabert has been outlining. He does it by mixing it up.

Borg to serve at 2-2 and at 15-0 Borg makes a textbook forehand volley...getting down to the ball and blocking it off crosscourt for a clean winner. He wins his serve at love...3-2 to Borg. Borg looks to be more assertive at this point in the match...he got off to a slow start losing the first two sets. Twice previously he has done this very thing...falling behind early. He fell behind two sets to one to Roscoe Tanner in the quarters and to Johan Kriek in the semis he was down two sets to love. He has been fighting his way out of a jam for all of the later stages of this tournament and this sort of thing takes its toll. The question at this point in the match is one of pressure...can he keep the pressure on McEnroe which he shows some signs of doing now. In a five set match there may exist numerous culmination points and this is certainly one of them here in the fourth set...particularly for Borg. McEnroe lead two sets to one and he has a set in the bank but Borg must assert himself now and he knows it.

McEnroe starts off his service game and 2-3 with a double fault. A missed return by Borg followed by an unplayable return and a netted volley...it is 15-30. At 1.54.09 McEnroe misses his first serve wide and he goes wide with the second. He stays back...maybe stinging from the last Borg return and he plays a nice incredibly deep sliding continental gripped forehand up the line and safely inside the sideline. Borg moves swiftly to his right and just hammers a down the line pass by McEnroe that he can only lunge at...15-40 and double break point for Borg. An unreturnable serve to the forehand in the deuce court and then a wide serve to the backhand that Borg manages to get McEnroe to play a rare half volley on his charge to the net...but Borg cannot manage the pass. McEnroe just has this rare feel for everything about going forwards. Even this half volley that he more or less awkwardly handles...he puts it in a position that doesn’t give Borg a lot of room to shoot for. McEnroe just sort of hits it low, soft and not so deep so that Borg must move in and play it low. Borg nets it...and it’s back to deuce. Two more service points to the Borg forehand and it’s game to McEnroe...he has served himself out of a jam. He did it by serving to the Borg forehand as well...perhaps defying conventional wisdom. 3-3.

Meanwhile...in the booth Pat Sumerall is testing the recollective powers of Tony Trabert...he asks a couple of questions. One...when was the last time that Borg had lost a five setter...and two...when was the last time that a right hander has won the U. S. Open. Answer to question number two...their man in the field John Newcombe who defeated Jan Kodes in the final in 1973. Right after our very own Ilie Nastase and Arthur Ashe classic in 1972. You see...it pays to know your tennis history...sports fans. Tennis aficionados. Or not...in modern day tennis it makes you a disease if you just happen to know something about the reality of the game. The real game. The wooden racquet era. Blah...blah...blah.

The booth goes to John Newcombe and he gives a nice note of praise to John McEnroe...he notes that it wasn’t all that long ago that McEnroe was all tangled up with Jimmy Connors in the semis...a five set tussle. McEnroe is doing a great job of handling the pressure. Both player are feeling the pressure now. Seventh game of the fourth set...a pivotal point perhaps.

On the first point of the seventh game of the fourth set McEnroe knifes a backhand return low and skimming the net and Borg hits his backhand wide. At 1.58.50 after a backcourt exchange McEnroe misses the right sideline of Borg by a Hawkeye for 15-15. John nets a backhand for 30-15 Borg...no sooner is the ball in the net John is yelling over the net to the linesman about the previous point. Nothing serious...but humorous. Look who’s laughing in the background...”you can see Don Budge scratching his chin in the background...sort of laughing, smiling at McEnroe letting off a little steam”. Fred Perry is in the background to as he leans over to Budge to say something across Laurie Budge to Don. Borg pounds another ball into the McEnroe backhand...then he double faults by four feet on the 40-15 point. Advantage Borg...he hits a tremendous forehand pass down the line as McEnroe charges once more. 4-3 to Borg and McEnroe to serve.

First point at 2.01...a swinging serve way into the body of the Borg forehand again. Unreturnable...15-0. Identical service tactic into the ad court...wickedly swinging serve into the body and unreturnable...30-0. Now he jams him on the backhand side in the deuce court and once more into the forehand in the ad court...routine service hold. Borg to serve at 4-4.

Stotty...you may have seen this match or at least this part of it. It is really rather well know. On the first point Borg serves out wide to the McEnroe backhand and moves in and hits a “crisp” backhand volley as Tony Trabert calls it. You have heard me refer to “crisp” volleying in previous posts. Sorry modern day aficianados...good old don_budge knows what he is talking about. There is a vast difference between being unashamedly knowledgable and “living in the past”. It might behooves you to ascertain the difference. But crisp volleying is what the norm in volleying used to be when volleying was still a part of the classic game. Even Borg who was a backcourt specialist by the uninformed masses was a competent volleyer and as Trabert observes...he certainly was capable of crisp volleying.

