He accepted me: When John McEnroe recalled being calmed down by Bjorn Borg in the middle of a match

Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe are two of the greatest players of all time and shared an intense rivalry during their playing days. That said, the two are close friends off the court.

A documentary about the two greats titled "McEnroe/Borg: Fire and Ice" was released in 2011, in which the two spoke about various incidents during their rivalry.

Borg narrated an incident in their third meeting at the New Orleans Grand Prix, where McEnroe lost his cool. The Swede said that it was the first time he saw his rival go completely berserk as if some "mental patient was just released."

He said that he called McEnroe to the net and told him to calm down.

"We play in New Orleans. That was the first time he was going completely berserk, maybe like some mental patient released or whatever. Then, I told John, 'Please John come'. That look he gave me, 'What the hell do you want?' I said to John, 'Please come to the net'. I told him, 'Listen, this is a game, relax, take it easy'," Borg said.

Speaking about the incident, John McEnroe said that he was completely floored by his rival's gesture.

"I was completely floored, I didn't know what to even think. At first I was, 'Wait a minute, is he trying to do something here?' And then I thought, ' Well maybe he's actually saying something which is really nice', and it actually relaxed me, which is probably not what he wanted to happen, or maybe he did," he said.

"What I took from that was that he had accepted me and that I could look at any other player and if they said anything, then I could just say what Bjorn said. The least I could do was to try a little harder when I was playing. So I had to be on my best behavior, and I respected him," he added.

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John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg locked horns 14 times in their careers

Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe pictured at the Laver Cup

Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe had a short but fierce rivalry, locking horns on 14 occasions. While their head-to-head is tied at 7-7, the Swede had the upper hand in Grand Slams, where he won three out of their four meetings, all of which came in the finals.

Borg and McEnroe have captained Team Europe and Team World respectively at the Laver Cup since the tournament's inception in 2017. While the former's team has won every year until 2021, the latter side lifted their maiden title this year in London.