I remember watching this final and desperately wanting McEnroe to win. Hard to believe it was over 40 years ago now and Borg, McEnroe and me are all now in our sixties. Time flies so quickly.
@@ba177ba18 Lol. Mine was more like Borg's but not quite as long. I also wore a headband when I was playing football for my town football club at the time to keep it out of my eyes. What we have in common now is that our hair is grey and we have less of it.
Yup, I watched this one too. Still remember Bud Collins classic quote: Thou shalt not second serve Borg. I wanted Borg to win and was glad he did, but John got him the next year. One has to wonder just how many Borg would have won had he not retired at 26. Remember, this guy only lost twice at the French open and to the same person: Panetta.
One of the greatest matches ever. I'll date myself - but I remember dragging myself out of bed at 7am on a Sunday morning to watch it live in 1980. Can't believe it's been 40 years...
@@MultiStar83 Borg v McEnroe in 1981 was the last men's final played on a Saturday; they have all been Sunday since then. Smith v Nastase (1972) was played on Sunday because it rained all day the day before.
Borgs shows a lot of heart to, they both kind of unsure of who their opponent is, and what the game gonna be like. They read eachother! They exchange good things meanwhile to.. inspiration from both sides, it doesn't take long time before they are not unsure no more it's interesting analyzing and enjoy watching the Tennis Game!
Well, it seems Wimbledon has ceased posting these classic matches. At least they posted this one, which was the best of the best. I’ll just keep watching it over & over.
For those who were not around and who thought the game was slow, remember that these two were the best players of their time who lugged around heavy wooden racquets. Borg was probably the greatest baseliner of the wooden era and McEnroe was more gifted than any previous player, Laver included, as far as serving and volleying. This was an epic match. Serve and volleyers were more successful at that time and only a few baseliners really had much success in the wooden era. Everyone was rushing to the net - men and women. Evert and Borg were exceptions to the rule. With today's modern racquets and slower courts, baseliners rule.
The match was entertaining but a few days ago I watched a match between Vilas and Wilander playing in Roland Garros and it was awful. Looks like nobody wanted to win. Like watching a video at 0.5 speed.
These two were actually pretty good friends off court. McEnroe said that Borg's retirement really threw him mentally for quite a while afterwards. Suddenly, the person he'd been chasing to replace as number one was suddenly gone. He'd lost his target. Maybe it goes some way to explaining McEnroe's dip in form in 1982.
In the US in that era, we had Bud Collins. He could never shut up. One time they said that for fun, they’d change the audio over to the British commentary so we could see what it was like. Blissful silence! Bud didn’t get the message, sadly. I guess the network paid him by the word. 😜
Amazing how McEnroe usually very volatile is very calm and respectful ( despite all the noise (against him) from the crowd ) like he was trying to do just like Borg...
This was the very first tennis match I ever watched. I remember mum was entertaining friends and family downstairs at the time. Fell in love with tennis and have enjoyed it ever since. 42 yrs lol. Can scarcely believe how much time has passed.
I came to watch this right after seeing the Borg vs McEnroe film, which I'd previously ignored. It's a cracking film, great job. But with material like that match... wow.
I was 14 when i watched this..i have seen Game 7's, Superbowl's, World Series, Snake Stabler, Miracle on ice...that 22min in that tiebreaker was the most gut-wrenching, heartstopping, suspense filled period of my life!!!!
Start of 1st set: 00:00:20 Start of 2nd set: 00:28:44 Start of 3rd set: 01:17:23 Start of 4th set: 01:57:00 Start of 4th set tiebreak: 02:40:50 Start of 5th set: 03:04:53 Championship point no.8: 03:51:09 Incredible match! Missing the first game of the third set though. Is it lost?
Cheersi can barely see the ball in colour i actually saw this live( and the BALL) on a black and white tv when we supposed to be outside..but its was superhot so I watched this match and its the reason I love the game today. So scrappy is John from Queens and so calm and serene and tall amd beautiful is Bjorn! I was a true fan of both SCTV did a HILARIOUS spoof of McEnroe it became a part of his legend! Wish Borg had stayed around longer. Now guys like Novak do the metal thing like Borg. But they stay near net too like McEnroe.
it's almost a different game from the top play today , due to massive improvements in racquets and overall strength and conditioning but in many ways this is a more enjoyable style of play to watch.