[don_budge]

The fourth set...part 2

McEnroe must have thought he was going to be handed the match on a plate.

I've seen Borg play badly - the first set of Wimbledon 1980 for example - but to play badly and be disinterested as well...odd. Must have been the beginning of the end for him.

If McEnroe ever thought that Borg was going to hand him anything on a plate...and I doubt that he ever did...he got a wake up call in the fourth set. It's dead even now at two sets all. Borg had it all going on...newly married, he wasn't so fond of playing in New York at night and McEnroe was applying relentless pressure. Speaking of pressure...Borg had to come from behind in both his quarterfinal and semifinal to win in the fifth set. His nerves had to have been frayed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZKxKWfzUic

John McEnroe vs. Björn Borg...1980 U. S. Open Championships

The fourth set...part 2.03:00

But it is on this next point we see something that is sorely lacking in the game today. The element of surprise. Of improvisation. Lighter moments in the middle of titanic struggles. Much as Nastase demonstrated in his 1972 epic with Ashe. Here...at 15-0 (2.03.10 on the video) Borg loses his grip on his racquet as he gets his first serve in to John McEnroe’s forehand in the deuce court. His racquet is destroyed on impact but Borg “is still in the point”...McEnroe lofts his forehand into the middle of the court realizing that all that he has to do is get the ball in play to Borg who is without a racquet but Borg never says die...he leaps into play into the middle of the court...and returns McEnroe’s ball by backing up behind the baseline and kicking the ball over the net. McEnroe with the same sense of comic genius timing that he displays in the Jiminy Glick interview...for his part he drops his own racquet and attempts a kick of his own...he’s wide! What a great moment between these two polar opposites...they know their lines without having a script. Pat Summerall should be able to appreciate this bit of comedy as he is a former place kicker in the NFL.

“With all of the pressure and the tension and all of the hype...there is still time for a little fun”, quips Summerall. “And they talk about the Iceberg and the bad kid from Douglaston...you don’t think they have a sense of humor”...Trabert asks rhetorically. He continues (slow motion at 2.03.37), “Let’s take another look...the racquet comes out and bingo that’s broken...McEnroe says just get it in play...Borg says hold it, ”you gotta make a better return than that”...McEnroe drops his racquet...McEnroe played soccer...and that is what happens with 80 lbs. of pressure on the strings...the racquet speed of Borg trying to serve meeting Deco Turf. Do you think that they will fine him for throwing his racquet?”

What a great moment...Borg automatically gets himself back to reality as he goes to his chair to select another Donnay strung at 80 lbs. tension. He is truly always in the moment...just as McEnroe is. It is one of the hallmarks of great champions. At 15 all he delivers a first serve and moves in after a backcourt exchange with a thumping drive on the backhand...he close nicely to knock off the forehand volley. Once again it is Trabert acknowledging the volley technique of Borg...”Again no wrist movement on that forehand volley by Borg...it was crisp. It was a good solid one. Keep it short...keep the wrist locked up.” There’s that word again to describe the ancient art of volleying...”CRISP!” 30-15 to Borg’s serve. Borg wins a backcourt exchange and McEnroe misses with a backhand approach off of a second serve and now it is McEnroe serving to stay in the set at 4-5. The pressure is mounting...as is the fatigue factors on both players. Remember that they both played five set thrillers in the semifinals the day before...no day off. And why is it that everyone thinks that the modern game is more physically demanding than the classic. More disinformation. People seem to thrive on disinformation. Somehow it gives them a sense of superiority. Ferdinand Celine was right...about everything.


At 2.06:08 the match is three hours and twenty minutes old and McEnroe is up 30-0 on his serve deep in the fourth set. McEnroe serves out his game at love. Borg pounds a forehand into the corner on his first serving point and then he delivers a good backhand that McEnroe cannot handle at the net. A couple of bad misses by Borg and it is 30 all. There is a lot of pressure on both players now and serving get to be a bit dicey. This next point at 2.09:50 is a great if not subtle point as both players duel to the respective backhands...Borg employing topspin and McEnroe relying on the safe and conservative underspin. Borg senses an opening when he gains control of the rally after two forehands into the McEnroe backhand and he gambles to go to the net. He guesses right and knocks off the one hand backhand volley. Real gutsy play by the Swede. Real elegant under pressure. Subtle stuff...this is what the classic game was all about. John responds on the next point by moving in behind his return of serve...more gutsy play. Borg is applying pressure to the McEnroe backhand, who has been slicing more and more, perhaps feeling the pressure and McEnroe lets a ball go by him that lands inside the baseline. It’s a sign that he is feeling the pressure...hoping that the ball is going out instead of finishing the point with a statement. Trabert call it a “tactical” error but more correctly it is a lapse in judgement. Advantage to Borg. Borg holds his serve as McEnroe hits a forehand approach long. There is immense pressure on both players now. McEnroe to serve once more to stay in the set at 5-6.

