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

[don_budge]

From the Horse's mouth...John McEnroe

Every point in this epic was a masterpiece. That is not to say there weren't mistakes and mishits. But taken as a whole the match must nearly be described point by point. I had to watch the match several times to come up with the words to describe the action. The points were like single brushstrokes that make up a great masterpiece. It reminded me of the moment only a couple of months ago when I stood at the very top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris looking down at that classic and old traditional city in Europe. Each building from that height looked like a single brush stroke and put them all together you had the wonderful visual whole that makes up the city of Paris. Like a beautiful painting every single brush stroke adds up to make up the whole.

The individual buildings on the ground were masterpieces of architecture as well. You walk along the streets admiring the craftsmanship and beauty from the ground level in the micro view as opposed to the macro view from the top of the Eiffel tower.

The same as this match. Such an intricate tapestry of tennis and all of its nuances. The variety of strokes...the variety of tactics. The infinite number of possibilities...permutations and combinations. Then there is the complexity of the players and their emotions and their tactical acumen and their individual interpretation of THE GAME. THE GAME OF TENNIS as it was meant to be played.

In tennis, in art and in life there is a balance. Even the universe is somehow balanced although theoretically. Equal parts positive and negative. Perhaps the human race has an equal balance as well...the summation of all of our actions and intents equal parts good and evil. But one thing is very clear to me and there is absolutely no way around it because in this very case for once and for all I am right...the game of tennis has been compromised by the actions of the very human hands that invented it. That precious balance that the game had and endured for so many years was compromised by an overabundance of speed in the game. It's simple. What was lost was tennis that was played like on this September afternoon between the last of the great rivalries in tennis...John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.

The great John McEnroe discusses the 1980 U. S. Open Championships in his superb autobiography..."Serious". This is what he had to say about it.

"I had won the U. S. Open the year before but I had won it without having to play Connors or Borg. In 1980 I would have to play them both...not to mention Ivan Lendl.

I still consider the '80 Open the best physical achievement in my career. In the quarterfinals, on Thursday night I beat Lendl 7-5 in the fourth set; the next morning Peter (Fleming) and I played the doubles final against Stan Smith and Bob Lutz, which we lost in a tough five setter. I really felt we should have won that match but I couldn't feel too broken up about losing it, since it felt like kind of a last hurrah for the great doubles team of Smith and Lutz (whom we'd beaten in the final the previous year). I had particular respect for Stan, because of his dedication to Davis Cup.

On Saturday I played Connors in a wild semifinal. After I'd won the first set 6-4 and gone up 5-3 in the second, I got a little tight and Jimmy went on an unbelievable tear, working up the crowd in his intimitable style...our seesaw battle sawed once more and we ended up in a fifth set tie-breaker.

I should mention that I have always liked the tie-break rule...the rule of thumb is that the stronger server has the edge...and I knew that was me. I knew if I could just get a couple of good serves in I would win.

Then on Sunday, still depleted, I got into another one of my classic battles against Borg (who hadn't had to play doubles or Connors). The fast court favored me but after I'd gone up 7-6, 6-1 Bjorn once again capitalizing on my fatigue and his superior conditioning, started inching his way back into the match. I'm postitve he had our Wimbledon match in mind...I know I did. He must have been thinking that I would wilt again, and the king of five-setters would once more prevail. Bjorn did much better in five-setters overall than he did in three-setters simply because he was so much fitter than almost anyone else.

Not so fast.

I'm sure that after I lost the third and fourth sets, the crowd thought Borg would ride his momentum to take the fifth set and his first U. S. Open title. Strangely enough...though that very expectation (the crowd is always a critical component in a big match) helped me relax and pump myself up. I had lost a match I should have won at Wimbledon. I didn't want to do that again.

I had come this far, I thought, I could stick with it and win this match. I had a surprise in store for my hometown crowd. Getting off to a good start in the fifth set helped me to grab a second wind, a lost shot of adrenaline. In the end, one break of Bjorn's serve was all I needed.