Roscoe Tanner and Jimmy Connors were the big servers in this era. I think Tanner held the record for the fastest serve for years. The big serve game was just a few year away and I remember some complaining as far back as the early 90s that tennis players, especially men, were relying on the big first serve and the game becoming more about power than touch and finesse
There was a tiny little window during which professional tennis was just absolutely un-missable even to the lay-sports-fan. Borg, McEnroe, Connors, Everett, Navratilova. I hung on every shot at Wimbledon, every summer during that period. Then one year the men's final was ... could it have been Lendl against Anders Jared? And I thought, "What the hell am I watching?" and I've never been back. And yes, I know I missed a lot of great tennis, but still -- nothing like those halcyon days in the late 70s and early 80s.
I remember watching Borg's match on cassette tapes in my elementary school classmate's place. I am in my 50s now. What hasn't changed is I still watch tennis!
Absolutely. I started playing in the graphite era but remember trying a wooden racket and it was almost impossible. So small, heavy, and the sweet spot was as big as the ball itself.
I remember having seen this in 2008 on TV. My father, who is a big tennis fan, explained to me the whole back story and the way the players played and how legendary this match. A short while after this I saw Federer vs Nadal at Wimbledon 2008 where Nadal won for the first time. So I never got see Borg vs McEnroe but I did get to see Roger vs Rafa. Both my father and I have awesome memories belonging to our respective generations
I saw both Nadal-Federer 2007 and this Borg-MacEnroe... It is very hard to decide, but the Borg-McEnroe has something for it that the Nadal-Federer has not : the birth... of tennis. Borg-MacEnroe 1980 is the real birth of tennis.... and we can not be born twice. Before Wimbledon 1980, tennis was in the belly of its mother.
Borg was the coolest...I wish he hadn’t retired so young. He’s the Barry Sanders of tennis. I never got the chance to watch him play, I was too young. My favorite player growing up was Boris Becker.
truly one of the greatest mens finals of all time i never saw it live back in the day .but i never ever tire of seeing it in replay avery emotional time. & then they met again one year later
@@warcraftlake7 No, Borg just got tired of the rigmarole of tennis and the traveling and not having a life of his own was the main factor and Mc was devastated when he retired young.
I don’t think this match has ever looked better! 50 fps really gives a nicely flowing feel to everything, and the previously rather dull colours have been enhanced well. The only thing that’s off is the sound, which appears to be out of phase. Still a joy to watch now!
With the tactic from 1980 (service volley even on the 2nd serve) they would get murdered with todays quality on tour. Crazy to see how much the game has changed.
They wouldn’t get murdered if they both played with wooden rackets. It was impossible to hit the ball as hard as they do today with rackets that were a third smaller (therefore a much smaller sweet spot) and made of wood. It was racket technology that changed the game and spelt the end of serve and volley
The 1980 Borg/MacEnroe Wimbledon men's final was my first introduction into tennis. It's when I first started to play and I want to play tennis like them.
This was agonisingly tense, watching on TV as a boy in 1980. Willing Borg to win but McEnroe refusing to be beaten. Not sure I’m up to the full 4 hours again! One of the most intense finals ever.
Avevo 10 anni. Ricordo di aver visto questa trepidante partita nel salotto di casa. Era un sabato pomeriggio estivo. Tifavo per Borg. Quante emozioni e quanti ricordi ritrovare queste immagini. La vita vola.
These blokes were playing with tiny wooden Dunlops. Before the days of big headed graphite rackets. The skill.must have been amazing. Ex county tennis player here, nothing flash bit that must have been so hard. Love these Borg/Mc duals. Remember watching them as a kid. Half the Brits loved Bjorg, the other Mc.
Tennis 🎾 has improved dramatically… despite this showcasing the best of the best in the 1980s , today’s Alcaraz and Sinner would literally crush them. I have been watching and playing tennis for nearly 42 years and am grateful for this wonderful video . Thanks 🙏 SF.
11 Grand Slam titles by the age of 25 and Borg only played Australia once!! If he'd played there all those years and extended his career a bit longer, I've no doubt he'd have more GS titles than Federer today. Unfair to use majors as a measure of greatness when Australia wasn't even considered one back then.
This is interesting, because if we talk about great players who failed to win one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, they keep saying Borg only missed to win the US Open and McEnroe only did not win the French Open. But both of them also never won the Australian Open...
@@MultiStar83 That's because the AO wasn't considered a Slam back then and no one went. Borg, Connors, Vilas, Nastase, Ashe, Smith, Kodes, Tanner, and Gerulaitis only showed up once or twice and McEnroe had to be paid to go.
Great match, great coverage. No replays after every point. No analysis of every shot. Just let the match speak for itself. The fact that they had the players supporters/family in the same box is quite strange, don't recall seeing that before. Maybe it was normal back then. This took place a couple years before I watched tennis (born in '71) I remember watching Wimbledon first on HBO a couple years after this. It is awesome to be able to watch this now.