On the first point Borg manages to force McEnroe to play a half volley that he misses in the net. Did McEnroe hesitate just a bit? Borg just misses a backhand pass...the pressure showing on both players faces. Borg forces McEnroe to play a real tough volley once again then he lofts a well disguised lob that McEnroe hits long. But McEnroe counters with a great volley that Trabert labels as “fatalistic”. You have to be fatalistic if you are serving deep in the fourth set against one Bjorn Borg. This is no situation for the feint of heart. This is no time to be cute. An ace...he is summoning deep reserves. But the great adversary passes cleanly off of the advantage serve. It’s back and forth...greatness at this point. Another unreturnable serve to the Borg forehand. Yet another tremendous cross court return from the Borg backhand...almost identical to the previous ad point. Trabert calls it a “dog fight” and this is what you want and expect between to great adversaries. No room for error...we are dancing on the razor’s edge. McEnroe plays just a bit tentatively...he stays back on a second serve and misses a continental gripped forehand long. Set point to Borg and he barely misses a valiant attempt off of a great McEnroe volley. He ends up in the seats. An unreturnable serve off an off speed serve...advantage McEnroe. A double fault...his sixth...and it’s back to deuce. Borg steps away from the serve swinging into his forehand to pound a return winner down the line. McEnroe misses a first serve wide, then Borg unleashes yet another supersonic backhand crosscourt winner. Set to Borg...it’s a fifth set. Both players are playing on reserves...both exhausted but refusing to buckle.

[stotty]

How to win a set out of nothing

It's annoying having to watch this match one set at a time, but I'm running a sanctioned junior tournament involving 200 kids and it's soaking up all my time...grrr.

However...

Just finished the third set. I have never seen Borg misfire so many returns or serve so badly. His first serve percentage must have been below 30%. Yet he won the set...remarkable. And McEnroe played well. Work that one out!

Like Gonzales before him, Borg is so hard to put away...even when playing really badly. You can't teach that. It's an individual thing. How to win a set out of nothing - watch Borg.

[don_budge]

Exquisite...the greatest of all time. McEnroe and Borg

It's annoying having to watch this match one set at a time, but I'm running a sanctioned junior tournament involving 200 kids and it's soaking up all my time...grrr.

However...

Just finished the third set. I have never seen Borg misfire so many returns or serve so badly. His first serve percentage must have been below 30%. Yet he won the set...remarkable. And McEnroe played well. Work that one out!

Like Nadal, Borg is so hard to put away...even when playing really badly. You can't teach that. It's an individual thing. How to win a set out of nothing - watch Borg.

This is an exquisite tennis match. A five set test of all that both players are made of. Bjorn Borg is obviously not at his best this afternoon but in the final analysis nobody is going to ask or care 34 years from when this was played. Except us. All that they will see is the winner's name on the trophy. That is the long and the short of it. It's a cruel game in a sense. It's a cruel world.

Borg never complains. He never even winces. McEnroe emotes. He is always in the moment. This is a truly great tennis match. Right smack dab in the middle of it the boys start to play a little impromptu game of soccer.

The two guys in the booth are superlative as a team. Tony Trabert is so astute and Pat Summerall is so smooth in provoking the keen tennis knowledge of his partner. Trabert is a know all...a wise old guy. He never misses a thing...every nuance. Ever twist and turn in this tennis match.

Borg is not at his best...but he finds a way. He hangs in there...gutting it out. Letting the game come to him. McEnroe for his part is less than 100% physically too...but he too never backs down an inch. Alway pressing the action. Never passing on a chance to seize the initiative. Borg wisely is patient in this situation and waits for his opportunities...it would be to no avail for him to launch an all out attack. In his condition he would not have been able to sustain it. To his credit...he bides his time in the desperate hope that John might punch himself out or even cool off a bit. He does in fact...just a bit in the third set and Borg even manages to be more aggressive in the fourth. So they have set the stage for the fifth.

