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Reilly Opelka has deemed the trio of John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and Vitas Gerulaitis to be the golden era of men's tennis.
Opelka has had an eight-month-long layoff from the ATP Tour due to injury issues. The American was expected to make a comeback in February but suffered a wrist injury that delayed his return. Opelka, who was ranked No. 17 before his injury, has dropped to No. 112 in the ATP rankings due to his extended absence from the tour.
On April 9, Opelka reflected on the best period of men's tennis, which he considers to be the era of retired legends John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and Vitas Gerulaitis. The American posted vintage photos of the three men before naming them as representatives of the "golden era" of tennis.
"Bjorn is like Jekyll and Hyde" - John McEnroe on Bjorn Borg
John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg enjoyed a highly competitive rivalry in the 1970s and early 1980s. However, their rivalry was cut short after only 14 matches when Borg surprisingly retired from professional tennis in 1981 at the young age of 26.
In his book, 'You Cannot Be Serious', McEnroe gave his opinion on the Swede's shocking decision to retire. The former World No. 1 speculated that Borg was on the brink of being mentally and physically burnt out from years of extensive travel on the professional circuit.
"Here’s what I speculate: Borg was on the verge of being overwhelmed. He was also the first guy who could afford to quit. He’d started so young; at age twenty-five, he’d already traveled the circuit extensively for 10 years," McEnroe wrote.
The American added that Borg's exposure to Vitas Gerulaitis' life of partying, staying up all night, and enjoying the company of women also played a role in his decision to retire. The contrast between Gerulaitis' lifestyle and Borg's regimented routine made the Swede realize what he had been missing out on.
"So when he saw what Vitas was doing, which was the other extreme, the staying up all night, the partying, the women, when Bjorn experienced it on a small scale at the exhibitions, just enough to give him a taste of what he had been missing . . . well, that was that," the American wrote.
John McEnroe disclosed that during an exhibition match in Stockholm, Bjorn Borg had admitted to him that he had two different personalities. In his book, McEnroe then likened the Swede to the characters in the novel 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'.
"Bjorn is like Jekyll and Hyde. A couple of years ago, when I was playing an exhibition with him in Stockholm, he said to me, 'I’m two people.' And he is. He’s the world’s greatest guy, and then he’s completely out of his mind. I’m crazy to begin with—somewhat crazy and somewhat normal. Bjorn goes way to the extremes," McEnroe wrote.