That speaks volumes…the tension and energy is with the players’ reactions and composure after each point, the modern replay robs the audience of that space.
Damn, I've actually never seen these two play in their youth, I've just seen them in their 60s. Incredible!! The fashion, the hair! Bjorn was quite the looker too
This game is a historical representation of how the game of tennis has changed over the years: racket technology, ball type, court surfaces slowed, which led to players getting into longer rallies from the baseline, thus fewer serve and volleys at the net.
Such beautiful tennis played in that era, mostly brought about by a huge contrast in styles. Each style, Borg and McEnroe, perfectly thwarted the other. It's no wonder that their all time record against each other was 11-11. I'm so glad that I grew up in that era of the best tennis ever played.
Une finale inoubliable. J'avais 15 ans, et ces 2 gars nous ont vraiment fait rêver. On s'est tous achetés leurs polos, leur basket, et j'ai eu la Donnay Borg, injouable d'ailleurs à part pour lui...des genies !!!!!!
People have probably forgotten this BUT this is when Wimbledon still had the "Standing Room Only" section and the General Public waited in LONG lines to get into the Finals. It made Centre Court louder for sure. Imagine standing for a 4-5 hour match (and not leaving the entire time...for fear of losing your spot).
I watched this match last night and once it finished, i realised how late it was, 1:09 in the morning! which means that i started watching it at 10:00. Who knew?! Great match as well!!! :)
@PatrickKelly...Bjorn was the 1st "Rock Star" of tennis 🙂 before he came along everyone was a bit staid & gentlemanly...then he came along with his long flowing Blond Hair & headband..it was like wow who's this! I was suddenly interested in tennis 🙂
I woke up to "Breakfast At Wimbledon," the broadcast that proved 24-hour sports were viable. Such an amazing match. I was thirteen and glad to see someone finally challenge "The Borg."
Yes. Athletes at this level must be able to do such things. Connors was also able to do this, though to a lesser degree, after being completely humiliated at Wimbledon in 1984 against McEnroe.
lol the ‘rawness’ of the 1970/80s is showing at the beginning of the video. so weird hearing the umpire speak pretty informally as opposed to now, where they are trained to say a particular thing to shut the crowd up
I'm a fan of these two world's greatest player Borg-McEnroe. I miss watching how they play in tennis court. I wonder how I could be as good as them oneday.
I started becoming a tennis fan just about at this time, in my teens, so I am no stranger to this type of tennis. Yet I must strongly disagree with all the commenters who call this the greatest match ever. I don't think it comes even close to the great men's singles matches of this era, simply because the level of play is way higher today. Men's tennis of 1980 required no amazing ability to return 135 mph serves into the outside corner of the court on a frequent basis. Players covered about half the ground that superstars must cover today. They did not require the amazing accuracy to be able to win 38- shot rallies by hitting 15 straight shots into the court while covering a ton of ground. And they did not have to cover half of the array of plays. Nearly every McEnroe service point is a serve and volley that only occasionally goes an extra 2 shots. All the top guys today must be able to win points with great serves, impossible defense, drop shots, overheads, lobs, slices, sideline-to-sideline shots just across the net, inside-out crosscourt forehands, long rallies, and the ability to survive 5-hr slugfests. All sports have experienced increases in athleticism over time, but the MLB, NFL and NBA stars of yesteryear were not from a different planet, as the tennis stars were. Thus, the matches of today are far more varied, interesting and athletically amazing than those of 1980.
Elegant and graceful times. This was at the turning point for tennis. Roscoe Tanner and Jimmy Connors were the big servers of the day. The power game was just a few years away, and I remember some commentating by the end of the 80s that tennis was becoming more about the big serve. South African Kevin Curren had a match at Wimbledon where he served 33 aces against Connors in 1983 I think and then boom boom Becker arrived
True. He said it compared to Borg it would magnify his behavior so much even HE wouldn't be able to handle it. Plus Borg supported John early on when others, well...
These were the days.. best days of my life...
krsnaj - Me three!😊😉🤨😍
I was too young for them to be the best days of my life -- but they kinda were anyway.
Me too Amen the 80's will be REVERED as time goes on
I was 14 , the summer's were special especially when Wimbledon was on..All a bit crap now
@@gumusluk05 I feel the same way Dave.
I remember watching this final and desperately wanting McEnroe to win. Hard to believe it was over 40 years ago now and Borg, McEnroe and me are all now in our sixties. Time flies so quickly.