Both players are beyond their reserves. Now they are in another zone...one that you or I will never know for certain. Their reality has become something of the ethereal. Trabert at one point talks about great matches and the greatest matches of all time. What he says is so poignant. All tennis students should follow along...an study. This is a different game that these two are playing. It's a tough uphill battle and they are carving a niche not only for themselves but for the game of tennis. This was not about money. This was not about show. For these players the crowd has vanished into the twilight mist. They are alone with each other. Playing the game that they learned to love with all of their little boy hearts. It's romantic in a way...this love affair they have with the game. It's touching.

These two are fighting the last duels of the classic game of tennis. Soon it will be put to rest. Most will turn their backs and never ask why. I wonder what they think. I would love to talk to both of them...separately to ask them a few questions. I wonder what they could teach me...as a student of the game.

[don_budge]

Bjorn Borg. New sentence Rafael Nadal.

Like Nadal, Borg is so hard to put away...even when playing really badly. You can't teach that. It's an individual thing. How to win a set out of nothing - watch Borg.

Please do not ever mention Bjorn Borg in the same sentence as that pretender ever again. Look at 2.21:30...Borg's reaction to winning the fourth set. Borg doesn't have a single twitch in his game. He never goes to the towel once in five sets in between points. He plays at the 7 or 8 second tempo on every single point.

I get your point...but just out of reverence. Or respect. Please...

[stotty]

Please do not ever mention Bjorn Borg in the same sentence as that pretender ever again. Look at 2.21:30...Borg's reaction to winning the fourth set. Borg doesn't have a single twitch in his game. He never goes to the towel once in five sets in between points. He plays at the 7 or 8 second tempo on every single point.

I get your point...but just out of reverence. Or respect. Please...

I have edited a more worthy candidate in my original post...

[don_budge]

The Hallmark of a Champion...

Like Gonzales before him, Borg is so hard to put away...even when playing really badly. You can't teach that. It's an individual thing. How to win a set out of nothing - watch Borg.

What an interesting comparison...Gonzales and Borg. It works too. Better than that skunk who practically holds a press conference to announce he has a niggle just in case he doesn't win...he has documented proof it wasn't that he lost or that his opponent was worthy. Never mind the ticks and fetishes.

Besides Nadal is a modern day tennis player. We cannot compare apples and oranges...as classic tennis and the modern version are different by definition. Completely different. There is absolutely no comparison across the lines. Before and after...one might say. Night and day.

With Bjorn...we will probably never know if there was a problem on that day. He will only tell you that "John played the important points better and he deserved to win." End of story. No complaining...no excuses. Just a wonderful athlete with the mystique to complement the game.

A huge part of Borg's problem on this particular day was none other than John McEnroe himself. He put an enormous amount of pressure on Borg who had put an enormous amount of pressure on himself as well. The match is truly an epic as Tony Trabert will explain in the final and climactic set. It certainly ranks right up there among the all time great matches than I have witnessed in my lifetime.

Tennis was still evolving at this point but soon the era of classic tennis was going to give way to a different game...the engineered modern game of "shock and awe" tennis.

[don_budge]

John McEnroe wins the 1980 U. S. Open Men's Singles

I found Borg disinterested...bored stiff. Other than a brief spell here and there where he looked like he might ignite, he was completely disinterested. I found that odd considering the match he was in. He barely ran for the first three games of that set. McEnroe must have thought he was going to be handed the match on a plate.

Their match up was perfect, the best I've witnessed in my lifetime - two opposites in every sense.

I love the take on McEnroe. When I think of McEnroe I think of geometry. I've said many times on the forum that he could play perfect tennis...right tactics, yes...but also the right the shot at the right time. No one else has ever achieved that or anything close to it.

No matter how you slice it...this match was one of the greatest that I have ever witnessed. I believe that it was actually better than the 1980 Wimbledon epic. But how can you say that one was better than the other. The point is...this was one great rivalry. Tennis wasn't broken. There was no need to fix it. The rest is history. Read it and weep...or not. But you cannot argue with the reality of the question...this tennis is truly how the game was meant to be played. It was truly meant to be played in a number of different ways. Here is the proof...without the indignant huffing and puffing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZKxKWfzUic

John McEnroe vs. Björn Borg...1980 U. S. Open Championships

The fifth set...2.22:38

“I wonder how much of an effect that will be...the fact that McEnroe played later last night than Borg did.” ...Pat Summerall has the first words that were uttered on this video

“Oh...I don’t think any Pat. If the adrenaline doesn’t take care of that...nothing will.” ...Tony Trabert...old school thoughts on the effects of fatigue on the two combatants.

