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Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe enter the Laver Cup for one last time as captains for Team Europe and Team World. The two have been involved in the tournament since its very first edition in 2017.
Borg led Team Europe to victory in the first four editions of the Laver Cup while McEnroe guided Team World to the title in 2022 and 2023.
Both players are among the best tennis has ever seen and have immensely successful careers. While Borg won 11 Grand Slam titles, McEnroe triumphed in seven singles Majors. The two forged a fierce rivalry during their playing days and locked horns on 14 occasions, with the head-to-head tied at 7-7.
Borg and McEnroe played out some of the greatest tennis matches of all time and mesmerized crowds. On that note, let us take a look at four interesting moments involving the two greats of the game.
#4. John McEnroe on Bjorn Borg's retirement
Bjorn Borg already had 11 Grand Slam singles titles by the time he was just 25 years old. However, the Swedish dropped a bombshell by announcing his retirement from tennis in 1982.
John McEnroe wrote about Borg, informing him and Vitas Gerulaitis about his intention to retire from tennis in his autobiography 'You Cannot be Serious'. The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion said that he and Gerulaitis initially laughed before the Swedish reiterated that he would not play tennis anymore.
"In the fall after the ’81 U.S. Open, several of us played a set of exhibitions in Australia. Vitas, Bjorn, and I were in a room, having a beer before a press conference, and Bjorn said to us, “I’m quitting tennis.” We barely even responded to it. In fact, Vitas and I laughed. 'Are you joking? I said. 'What the hell are you going to do? You’re twenty-five!' But Bjorn was dead serious. All he would say was, 'No, no, no, I’m not playing anymore."
Borg did revert his retirement and played sporadically in the 1990s, with his last tournament coming in Moscow in 1993, when he lost to Alexander Volkov in the first round.
#3. John McEnroe convincing Bjorn Borg to not sell his Wimbledon trophies
Bjorn Borg is one of the greatest competitors in Wimbledon history, winning five successive titles from 1976 to 1980. He told Swedish newspaper Expressen in 2006 that he intended to sell his Wimbledon trophies and rackets before McEnroe intervened.
"And then when John McEnroe called me several times and wondered what I was doing, I guess I woke up: 'Borg, what has gotten in to you? Have you gone completely nuts?" Borg said, as quoted by ESPN.
Borg said that while Andre Agassi also approached him against auctioning off his Wimbledon trophies, McEnroe was the one who convinced him not to do so.
"But clearly McEnroe convinced me," he said.
Borg's last appearance at Wimbledon came in 1981 when he was vying for a sixth successive title. He reached the final of the tournament following wins over Peter Rennert, Mel Purcell, Rolf Gehring, Vitas Gerulaitis, Peter McNamara and Jimmy Connors. Here, he lost 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(4), 6-4 to John McEnroe.
#2. Bjorn Borg accepting John McEnroe
A documentary titled McEnroe/Borg: Fire and Ice was released in 2011, when the two tennis greats talked about a variety of incidents during their rivalry. The Swedish spoke about their third encounter, which came at the New Orleans Grand Prix.
Borg said that McEnroe was "completely berserk", which propelled him to ask the latter to come to the net. He told the American 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.
John McEnroe said that his takeaway from the incident was that Bjorn Borg "accepted him".
"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," McEnroe said.
#1. 1980 Wimbledon final
John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg played out some incredible matches during their playing days. One match that is still talked about is the 1980 Wimbledon final, which the American started brilliantly by taking the first set 6-1.
However, Borg took the next two sets 7-5, 6-3 before McEnroe won the fourth set 7-6(16) to force the match into a decider. The Swedish edged out his rival 8-6 in the final set to win his fourth successive title at Wimbledon.
Borg spoke to former tennis player Pat Cash in 2016 about that match, claiming that people appreciated it, while also stating that McEnroe received a lot of respect from the world for the way he played and behaved during the match.
"I think a lot of people appreciate that final. They say they knew exactly where they were sitting watching the final. But even when I speak to John too, sometimes we get together, the thing is that we both remember everything in point. I think that's how it meant a lot to both us. He got a lot of respect from the world, from the people, from the spectators, from media, from everyone for how he behaved and how he played that particular match," Borg said.
The two locked horns six times after the 1980 Wimbledon final, with McEnroe coming out on top four times. The American won each of the last three encounters between the two. Their final meeting came in the 1981 US Open final, which McEnroe won 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.