When we shook hands, I could see that he was devastated. He had started out the year by winning the Masters, his first-ever major title in New York this was supposed to have been the other bookend. I sensed he felt I had finally gotten the upper hand on him."

....from the horse's mouth of the great John McEnroe.

[don_budge]

Thank you...Stotty

Thanks for this series, don_budge. It's been an epic. One of the last great wooden racket duels. Great players using diddy rackets. One had his racket strung like a fishing net while the other had his as tight as a drum. Everything about those two was as opposite as it could get.

So true. I cannot tell you how many times I say this to young professionals that are getting certified. They need to be a historian as well as a visionary.

Thank you for this statement.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Thanks for listening and following my train of thought. I know that in the beginning you were a bit leery of my message regarding the classic game versus the modern game. But I sense an open mind now.

I never say that I am right in anything that I present on the forum...I only write my case and let the chips fall where they may. There are some on this forum that think this is a debate or certain opinions can be shouted down...and by that I mean all topics need to be agreed or disagreed upon. I never feel that way...and after saying that I will say this.

For once I will say this...I AM RIGHT. And I mean it and I am not shy saying it. I don't need a second opinion. This question about the relative merits regarding the game of classic tennis versus the modern game is not one of personal feelings...it is only about the facts.

The facts are of course obfuscated to the maximum. Number one...it has been a long time and number two any historians of the game from here on out are only going to go back to this point in time for their source of tennis history. They lack the experience and first hand knowledge. Once again the powers that be win. He who wins writes the history.

When watching this match you get a real sensation about how the game had EVOLVED up to 1980. The oversized equipment had already been introduced but the very top echelon wasn't having anything to do with it. They looked at it with disdain and viewed anybody playing with it as a cheater. The game that McEnroe and Borg played on this glorious afternoon at Flushing Meadows was a brilliant display of tennis by two tough and gritty combatants with traditional wooden racquets. The likes of their rivalry and the polar aspects of the whole scenario will never again be matched...that is my opinion.

It's funny how the modern junior development coaches and the certified lot are so dead certain that the current game is the best there ever was and this is what I mean about the victor writing the history book. The current game is dead in the water compared to the classic. It will have to be retooled or reengineered for more "evolution" to take place. The classic game was a living thing and all of the champions were connected as if by some thread of Chromosomal DNA from the life of the game. The game transcended everyone...no one person was bigger that it.

But now...sadly there is a disconnect and a refusal to acknowledge something so fundamental as right and wrong. But tennis always serves as a metaphor for life as the news media and the government and the corporations lead us astray by the careful manipulation of information...much as the tennis world has done. Leading us to slaughter...as 10splayer suggested I was leading my students. Even though he has never personally witnessed on of my tennis lessons. Just blah, blah, blah. We will see what the carnage will look like in the end...I have seen it. It isn't pretty.

I know everyone would like to see this era dead and buried. There are some really strange ideas why it should be so. But basically it comes down to one over riding principle and that is one of greed. It is the greed in everyone's heart that leads them to believe that they are a superior being to those of our past. It is some old guy playing with a Babolat tennis racquet the size of a snow shoe that clings to an illusion that he is playing good tennis. It is the greed of the machine that cares not a twit for words like integrity. The only word that the machine understands is profit. Just as our government is only concerned with our "national interests" and not the "will of the American people"...an expression they trot out when they are about to do something in our national interests that is contrary to the will of the American people.

Tennis interest was at an all time high in 1980. The McEnroe and Borg rivalry was only swelling to a crest. It had not yet peaked...but Borg wasn't having anything to do with it. Perhaps Johan Kriek was using some kind of oversized racquet in his semi and he had a close brush with someone that he knew he should dispatch routinely. There were more peaks to come. Trust me the game would have continued to evolve. If you can imagine all of the best tennis players since this glorious afternoon striving to out do these two. Can you imagine them all with wooden racquets and what glorious tennis that they would have produced. Can you imagine for example Pete Sampras versus Andre Agassi with wooden racquets? Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg with wooden racquets? The current crop of pretenders with wooden racquets? I don't know...I am only trying to connect the dots. It isn't the player's fault by the way.