Old school Tony Trabert...discounting the effects of fatigue on Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe at the beginning of the match. Here the boys are set to begin the fifth set of one of the best tennis matches you will ever see played on a hard court...Deco Turf. It’s a fast surface in 1980 compared to what is being played at the U. S. Open in 2014...thirty four years later. It’s forever in terms of tennis history. The game has been engineered beyond all recognition. Personally I refer to it as a FUBAR. Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition. That is saying a lot...coming from an former Quality Control guy. The conditions are what you would say statistically speaking...out of control.

“Tony...everyone that witnessed that epic at Wimbledon said that was perhaps the best match of all time. The jury is still out.” ...Pat Summerall

“Patrick...anytime you get two great players playing in a great event in a final and it’s close it has to go down as an epic match. This one will go down as one of them. We’ll let someone else decide which was the greatest."

Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe have taken a minute to let the crowd settle down. At the same time neither reveals the inner workings in their respective minds. One can only suspect that they are summoning all of their courage and all of their strength as their fuel tanks are both running on vapors. Technically speaking...neither should have anything left. So they are left alone with their thoughts...in front of the twenty thousand people in the stands. They are alone. Borg bounces the ball to prepare to serve...McEnroe takes a few more gulps of air and gets ready to go once more. For one final set. For all of the marbles. This is no longer the U. S. Open Championships...this is the Championship of the Tennis Universe. They have truly transcended and eclipsed the rest of the tennis world. They are playing a game that we are unfamiliar with...as Bobby Jones once said of a young Jack Nicklaus.

The feeling out process is over. Both know exactly what the other is capable of. They know how far and how fast they must place their shots in order to not allow the other to get set up perfectly into position. They have factored in the fatigue of each other. They are in fact partners now...dancing together with the tennis ball. The ball a ray of energy as it moves from one side of the court to the other. The trail of energy behind each shot represents the man who just hit it last. The cosmic signature of the tennis player.

Borg to serve. A short rally and a mistimed backhand by McEnroe. 15-love. McEnroe on the next point hits a delicate angle backhand bringing Borg forwards and he nets the drop shot attempt. Both players are dead tired and struggling to get the afterburners to fire.

“You know Pat...I was just thinking. If in the press conference when this is over if someone was to ask Borg what he was thinking in the third set...I would bet you any money that he would have said that “I thought I was going to lose in three straight at that point"...Here he is in set five...now he thinks he can win.” ...Tony Trabert once again.

At 30-15...McEnroe once again tries the softly angled backhand crosscourt and short but this time Borg is ready and alert...with the adrenaline once again firing in his veins...he pounces and pounds into McEnroe’s backhand and this time it is McEnroe’s less than optimal reflex that fails him. He’s tired. 40-15. He misfires slightly on a backhand in the next point once again drawing Borg forwards...Borg misses a rather routine backhand volley. Both players are summoning...exhorting inwards. Trying to find the place where they go when there is nothing left. Maybe neither has ever been here either...perhaps uncharted territory in their own souls as well. It’s compelling drama. The pace of play revealing every nuance of their tennis beings. Still game point for Borg. A second serve...an eight or nine stroke rally and McEnroe attacks but Borg again pounces on the approach and whips a forehand up the line for the pass. Borg up 1-0 in the fifth...McEnroe to serve.

McEnroe goes up 30-love...pressing the attack on his serve. Two serve and volley points won...he will live by the sword and die by the sword. Trabert muses upon the enormity of the situation as McEnroe once again summons the energy and the courage to go forwards...”Boy...you know. If you wanted to write a script...write about the semis...the woman’s final...now the men’s final. If you wrote it the way that it happened people would think that we were faking it.” The action is this dramatic...it is that compelling. Trabert alludes to the surreal feel...the unbelievable quality of this match...this moment. McEnroe misses a drop volley...cut too fine. On a second serve McEnroe delays his advance and approaches off of Borg’s return and he is passed down the line. Two more successful forays to the net and he holds serve once again...it is 1-1 with Borg to serve.

