BORG Vs McEROE
ON JULY 5, 1980, reigning Wimbledon men’s champion and world number one Bjorn Borg faced hot-headed challenger and world number two John McEnroe on Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
The Swede was aiming to win a fifth consecutive title on grass in front of a partisan crowd while the American wanted to silence doubters after his ill-tempered semifinal win over Jimmy Connors.
The showdown – billed as Ice Man versus Super Brat – lasted almost four hours, including a titanic fourth-set tie break, and pushed both men to the limit of physical and mental endurance.
More than 35 years later, the 1980 final remains one of the greatest matches played on the hallowed turf of SW19.
Danish film-maker Janus Metz Pedersen immortalises this battle of fortitude and sweat-drenched resilience in Borg Vs McEnroe.
His assured dramatisation weights affection and sympathy heavily in favour of the champion. It’s no surprise that in Scandinavia, the film’s title is truncated to Borg.
Sverrir Gudnason and Shia LaBeouf serve and volley solid performances as the tennis greats.
Even if you don’t know the outcome, Pedersen’s picture makes abundantly clear who deserves to collapse in tears of joy after a hard-fought battle from the baseline.
Borg (Gudnason) arrives in London with his gruff coach