Don't remind me that, my friend...
U have the same hair style like them too?
@@ba177ba18 Lol. Mine was more like Borg's but not quite as long. I also wore a headband when I was playing football for my town football club at the time to keep it out of my eyes. What we have in common now is that our hair is grey and we have less of it.
these DEFINITELY were the good OLD days....wooden rackets....long hair.....and head bands!
Yup, I watched this one too. Still remember Bud Collins classic quote: Thou shalt not second serve Borg. I wanted Borg to win and was glad he did, but John got him the next year. One has to wonder just how many Borg would have won had he not retired at 26. Remember, this guy only lost twice at the French open and to the same person: Panetta.
One of the greatest matches ever. I'll date myself - but I remember dragging myself out of bed at 7am on a Sunday morning to watch it live in 1980. Can't believe it's been 40 years...
The seventh game of set 3!!!!! Just Amazing !!!!!
It was Saturday. The final was on Saturday, July 5, 1980.
@@yayarod01 Really? Why is that? I thought the men's singles final at Wimbledon was always played on the second Sunday.
@@MultiStar83 Borg v McEnroe in 1981 was the last men's final played on a Saturday; they have all been Sunday since then. Smith v Nastase (1972) was played on Sunday because it rained all day the day before.
@@martydav9475 i think it was complaints from players that caused the final to be moved to Sunday.they wanted an extra day of rest.
Long hair and short shorts! Borg is the coolest guy and McEnroe shows a lot of heart!
Borgs shows a lot of heart to, they both kind of unsure of who their opponent is, and what the game gonna be like. They read eachother! They exchange good things meanwhile to.. inspiration from both sides, it doesn't take long time before they are not unsure no more it's interesting analyzing and enjoy watching the Tennis Game!
Yeah I can’t believe that in the Borg vs McEnroe film how did they manage to get an exact lookalike of Borg.
@@shaneetsaha1176 its Sverrir Gudnason, look him up, he’s pretty good and well known actor here in Scandinavia ;)
@@shummish Yeah. He’s a great actor
I watched this on TV too, but it looks, sound and feels like another era. I guess it was. I met my wife the day of this match. Still married.
The secret to a good marriage … a guy who remembers the day he met his wife. Congratulations sir!
Good husband and good wife
I was born in July 80. Fahrer always said me about Bork.
Slower tennis, wooden rackets
@@ZAOUWV I think the new rackets started to be used in about 1982.
Well, it seems Wimbledon has ceased posting these classic matches. At least they posted this one, which was the best of the best. I’ll just keep watching it over & over.
Yeah got to be thankful but still greedy for more!
patrick kelly right? Seriously trying not to be greedy 🎾
This was an epic match but I would like to call attention to the superb resolution detail of this video transfer. Outstanding.
Great that McEnroe got the applause he deserved but Borg was true class that year to come back. And a true gent in his reaction when he won.
Polite applause. They were still glad to see her leave.
@MUFC *Football
czcams.com/video/-xepgILYcKE/video.html
Everyone forgets how PERFECT the Fifth set was!!!!! Ubtil young Nac got tired.....
Borg was and always will be my fav. Best ever and with class
Yes he retired aged 25 I think, so he would have won so much more!
For those who were not around and who thought the game was slow, remember that these two were the best players of their time who lugged around heavy wooden racquets. Borg was probably the greatest baseliner of the wooden era and McEnroe was more gifted than any previous player, Laver included, as far as serving and volleying. This was an epic match. Serve and volleyers were more successful at that time and only a few baseliners really had much success in the wooden era. Everyone was rushing to the net - men and women. Evert and Borg were exceptions to the rule. With today's modern racquets and slower courts, baseliners rule.
The match was entertaining but a few days ago I watched a match between Vilas and Wilander playing in Roland Garros and it was awful. Looks like nobody wanted to win. Like watching a video at 0.5 speed.
@@rubbanaya300 That was Vilas worst defeat of his entire carreer. Never seen him lay that bad ever before or after. His mind was elsewhere.
wrong, r e t a r d. tennis was last played in 2001, the year they made the ball bigger
One of the three greatest matches of all time!
connors vs borg, and connors vs mcenroe , some of the best ..
The greatest tennis match of all time.
Nadal - Federer 2008 is quite good enough, no ???
I'd say this & the 2008 Men's Wimbledon Final, Fed & Nadal, either one could be considered the best match of all time
@@hanklee8953 I also like the 2007 final between Fed and Nadal
@@thierrygarnier5060 yes, but borg macenroe 1980 is the birth of tennis.