[don_budge]

John McEnroe wins the 1980 U. S. Open Men's Singles

No matter how you slice it...this match was one of the greatest that I have ever witnessed. I believe that it was actually better than the 1980 Wimbledon epic. But how can you say that one was better than the other. The point is...this was one great rivalry. Tennis wasn't broken. There was no need to fix it. The rest is history. Read it and weep...or not. But you cannot argue with the reality of the question...this tennis is truly how the game was meant to be played. It was truly meant to be played in a number of different ways. Here is the proof...without the indignant huffing and puffing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZKxKWfzUic

John McEnroe vs. Björn Borg...1980 U. S. Open Championships

The fifth set continued...2.28:30

Borg successfully serve and volley’s on his first service point. He is not so fortunate on the second as McEnroe passes him off the backhand...15 all. McEnroe gets caught anticipating a short ball and misses...he yells “lazy bum” at himself. 30-15. Pretty amusing...just a lazy bum playing his heart out in the fifth set against one of the greatest champions in history. But on the very next point it is attack to the net off of the Borg second serve...and an exquisite angled forehand crosscourt volley winner. So much for the “lazy bum”...it’s deuce.

At 2.30:50 it is another serve and volley winner for Borg...advantage Borg. McEnroe has chased the Borg volley into the ex-champion’s seats...he nearly ends up in Jack Kramer’s lap and it appears that he says something to Jack. Trabert laughs...”Gloria Kramer and Laura Wright...Jack Kramer’s smiling, Don Budge in the back with Laurie Budge, Frank Parker...the history of the game of tennis sitting right there. McEnroe would be smart and say “here take my racquet and you try it for a while”. A nice, fitting and respectful tribute to those that pioneered before...in earlier eras. Pat Summerall adds...”Fred Perry and Althea Gibson sitting behind them too, a lot of talent there as you mention.” Borg holds with a pass down the line...McEnroe still on the attack. Refusing to capitulate. Borg leads 2-1...McEnroe to serve.

Two great return points by Borg and it is love-30 and McEnroe is looking into the abyss...asking himself the existential questions. So what does he do? He attacks...he is fatalistic at this point. Two extremely well executed consecutive serve and volley forays and he is even at deuce. On the second of these two points McEnroe nearly chases Borg into the stands with his slice to the backhand court. McEnroe has spent a good deal of his serves to the ad side to the forehand and now he is reaping the dividends...the backhand is somewhat more vulnerable. “This is really pressure...”, it seems that the words were difficult for Trabert to utter. He is caught up in the moment of this titanic struggle. McEnroe misses his first but aggressively attacks the Borg forehand with his second. Borg misses and he has been guessing wrong the whole match. McEnroe’s service tactics have effectively handcuffed the Swede. Advantage McEnroe.

At 2.34:45 John is called for his first foot fault of the match...check out his reaction as he holds his hand up to the linesman and waves at him. Acknowledging his presence in a most ironic manner. McEnroe being the “King of Irony” as opposed to Robert DeNiro’s “The King of Comedy”. He carefully toes the line now for his second serve and what ensue’s is another great all court point. A second serve to Borg’s backhand...his return nearly on the baseline and McEnroe plays it on the half volley but short and Borg advances to barely a meter from the net but his approach clips the net cord...setting the ball up on McEnroe’s backhand. McEnroe with all of the time in the world not to mention a world of options in his magic bag of tricks...lifts a delicate slightly topspin rotating lob over the head of Borg sending him scurrying back to chase it down almost to the very back of the court. The fleet Swede hits a great defensive lob up into the New York night that sends McEnroe back retreating from the net...where he had moved and set up camp anticipating a kill. Instead he finds himself back behind the baseline, spinning an overhead to the Borg backhand. The two tennis gods exchange backhands until Borg gets the invitation, McEnroe’s backhand lands on the service line, to advance to the net. McEnroe lashes a backhand cross court and Borg responds with a volley that is a bit too close to McEnroe who unleashes a McEnrueful continental gripped lightning bolt to the exposed cross court, cleaning passing the Swede. All of this started with a foot fault called on the first serve. Game to McEnroe...it is 2-2 in the fifth. The drama just keeps elevating and elevating. Both players lifting their games...lifting their fighting spirits into parts unknown.

The crowd is being treated to a once in a lifetime experience. Tony Trabert once again is equal to the moment...he says, “I wonder who is going to leave and say I didn’t get my moneys worth”. As the camera pans the capacity crowd...not a soul has left. Borg to serve.

Borg wins a routing game on his serve that is concluded by a decisive backhand volley. McEnroe initiates his service game with a crisp exquisite backhand volley of his own off of Borg’s return. John is still pressing the issue deep into the fifth set...banking that the pressure is going to pay off in the end. At 2.38:13 Trabert mentions it has been 4 hours and 5 minutes since the boys took the court. McEnroe hits a service winner up the tee for 30-love.

“You know Pat...we lose sight of it but it has been four hours and five minutes since these players walked out on the court. That’s a long time to be out in front of all these people...concentrating, running and doing all of the work that they have been doing.”...Trabert’s words.