I am only a student of the game. Part of my job as a tennis coach is to connect the dots. You know of my paradigm and it's deep and connected roots to traditional and classic tennis. You know how there is this modern element on this forum that from time to time makes some rather rude and otherwise unintelligent or illogical comment without backing any of the discourse with facts. It is only the sound of those that the machine views as useful idiots. Most everyone qualifies for this status...it takes an almost nonexistent quality to think outside of the box these days. The brainwashing has been insidious and unrelenting. Like society as a whole...tennis has been dumbed down. It's only a sign of the times.

Every point in this epic was a masterpiece. That is not to say there weren't mistakes and mishits. But taken as a whole the match must nearly be described point by point. I had to watch the match several times to come up with the words to describe the action. The points were like single brushstrokes that make up a great masterpiece. It reminded me of the moment only a couple of months ago when I stood at the very top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris looking down at that classic and old traditional city in Europe. Each building from that height looked like a single brush stroke and put them all together you had the wonderful visual whole that makes up the city of Paris. Like a beautiful painting every single brush stroke adds up to make up the whole.

The individual buildings on the ground were masterpieces of architecture as well. You walk along the streets admiring the craftsmanship and beauty from the ground level in the micro view as opposed to the macro view from the top of the Eiffel tower.

The same as this match. Such an intricate tapestry of tennis and all of its nuances. The variety of strokes...the variety of tactics. The infinite number of possibilities...permutations and combinations. Then there is the complexity of the players and their emotions and their tactical acumen and their individual interpretation of THE GAME. THE GAME OF TENNIS as it was meant to be played.

In tennis, in art and in life there is a balance. Even the universe is somehow balanced although theoretically. Equal parts positive and negative. Perhaps the human race has an equal balance as well...the summation of all of our actions and intents equal parts good and evil. But one thing is very clear to me and there is absolutely no way around it because in this very case for once and for all I am right...the game of tennis has been compromised by the actions of the very human hands that invented it. That precious balance that the game had and endured for so many years was compromised by an overabundance of speed in the game. It's simple. What was lost was tennis that was played like on this September afternoon between the last of the great rivalries in tennis...John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.

[klacr]

Any tennis coach worth his salt had best be a genuine student of the game and that requires him by definition to be somewhat of a historian as well.

So true. I cannot tell you how many times I say this to young professionals that are getting certified. They need to be a historian as well as a visionary.

Thank you for this statement.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Thanks for this series, don_budge. It's been an epic. One of the last great wooden racket duels. Great players using diddy rackets. One had his racket strung like a fishing net while the other had his as tight as a drum. Everything about those two was as opposite as it could get.

[don_budge]

Stay tuned...34 years later

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.

Thanks for the wonderful conversation. Any tennis coach worth his salt had best be a genuine student of the game and that requires him by definition to be somewhat of a historian as well.

You found it bizarre and I found it exquisite. As you know...playing with the standard sized wood racquet is not a perfect proposition. Consequently on any given day your serve or some other part of your game might not be up to par...as it appears that Borg’s serve has somewhat deserted him...then you must compensate with other aspects of the game and one of them is just rolling up your sleeves and playing the hand dealt to you. You must cover up a deficiency with some other strong suit...in this case a willingness to get down and fight.

Did you notice the odd configuration of linesman? One linesman for the sideline on both sides of the court. The middle service linesman running into position to cover the sideline after the serve was in play. The complete absence of Hawkeye...only the umpire to overrule on an obvious mistake. Except that prehistoric device to call the serve in or out.

On the baseline call in question...at 3-3 in the fifth...that linesman may have been blocked by Borg who instead of playing a ball that was very close, made the poor decision to not play it. Since he did not move back into position to play that ball deep behind the baseline he suffered the consequences for blocking the linesman’s view. To his credit he played on...as tough as it must have been to accept at the time. He cast a furtive glance at his friends box. This is part of what made Borg such an incredible and iconic sport’s legend. The Swede. The Nordic Ice Man.