Fed and nadal of 1980s
These two were actually pretty good friends off court. McEnroe said that Borg's retirement really threw him mentally for quite a while afterwards. Suddenly, the person he'd been chasing to replace as number one was suddenly gone. He'd lost his target. Maybe it goes some way to explaining McEnroe's dip in form in 1982.
what glorious days!! when commentators knew that the secret to a good commentary is to say virtually nothing. Hats off to them
Andrew Castle never shuts up, he's awful!
@@neilcorbett5353 a
I agree with that
In the US in that era, we had Bud Collins. He could never shut up. One time they said that for fun, they’d change the audio over to the British commentary so we could see what it was like. Blissful silence! Bud didn’t get the message, sadly. I guess the network paid him by the word. 😜
Amazing how McEnroe usually very volatile is very calm and respectful ( despite all the noise (against him) from the crowd )
like he was trying to do just like Borg...
McEnroe said that whever he played Borg, that he would try to be on his best behavior, because respected him as a player and a person.
This was the very first tennis match I ever watched. I remember mum was entertaining friends and family downstairs at the time. Fell in love with tennis and have enjoyed it ever since. 42 yrs lol. Can scarcely believe how much time has passed.
I came to watch this right after seeing the Borg vs McEnroe film, which I'd previously ignored. It's a cracking film, great job. But with material like that match... wow.
Borg is still the coolest guy to have played pro tennis . He just has this incredible aura ( as well as the most stylish clothing of course)
ehh idk, i’d put federer up there
@MUFC *Football
@@TUZOIVAN16 😁😁😁
Yes agreed. Even fed doesnt stay that calm and collected! 1st time ive watched this match the whole way through. Staggering composure.
@MUFC e9e9
Oh and I can watch Johnny Mac play tennis all day long. What a player.
This was when I used to watch Tennis.
Ahh... when tennis was still watchable. No fist pump.
In the days of yore when humans had not yet been reduced to exist in the digital plane, there lived giants and titans of great lore and legend
Well put
Björn Borg quit tennis at a relatively young age. Definitely in the top 3 ever for me. A great player, cool guy, pure icon.
Borg is my favorite.
@J G who cares?
@J G Football will never have the class and sportsmanship of tennis, and Im a football fan as well.
@J G Not even a big tennis fan but football is the most overrated sport in the world
@J G Football*
Bjorn Borg, coolest tennis player ever.
Federer
@louisemartin4981 not the same generation
The greatest wimbleton match of all time Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe.
Boy this brings back memories
I was 14 when i watched this..i have seen Game 7's, Superbowl's, World Series, Snake Stabler, Miracle on ice...that 22min in that tiebreaker was the most gut-wrenching, heartstopping, suspense filled period of my life!!!!
Start of 1st set: 00:00:20
Start of 2nd set: 00:28:44
Start of 3rd set: 01:17:23
Start of 4th set: 01:57:00
Start of 4th set tiebreak: 02:40:50
Start of 5th set: 03:04:53
Championship point no.8: 03:51:09
Incredible match! Missing the first game of the third set though. Is it lost?
Thanks
I am 7 years older than Björn and saw most on the matches that was on TV at the time as most sweds did. It was a pure pleasure to see this one again!
@J G ok
Cheersi can barely see the ball in colour i actually saw this live( and the BALL) on a black and white tv when we supposed to be outside..but its was superhot so I watched this match and its the reason I love the game today. So scrappy is John from Queens and so calm and serene and tall amd beautiful is Bjorn! I was a true fan of both SCTV did a HILARIOUS spoof of McEnroe it became a part of his legend! Wish Borg had stayed around longer. Now guys like Novak do the metal thing like Borg. But they stay near net too like McEnroe.
@J G Imagine being so delusional
This match is tennis, it's the history of tennis.
it's almost a different game from the top play today , due to massive improvements in racquets and overall strength and conditioning but in many ways this is a more enjoyable style of play to watch.
Roscoe Tanner and Jimmy Connors were the big servers in this era. I think Tanner held the record for the fastest serve for years. The big serve game was just a few year away and I remember some complaining as far back as the early 90s that tennis players, especially men, were relying on the big first serve and the game becoming more about power than touch and finesse
Borg was probably the coolest tennis player ever - in every respect!
Definitely.
They didn't call him Ice Borg for nothing 🙂
I remember watching this match live on TV. Wow, long time ago
There was a tiny little window during which professional tennis was just absolutely un-missable even to the lay-sports-fan. Borg, McEnroe, Connors, Everett, Navratilova. I hung on every shot at Wimbledon, every summer during that period. Then one year the men's final was ... could it have been Lendl against Anders Jared? And I thought, "What the hell am I watching?" and I've never been back. And yes, I know I missed a lot of great tennis, but still -- nothing like those halcyon days in the late 70s and early 80s.