“Especially after they both played five sets yesterday in the semifinals.”...returns Pat Summerall.

Once more up the tee on the deuce side with McEnroe following to the net...Borg wide with his return for 40-love. Up the tee for a third consecutive time and it is game to McEnroe for a 3-3 tie in the fifth set. It’s the infamous seventh game...the crucial game.

Bill Tilden had this to say about the seventh game of the set...”Strange to say, the psychological advantage of winning the fourth game is greater than that of the fifth or sixth, although both the latter are important, but the really big moment comes in the seventh game...the 3-all situation explains itself, since you are both fighting for the obvious advantage on the first step after the halfway mark of the set.” My God...are we only halfway through this set...it seems like forever. Time standing still in the face of greatness...34 years ago.

[don_budge]

John McEnroe wins the 1980 U. S. Open Men's Singles

No matter how you slice it...this match was one of the greatest that I have ever witnessed. I believe that it was actually better than the 1980 Wimbledon epic. But how can you say that one was better than the other. The point is...this was one great rivalry. Tennis wasn't broken. There was no need to fix it. The rest is history. Read it and weep...or not. But you cannot argue with the reality of the question...this tennis is truly how the game was meant to be played. It was truly meant to be played in a number of different ways. Here is the proof...without the indignant huffing and puffing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZKxKWfzUic

John McEnroe vs. Björn Borg...1980 U. S. Open Championships

The fifth set continued...2.39.20

On the first point at 2.39:20...McEnroe preparing to return looks noticeably edgy. As if he is consciously trying to advertise to anyone watching that he still has it in him. Trabert remarks about the players looking at each other’s eyes...looking to see if they are still all there. McEnroe takes the Borg second serve on his forehand and advances...Borg doesn’t play the ball which has landed extremely close to the baseline in his backhand corner. He thought it was out. He looks at both the linesman and the umpire in the only way that he protests...in silence. There is no correction coming though and it is love-15. He looks over at his supporters...his wife and his coach. He prepares to serve...with existential doubts beginning to creep into his Nordic veneer. He regroups and gets an error off of a routine McEnroe backhand. But then he double faults...15-30. He regroups again and attacks...McEnroe misfires on the pass. But then he double faults again...30-40. Another netted first serve and McEnroe smells blood and attacks the second serve but the Swede makes the big shot. Back to deuce. McEnroe attacks again on the deuce second serve...Borg misses with the lob wide. Break point...Borg attacks crosscourt off of his forehand into McEnroe’s backhand with topspin...the approach is not quite deep enough and it sits up on the Deco Turf...topspin crosscourt backhand and it’s a break of serve for McEnroe. Borg falters...almost imperceptibly. But now he is face with the grim reality...McEnroe has only to hold serve twice and the championship is his. The pressure that had been applied for the total duration of the match finally caught up to the Swede. The crucial seventh game of the fifth set is in the bag of McEnroe. He holds all of the cards now and is the master of his own fate.

First serve in...a netted return. 15-love. A movement in the crowd brings the McEnroe preserve ritual to a halt. He restarts and swings it wide...Borg futilely tries a one-handed attempt long. 30-love. Now...at 2.44:25 in the tape...another gem. An absolute work of art. McEnroe’s first serve to the Swede backhand and he moves in and cranks it low to the charging McEnroe. McEnroe makes a stabbing, lunging play on the ball and manages to get it into the middle of the Swede’s court...short. Borg moves in for the kill but McEnroe has managed to stab the ball with enough underspin to knock Borg off balance just enough...he lashes a forehand down the line. Meanwhile McEnroe has swiftly regained his balance like a high wire acrobat and he is there to softly hit the ball at Borg’s feet. It is an awkward play and Borg finds himself in the unenviable position of hitting up to an encroaching McEnroe who deftly parries a smart backhand volley past a beaten Borg. Absolutely brilliant improvisation. It’s 40-love. Borg never quits...he steps into the next first serve of McEnroe’s and lashes a two handed winner down the line despite being at least a meter outside of the doubles sideline. No sense in retreating now. But it’s no use now...McEnroe is merely applying the final touches to his masterpiece that he so richly deserves...he serves once more into the body on the forehand of Borg and Borg cannot handle it. Body shots. Jabs and slices. Death by a thousand cuts. Vintage McEnroe. 5-3 to the brash American.

