Few tennis matches have ever been so dramatic.
A total of eight match balls were required.
Then Björn Borg wrote tennis history.
Björn Borg had already won five straight Wimbledon by the year 1980. In total, there were 28 straight games without a loss, and many believe that he was never better during his career than that year.
Incredible drama
He had some problems, however, during that tournament in 1980. His game did not go smoothly, and it was not entirely without problems when he got past his six opponents until the final. And there was well-known opposition in the form of Björn Borg’s great rival – who also happened to be the exact opposite of the Swede, John McEnroe.
Borg was calm like a pile of files, while McEnroe was known for his hot temper. Everyone had expected a match out of the ordinary in advance. But no one had expected that drama. Borg lost the first set, was about to lose the second set, but turns. Borg also wins the third set, and McEnroe looked calculated.
Had eight match balls
The fourth set is remembered by all who still saw it. Borg had two match points – when McEnroe suddenly played like no one else had done before. The fourth set goes to tiebreak, and even today the expert believes that no better tennis has been played. Björn Borg does not manage to capitalize on the match balls he grabs. McEnroe wins the seat. 2-2 – and a decisive set. On Swedish television, Tommy Engstrand said that no one deserved to lose.
Björn Borg had a total of seven match balls, but each time McEnroe managed to play his best tennis so far. In the fifth set, Borg was immortal. On the eighth attempt, Borg finally managed to get a backhand that ran past McEnroe, and the winning photos are classic. Borg fell to his knees, with his hands clasped, and roared. No one else had won five straight Wimbledon, and only Roger Federer has done so since. A few years ago, Tommy Engstrand was clear about where he liked the achievement.
– I rank Björn’s victory as one of the biggest events I have experienced during my 50 years as a journalist. Comparable to Muhammad Ali’s victory in the African jungle in 1974 against George Foreman, Diego Armando Maradona’s solo goal against England in Argentina and Usain Bolt’s world record race in athletics, he told Expressen.
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