Grandpa
Me too--After 41 years, and unlike many people among these crowds, we are still here.
@@CinemaDemocratica Kenny Everett played tennis?!
@@jimnewcombe7584 I still remember Blondie singing Heart of Glass on The Kenny Everett Television Show in 1980. All done in the best possible taste!
All the greatest tennis matches are below than this match. This one is the best of all time!
I remember watching Borg's match on cassette tapes in my elementary school classmate's place. I am in my 50s now. What hasn't changed is I still watch tennis!
Just saw Borg vs McEnroe. Great movie, probably one of the best sports movies ever!
InfernalSataniacOkkulto - please tell/show me how to see the movie. Thanks
One thing is for sure Borg has the best look ever !
Borg was incredible tennis player borg once said he never got tired on the court.
How quick he serves...compare to Nadal....
Yeah because pf his routine to run in the mountain forest in uneven track
My favorite tennis match ever!!!.... Bjorn Borg..What a great champion Heart of a Lion 👏👏👏
Much better commentary than that of commentary I listened to over 40 years ago. Knowledgeable commentary, very sparse as it should be.
This rackets are much harder to play with than today's rackets.
Absolutely. I started playing in the graphite era but remember trying a wooden racket and it was almost impossible. So small, heavy, and the sweet spot was as big as the ball itself.
What a match and what a champions!!
Bjorn won but understood that John would soon become his heir and that this would be his last Wimbledon title.
I remember having seen this in 2008 on TV. My father, who is a big tennis fan, explained to me the whole back story and the way the players played and how legendary this match. A short while after this I saw Federer vs Nadal at Wimbledon 2008 where Nadal won for the first time.
So I never got see Borg vs McEnroe but I did get to see Roger vs Rafa. Both my father and I have awesome memories belonging to our respective generations
Borg, Mc Enroe, Vilas, Connors, what a glorious time by God!
I saw both Nadal-Federer 2007 and this Borg-MacEnroe... It is very hard to decide, but the Borg-McEnroe has something for it that the Nadal-Federer has not : the birth... of tennis. Borg-MacEnroe 1980 is the real birth of tennis.... and we can not be born twice. Before Wimbledon 1980, tennis was in the belly of its mother.
It was 2008 that was of note
Borg was the coolest...I wish he hadn’t retired so young. He’s the Barry Sanders of tennis. I never got the chance to watch him play, I was too young. My favorite player growing up was Boris Becker.
Borg burned out and after the 1981 US Open it was clear he couldn't handle McEnroe.
who is Barry Sanders ?
@@MrKoenPieter are u kidding? Who doesn’t know who Barry Sanders is?
Jim Brown was 29 when he retired at the pinnacle of his nfl career
The best final ever played.
Oh yeah. Awesome enough for a Hollywood movie.
Gracias, Wimbledon, por ofrecer íntegra esta increíble final. Tenía yo 18 años cuando la vi en televisión. Un match no apto para cardíacos.
Grande Borg
truly one of the greatest mens finals of all time i never saw it live back in the day .but i never ever tire of seeing it in replay avery emotional time. & then they met again one year later
Greatest match I've ever seen. Loved Borg. Tennis suffered when he retired way too early. Even Mac said he missed Borg
Mac said he missed Borg, and he even admitted that he had been motivated all these years by the challenge to beat Borg one day.
@@atheeoslsarkkos7739 he kind of beat borg in retirement though. Borg lost us open, then this in 1981 and thr us open in 1981 to McEnroe.
@@warcraftlake7 No, Borg just got tired of the rigmarole of tennis and the traveling and not having a life of his own was the main factor and Mc was devastated when he retired young.
This game is awful! There are no rallies and even the players cannot believe how bad they play themselves!
@@GMATTOEFLSATGRECOACH yes the level very poor and grass is the most boring surface, especially at this time, just serve and volley.
The memories of 1980s the best tenis ever. 🇵🇹👍🦁
This brings me so much joy : ) I grew up in the 80's and it's so cool to see these two young again... I mean Borg is hot as hell!
He is still hot
I don’t think this match has ever looked better! 50 fps really gives a nicely flowing feel to everything, and the previously rather dull colours have been enhanced well. The only thing that’s off is the sound, which appears to be out of phase. Still a joy to watch now!
With the tactic from 1980 (service volley even on the 2nd serve) they would get murdered with todays quality on tour. Crazy to see how much the game has changed.