McEnroe plays it cool on the Borg serve. Focused on the prize...he is only gearing himself up to serve out the match. Hold serve one more time and the prize is his. Borg wins his serve at love punctuated by a forehand volley that pings off of the board tight Donnay. Here is the moment that this whole championship has built itself up to. Take a look...2.47:55.
It’s almost a replay of the first point of McEnroe’s last service game. A first serve to the Borg backhand who plays it low and hard to the advancing McEnroe. Another stab and he has Borg moving forwards again. This time Borg guides it just wide...maybe worthy of a Hawkeye second guess by todays standards. There are no questions, unless you want to call the furtive look from Borg a question...instead the call is made and the score is indisputable...it is 15-0 to McEnroe. Second point...second serve. McEnroe gets a high forehand volley and it’s a sitter. There are no swinging volleys in the game at this point...McEnroe simply misses this seemingly easy volley that is so subtly difficult. Particularly under extremely heavy pressure. He only missed it by an inch...it isn’t as if he muffed it. 15-all. A first serve and a missed return. 30-15...everyone senses the inevitable. Serve and volley...what else? Borg crumples under the pressure. One more point...double match point. A nervous missed first serve...then another corkscrew into the body of Borg’s forehand. His wounded duck return hangs in the air and McEnroe has time to charge all the way to the edge of the net...he knocks it off sharply angled crosscourt with his tongue hanging over the net. He lifts his arms in victory then he immediately searches for his opponent...for the traditional congratulatory handshake.

No falling to the ground. No fake performances. Just pure and wonderful classy stuff from both players. God bless ‘em both for this gift to us. What a match...what a match.

[don_budge]

The Incredible John McEnroe...

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Share/Event-Draws.aspx?Year=1980&EventId=560&Draw=md

It was the toughest of five set finals in a Grand Slam event...the 1980 U. S. Open Championships. John McEnroe had defeated Jimmy Connors in the semifinals by a score of 6-4, 5-7, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6. If you have a few spare hours take a look at that match. It was incredible in its own right...Jimmy Connors was putting on some pressure of his own for four or five hours. The match finished at 8 PM or so. It went back and forth as McEnroe battled back down two sets to one. Connors was hungry too. You want to see a great match between the two best American left handers in history...watch this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcDF08fg21A

Now the other thing is...John McEnroe lost in the finals of the doubles at the 1980 U. S. Open. Most of the top players in the world used to play doubles...it was an extra paycheck and they were honing their skills. Their wonderful all court skills. Serves, volleys, half-volleys, chip and charge tactics off of the return of serve. But at any rate John McEnroe lost with his long time partner Peter Fleming to Bob Lutz and Stan Smith 7-6, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

The final with Bjorn Borg was on Sunday and the semifinal with Connors was on Saturday. I wonder when the doubles final was played. Whenever it was...John McEnroe showed the highest level of courage in working his way through this tournament, two tournaments, and he showed his best behavior for the most part. He wasn't perfect. He never claimed to be an angel. But his most athletic performance during this championship was almost super human.

[stotty]

The duel...

I have just finished watching this five set epic. I found it bazaar. I seldom reach for stats but there is certainly a good case here. I don’t have figures other than my own guesswork.

But before I start: Who was the linesman at 3-3 on the first point in that game? One imagines the whole of Sweden were screaming for his execution. What a stinker! Had that ball been called out Borg would have won the game to thirty. That’s fate...small margins can determine epic matches.

I thought McEnroe served really well. The variation he used was tremendously effective. I have never seen Borg miss so many forehand returns. He misfired on both wings for the entire five sets. It was an important factor because overall Borg won most of the longer rallies once he got serves back.

Conversely, other than the first set, Borg served terribly. He first serve percentage must have barely gotten above 30% in sets two and three. It improved slightly in sets four and five but not by much. His overall first serve percentage must have been around the low to mid forties. He really couldn’t get his usually very reliable serve together at all. This is very significant because, historically in their contests, Borg’s first serve pinned McEnroe firmly back and allowed Borg to dictate the rallies. It is very hard to beat Borg when his first serve percentage is high because he cannot be consistently out rallied.

I find it remarkable that despite serving and returning like a drain, Borg won two sets and only lost narrowly in the fifth. That is the most amazing stat of the lot. I really must teach my kids to hang in and work with they've got. It's amazing what can be achieved by adopting that approach.

The best feature of the match was the duel: McEnroe, being perhaps the best volleyer ever in some ways, playing against the perhaps the best passer of all time. This made the contest a great spectacle for me. It made the match so exciting to watch. The passing shots and the volleying were exceptional...quite brilliant.

I still miss those two players even today, nearly 34 years later.

[johnyandell]

34 years? No it was yesterday.