John McEnroe’s service tactics were sheer genius that day. Not only the tactics...but the execution. He was constantly working over the forehand of Borg...his opponents strength. But not only was he dismantling the forehand he was also dissecting the backhand. McEnroe had Borg tied up in a pretzel all day long. Remember the old Tilden axiom about defeating your opponents strength. It can be demoralizing...plus it really opens up their weakness. McEnroe was/is no dummy and he had Borg guessing all day long about the location of the serve. Trabert mentioned numerable times about his tactics. It was quite a lesson accompanied by some astute comments from the booth.

If a modern day tennis coach cannot appreciate what John McEnroe was doing with a standard sized tennis racquet then they really are not true tennis aficionado's. They are lacking in credentials. Sadly this is what we are faced with in the “world of tennis” these days. The division of yesterday and the present...defined by the equipment change right around the time of this match.

Clearly Borg was not at his best. Yet this was a hallmark of yesterdays tennis. It was so difficult to find “the zone” day in and day out...one had to make do and roll up your sleeves and fight with your back to the wall...with only a tiny little wooden racquet strung with gut. Perhaps McEnroe was not at his best either...he admits to being tired in the post match interview. That comes as no surprise seeing as he too had a strenuous five set semifinal against one of the greatest tennis players and competitors of all time in Jimmy Connors. Connors made him win his match and took him to the fifth set tie-break. Connors fought him tooth and nail right down to the end of the night. That match was a compelling match as well. Timeless.

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

Whereas Johan Kriek may have sort of packed it in after winning the first two sets against Borg in the semis. Borg won the last three sets in succession 6-1, 6-1 and 6-1. So who was at their “best” is a mute point in the context of classic tennis...thirty four years later there is only the name on the trophy. McEnroe may well have had "more excuses" in his bag but to his credit he played without making any explanations or excuses whatsoever. He had every reason to pack it in himself deep in the fifth but he found the will to hang on. McEnroe definitely had the tougher road to hoe.

But most of all I love your recognition of “the duel”. It isn’t only that McEnroe was a great volleyer or that Borg was a great baseliner. You see the reversal of roles all of the time in this match where Borg is attacking or when McEnroe is dueling from the baseline. Even Tony Trabert makes the observation at one point in the match about Borg’s reputation of being a baseliner yet he was also an incredible all court player...as was John. He dueled the Swede tit for tat all day long from the baseline.

But I bet that you are right about that baseline call. Borg didn’t even play the ball. He obviously thought it was out. He wasn’t the type to cheat or try to obfuscate the reality of any given situation. He had that kind of courage. He had that kind of integrity. He had that kind of love for the game. He demonstrated all of it on that given Sunday when for some reason that we are not privy too...he was not at his best. But he showed why he was a great, great champion. He fought with all of his Nordic heart...to the last inch. In the end...there was no real loser in this match. As any tennis player knows. The challenge is to do your best in any given situation. Win or lose...triumph or disaster. Treat both those impostors just the same...you will be a man, my son.

[don_budge]

Yesterday...

34 years? No it was yesterday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONXp-vpE9eU

Yesterday...The Beatles (1965)

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
oh, I believe in yesterday

Suddenly I'm not half the man I used to be
There's a shadow hanging over me
Oh, yesterday came suddenly.

Why she had to go?
I don't know, she wouldn't say
I said something wrong
Now I long for yesterday.

Yesterday love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Why she had to go?
I don't know, she wouldn't say
I said something wrong
Now I long for yesterday.

Yesterday love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday...

Art vs. Technology...

[GeoffWilliams]

I saw the match yesterday. That's when my fighting weight was 172lbs, not 233lbs! Ha, ha.

[johnyandell]

34 years? No it was yesterday.

[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.

[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.

[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]

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

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]

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.

[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...