They wouldn’t get murdered if they both played with wooden rackets. It was impossible to hit the ball as hard as they do today with rackets that were a third smaller (therefore a much smaller sweet spot) and made of wood. It was racket technology that changed the game and spelt the end of serve and volley
Bjorn and John both are awesome
McEnroe for all his temper tantrums managed to stop borg in the next year Wimbledon. Those were top class tennis matches played ever
Borg had already won five in a row. Age?
The 1980 Borg/MacEnroe Wimbledon men's final was my first introduction into tennis. It's when I first started to play and I want to play tennis like them.
Kind of unrelated but I hope the elusive Rod Laver vs. Bjorn Borg five-set full match in WCT Finals 1975 can be uploaded one day!
This match is what made me a tennis fan.
This was agonisingly tense, watching on TV as a boy in 1980. Willing Borg to win but McEnroe refusing to be beaten. Not sure I’m up to the full 4 hours again! One of the most intense finals ever.
Avevo 10 anni. Ricordo di aver visto questa trepidante partita nel salotto di casa. Era un sabato pomeriggio estivo.
Tifavo per Borg. Quante emozioni e quanti ricordi ritrovare queste immagini.
La vita vola.
what a wonderful game with 2 legends. Borg could serve and volley when he needed to!😉😊👏👏
Thanks for making this available to watch!
These blokes were playing with tiny wooden Dunlops. Before the days of big headed graphite rackets. The skill.must have been amazing. Ex county tennis player here, nothing flash bit that must have been so hard. Love these Borg/Mc duals. Remember watching them as a kid. Half the Brits loved Bjorg, the other Mc.
In 1980, Borg used a Donnay, and McEnroe used a Wilson Jack Kramer Pro Staff.
Tennis 🎾 has improved dramatically… despite this showcasing the best of the best in the 1980s , today’s Alcaraz and Sinner would literally crush them. I have been watching and playing tennis for nearly 42 years and am grateful for this wonderful video . Thanks 🙏 SF.
Let Alcaraz and Sinner use the same rackets and see who gets crushed!!!!
11 Grand Slam titles by the age of 25 and Borg only played Australia once!! If he'd played there all those years and extended his career a bit longer, I've no doubt he'd have more GS titles than Federer today. Unfair to use majors as a measure of greatness when Australia wasn't even considered one back then.
This is interesting, because if we talk about great players who failed to win one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, they keep saying Borg only missed to win the US Open and McEnroe only did not win the French Open. But both of them also never won the Australian Open...
@@MultiStar83 That's because the AO wasn't considered a Slam back then and no one went. Borg, Connors, Vilas, Nastase, Ashe, Smith, Kodes, Tanner, and Gerulaitis only showed up once or twice and McEnroe had to be paid to go.
Good picture quality. Probably better than when i watched it way back then. I’m 52 now WTF. 🙂✌️
Great match, great coverage. No replays after every point. No analysis of every shot. Just let the match speak for itself. The fact that they had the players supporters/family in the same box is quite strange, don't recall seeing that before. Maybe it was normal back then. This took place a couple years before I watched tennis (born in '71) I remember watching Wimbledon first on HBO a couple years after this. It is awesome to be able to watch this now.
That speaks volumes…the tension and energy is with the players’ reactions and composure after each point, the modern replay robs the audience of that space.
Funny how the courts are all worn out by the nets. Shows that the game is not being played properly these days. Only the baseline is worn out.
Yep. The rumble in the jungle was the best boxing match. And this will be the forever best tennis macht. Without any doubt.
Borg's serving is underrated. He had a good serve and won many free points from it
Damn, I've actually never seen these two play in their youth, I've just seen them in their 60s. Incredible!! The fashion, the hair! Bjorn was quite the looker too
This game is a historical representation of how the game of tennis has changed over the years: racket technology, ball type, court surfaces slowed, which led to players getting into longer rallies from the baseline, thus fewer serve and volleys at the net.
Such beautiful tennis played in that era, mostly brought about by a huge contrast in styles. Each style, Borg and McEnroe, perfectly thwarted the other. It's no wonder that their all time record against each other was 11-11. I'm so glad that I grew up in that era of the best tennis ever played.
Une finale inoubliable. J'avais 15 ans, et ces 2 gars nous ont vraiment fait rêver. On s'est tous achetés leurs polos, leur basket, et j'ai eu la Donnay Borg, injouable d'ailleurs à part pour lui...des genies !!!!!!
