In the summer of 1980, Britain was a country in transition. Margaret Thatcher was just beginning her second year as Prime Minister and new wave was easing punk aside as the musical genre of the day. Things were beginning to change and it was a punk of a very different kind who was about to shake up SW19.
Bjorn Borg, the unflappable Swede, had won Wimbledon in each of the four previous years and as the 1980 Championships began, he was the red hot favourite to make it five. But a perfect storm descended on south-west London and John McEnroe, a fiery 21-year-old from New York, arrived in the big time as he and Borg produced a final – and an epic fourth set tie-break – to live long in the memory.
Borg lost the 20-minute tie-break, peppered with set points and match points, 18-16 but won the match and the story of the final is one of five tales documented by Wimbledon in a series of podcasts called 'Join The Story'.
In the edition 'When cultures collide', Borg and McEnroe and many of those who witnessed it recall their memories of what happened that Saturday afternoon in July.
It was a meeting of opposites, the No.1 and No.2 seeds, the ice-cold Swede and the loud-mouthed, free-wheeling McEnroe, who seemed to revel in winding up the umpires, the line judges and the crowd. Polar opposites, with contrasting styles on and off the court.
The match captured the imagination of people all over the world. In his cell on Robben Island, Nelson Mandela followed the ups and downs; hundreds of people queued up overnight to get standing-only tickets and everyone who was there or who was watching on television or listening at home was captivated.
Borg was a huge favourite. “Let’s face it, Bjorn had won four consecutive titles and people were saying, who’s going to beat this guy, ever,” says Peter Fleming, the No.7 seed that year and McEnroe’s doubles partner. “McEnroe, this gifted grass court player, certainly looks like he could be the guy to take Borg out, he had the style that might work.”
Being an anti-hero was cool and John understood that and liked that role
McEnroe, who always behaved impeccably against Borg, took the first set easily and had an early break point in the second set, only for Borg to work his way into the match. “I started to get better and better and I think John saw that,” Borg says. When the match reached the fourth set tie-break, few would have expected it to scale such heights and when McEnroe won it, saving seven match points in the process, he thought he would go on to win.
“I thought there is no way I’m going to lose now,” he said. “I thought the guy’s got to let down, this is it now. I was amazed he stuck with it. I was hoping he was going to fold and I was sadly disappointed.”
Mary Carillo, a long-time friend of McEnroe, who grew up alongside him in New York and became a player in her own right, said McEnroe enjoyed being considered as the villain against Borg, who was already a superstar in his own right, with girls following him around the All England Club in scenes reminiscent of the Beatles.
“John was playing tennis at a time when being an anti-hero was pretty cool, especially in England,” Carillo said. “It was punk rock time, it was anti-establishment, railing against the umpires and the lines people and the media. Being an anti-hero was cool and John understood that and liked that role.”
Borg’s calmness was part of his aura but in the podcast the Swede reveals that he was not always so calm, recalling a match for his club when he was 11 or 12. “I was swearing, throwing rackets, cheating, in the end my parents could not come to the tournament with me because they were so embarrassed to see me behave on the court,” he says. “I was so bad, you cannot imagine. The people from the tennis club said, we have to suspend your son, I could not play tennis for six months and I was going nuts. From that moment on, I never opened my mouth again.”
I thought there is no way I’m going to lose now. I was amazed he stuck with it. I was hoping he was going to fold and I was sadly disappointed
Borg recovered to win the final set, a relief as much as a joy. He played just one more Wimbledon, losing to McEnroe in the final 12 months later, before officially retiring in 1983, at the grand old age of 26. McEnroe missed his old rival but once he had forgiven Borg for retiring, the two men became firm friends.
Almost four decades on, the match remains fresh in the memory for those who saw it, and the two men who played it. “It’s a rare case where there’s not really a loser,” McEnroe said. “I could look at my kids in the eye and say, that made me a better player, a better person and I was more respected as a tennis player because of that,” said the American.
“What me and John did for men’s tennis, we lifted it to a different level,” Borg says. “I’m very happy to have John as my friend. I think he is happy too.”
'Join The Story' is available wherever you get your podcasts