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John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg had a short yet fierce rivalry during the late1970s and early 1980s.
The two tennis greats played some high-octane matches against one another, usually in the latter stages of tournaments. Borg and McEnroe locked horns in the final of the 1980 Wimbledon Championships, with the Swede winning 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7, 8-6.
At the 1980 US Open, Borg and McEnroe were the top two seeds and produced some splendid performances to reach the final. Borg, the top seed, came back from two sets down to beat Johan Kriek in the semifinals.
McEnroe's last four clash was against Jimmy Connors, which he won 6-4, 5-7, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) to book his spot in the title clash. McEnroe defeated Borg 7-6(4), 6-1, 6-7(5), 5-7, 6-4 in the final to successfully defend his title at the US Open.
John McEnroe wrote about the match in his book, "You Cannot be Serious," claiming that one break of Borg's serve in the final set made the difference.
"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 last shot of adrenaline. In the end, one break of Bjorn’s serve was all I needed," McEnroe wrote.
John McEnroe added that Bjorn Borg was devastated during their post-match handshake.
"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," McEnroe added.
The 1980 US Open final was the ninth meeting between Borg and McEnroe. With the win, the American took his head-to-head record to 4-5 against the Swede.
John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg faced each other on 14 occasions
John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg locked horns on 14 occasions, with their head-to-head tied at 7-7. The first encounter between the two took place in the semifinals of the 1978 Stockholm Open, with McEnroe winning 6-3, 6-4.
They faced one another in four Grand Slam finals and McEnroe won three of those. The only time Borg beat McEnroe in a Major title clash was the 1980 Wimbledon final.
The last meeting between the two was the 1981 US Open final, with the American winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 to win his third successive title at Flushing Meadows.