Moi j'avais 13ans...mon idole en 1980 était Roscoe Tanner qui avait été éliminé par Connors en quart de finale, en 5 sets....
Moi 13 ans,passionné de tennis également
J’avais 13 ans et j’ai eu le Wilson Jack Kramer Pro Staff (de McEnroe)!
People have probably forgotten this BUT this is when Wimbledon still had the "Standing Room Only" section and the General Public waited in LONG lines to get into the Finals. It made Centre Court louder for sure. Imagine standing for a 4-5 hour match (and not leaving the entire time...for fear of losing your spot).
McEnroe's serve is one of the best ever
I watched this match last night and once it finished, i realised how late it was, 1:09 in the morning!
which means that i started watching it at 10:00. Who knew?!
Great match as well!!! :)
This was the match of all matches.
@PatrickKelly...Bjorn was the 1st "Rock Star" of tennis 🙂 before he came along everyone was a bit staid & gentlemanly...then he came along with his long flowing Blond Hair & headband..it was like wow who's this! I was suddenly interested in tennis 🙂
Absolutely loved Johnny Mac's tennis genius!!!
I woke up to "Breakfast At Wimbledon," the broadcast that proved 24-hour sports were viable. Such an amazing match. I was thirteen and glad to see someone finally challenge "The Borg."
The way Borg bounces back mentally after losing the epic 4th set tiebreak is really impressive.
Yes. Athletes at this level must be able to do such things. Connors was also able to do this, though to a lesser degree, after being completely humiliated at Wimbledon in 1984 against McEnroe.
Borg was a Golden "God" of tennis. It was a privilege to have watched him growing up. Pure Class
Harder to be good with those old racquets. Way more skill and more strategic. Not this endless rallies.
Johnny looked hilarious in those days.
Even more-so in 1977, straight up copied Borg's attire at his first Wimbledon lol
He had a bratty resting face in those days. These days his resting face is quite genial!
The game should've never moved away from wooden racquets. Wooden racquets actually made it a more nuanced, more entertaining sport!
No
lol the ‘rawness’ of the 1970/80s is showing at the beginning of the video. so weird hearing the umpire speak pretty informally as opposed to now, where they are trained to say a particular thing to shut the crowd up
Borg played so fast - wow! One bounce, serve.
Borg is the Beatles of tennis
And McEnroe is Thin Lizzy: pure class.
One of my favorite tennis matches ever in Wimbledon.
I'm a fan of these two world's greatest player Borg-McEnroe. I miss watching how they play in tennis court. I wonder how I could be as good as them oneday.
Terrific video quality.
10k and 20k to the winner and finalist.. wow!!! greatest tennis match of all time.. 4 hours..
I started becoming a tennis fan just about at this time, in my teens, so I am no stranger to this type of tennis. Yet I must strongly disagree with all the commenters who call this the greatest match ever. I don't think it comes even close to the great men's singles matches of this era, simply because the level of play is way higher today. Men's tennis of 1980 required no amazing ability to return 135 mph serves into the outside corner of the court on a frequent basis. Players covered about half the ground that superstars must cover today. They did not require the amazing accuracy to be able to win 38- shot rallies by hitting 15 straight shots into the court while covering a ton of ground. And they did not have to cover half of the array of plays. Nearly every McEnroe service point is a serve and volley that only occasionally goes an extra 2 shots. All the top guys today must be able to win points with great serves, impossible defense, drop shots, overheads, lobs, slices, sideline-to-sideline shots just across the net, inside-out crosscourt forehands, long rallies, and the ability to survive 5-hr slugfests. All sports have experienced increases in athleticism over time, but the MLB, NFL and NBA stars of yesteryear were not from a different planet, as the tennis stars were. Thus, the matches of today are far more varied, interesting and athletically amazing than those of 1980.
Elegant and graceful times. This was at the turning point for tennis. Roscoe Tanner and Jimmy Connors were the big servers of the day. The power game was just a few years away, and I remember some commentating by the end of the 80s that tennis was becoming more about the big serve. South African Kevin Curren had a match at Wimbledon where he served 33 aces
against Connors in 1983 I think and then boom boom Becker arrived
This match was a thriller at its best
watching Borg volley is like watching a cow on a tightrope, which makes his 5 w’s all the more awesome. a true divinity.
McEnroe never lost his temper in a match vs Borg.
True. He said it compared to Borg it would magnify his behavior so much even HE wouldn't be able to handle it. Plus Borg supported John early on when others, well...
Whether it was atop clay, grass, or a hard-top court, that Bjorn Borg was an absolute dreamboat. Very easy on the eyes...
Superb commentary by Dan Maskell.