John McEnroe: Bjorn Borg made me better 

McEnroe said he couldn't afford to get mad, to lose his concentration when he got mad would have killed him against Borg

Borg had the PERFECT temperament

Just like McEnroe! :P

borg also claimed he never got tired, ever, during any tennis match due to his streuous training...mcenroe said "im the best player for 2, maybe 2and a half hours...after that...my odds go down" thats what made Borg like a robot

I think Borg started out the very opposite but then forced himself not to show any emotions any more.

Agreed.

My all time favorite tennis player....and I agree with you.

So true!

So true Jon...hated him back in the day but now I respect. him so much.

Some of the best tennis ever considering the technology.

Your comment represents the finest of what social media has to offer.

Are you a writer? Perfect analysis and well said.

Well said.

Past girlfriend of mine's (Swedish) parents owned a restaurant in Stockholm in which Borg would frequent. On a visit, her mom had arranged for me to have drink/lunch with him. The man is incredible and very humble (almost shy). Besides the obvious 'hero comment', we never spoke about tennis, which I think made him talk even more. One of the best moments of my life.

My all time favorite as well.

@@sknkwrksowner Very interesting, thanks for sharing!

AND knows when to shut up and appreciate he's not the star of the interview

He’s awkward and eager.. meh...

I love your profile pic.

Yeah, but he's asking Mac the same old questions. The sort of questions Mac has been asked a hundred times before.

his antics made it hard to root for an asshole, loved Borg, just played without all the antics.

McEnroe was a brilliant player but he was not all time # 1 -- Borg was 1, Conners 2--McEnroe was 3. but he was No. 1 when it came to being a class A asshole punk.

@ Chief Ryback. I have always felt (and continue to feel) that McEnroe is the greatest male tennis player of the graphite era because at his absolute peak in 1984, he played a level of tennis not only never seen before, but also above the level of Sampras or Federer at their best. It is impossible to compare the all-time great players of the wood/metal rackets era with the best players of the graphite era. Laver, Budge and Tilden in no particular order, were the three greatest players of the wood era. But I have always stated and firmly believe that if McEnroe had won that 1984 French Open final against Lendl and not screwed it up as he did, and if he had gone down to Australia in December of that year and completed the Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open, then he would be regarded by most tennis experts, knowledgeable tennis fans and historians as the greatest player of all-time because he would have won the Grand Slam on 3 different surfaces (grass, clay and hard courts) whereas Laver and Budge won it on only 2 different surfaces (grass and clay).

@ Bob Blount. You can't consider Borg as the greatest make tennis player of all-time when clearly, Laver, Budge , Tilden, McEnroe and Sampras were better! Realistically (and I am a huge Borg fan) Borg is about the 9th or 10th greatest male player in tennis history. Because the dimensions of the tennis court favor net play over baseline play, the greatest serve-and-volley players of all-time were better than Borg including Laver, McEnroe, Kramer, Sampras, Becker and Edberg, even though Kramer, Becker , McEnroe and Edberg did not win as many major singles titles as Borg. Third, you can't put Connors as either the #2 greatest player of all-time or ahead of McEnroe on the all-time greats list. Connors lost two huge U.S. Open semifinals to McEnroe and got creamed by McEnroe in the 1984 Wimbledon final. Granted that in 1984 McEnroe was at his absolute peak and Connors was significantly past his prime. Yes Connors defeated McEnroe in the 1982 Wimbledon final, but McEnroe's serve-and-volley was clearly better than Connors' baseline play most of the time. Connors is probably about the 11th greatest male tennis player of all-time.

@ Bob Blount. I misspelled the word "male" as "make" at the beginning of my above posted response comment about Borg, Connors and McEnroe.

Top 2, maybe even #1

Borg very rarely complained and when he did it, it was silent complaint, he would stare you down and never say a word, McEnroe was USA and Borg was not but I always pulled for the guy class against bratty little Punk.

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Absolutely. I actually enjoy rewatching those old classics more than I do following today's tournaments. Back in the day McEnroe wasn't very very well liked, but today people fondly look back on his time. He was one of a kind, and there hasn't been another one like him. On top of that, he was the obvious inspiration for some of the biggest talents this sport has seen (Leconte, Mecir, Edberg).

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@@GrahamBensinger you handle difficult topics and potentially volatile people with grace. You want genuine information and not to put the person down or shame them

Hey! I was there too!!!

today it's so boring. and it's about guys who are middle-aged. I am watching it and it think: what the hell do I care? I wasn t like that then. I was like all Borg.

It was a great age for Tennis with greats like McEnroe,Borg,Connors and Lendel.Now it seems like so many good players come and go so quick,but the old crew still keep going,but there will be the top players and the rest.Medvedev is a future star after The Joker,Nadal,Federer. The great game go's on, but things don't change.

Very different style of game.

@@normadesmond6017 not anymore

@@caprise-music6722 o yes. That's why Nadal keeps on winning the French. That's why Federer has won so many Grand Slams. Because there in nobody else to steop into their footsteps. And there were then.

The good guy vs the bad boy of tennis of the late 70’s/ early 80’s

Excellent analysis nice point

I don't think he respected John Scanlon or Brad Gilbert somehow.

You are an absolute idiot if you think Mac was worse than Connors

@@lyndonchastain3181 Don’t shoot the devil in the back. What if you miss?

Federer almost always never won the French. Soderling handed him that win on a silver plate. I bet Fed never even thanked him for that.

Totally feel the same

Yes i remember that match like it was yesterday! I was 14 living with my grandparents. Hated McEnroe. My granddad loved him. Watch the first two sets, then had to go to church. Granddad did the silent "i told you so" routine with me; he was loving it; i was so pissed; Mac was dominating. Came home, saw the highlights..... i was so happy that i literally ran around the house screaming like a little girl. I don't think Granddad ever talked with me about tennis again. He was sincerely upset. Not just about the match, but about the fact that i was pulling for the what he called the "Ruskie" : )

did you just say borg did not have the all court game lendl did i gues six french opens on clay and 5 wimbltons on grass is not an all court game how many of those did lendl win lendl was my second favorote player but come on could not hold a candle to bjorn if you no anything about tennis

Borg was the most dominant player of his generation, period. That said, he did not learn to dominate hard court tennis. I'm not saying he couldnt have done so had he played longer... but he didn't. But he ruled England and France for half a decade! No one has ever done that. Nadal is the only other person who's even won the RG-Wimby double since Borg. Borg was every bit as all-court as Lendl. Borg couldn't master asphalt. Lendl couldnt master grass.

Lol

Nyers

There is a movie about that final match though.

Yeah they could've paused and edited that

OK so I wasn't seeing things. Mac kept wiping his nose but the thing didn't budge. But it was a great interview.

I did notice that funnily enough - was somehow conscious of it - but the message is awesome. John was true champ.

Joseph Nicholson tell me more

You need to learn some tennis, idiot

@@JulioLeonFandinho I agree!

Agree

You don't know anything about tennis, or what was going on at that time. First, Borg beat Mcenroe in their last meeting, in 1983, before Borg was officially done. Borg was getting death threats at tournaments, and he was kind of the first "rock star" of tennis, hounded relentlessly. He was worn out by it.. He continually worked on his game, even when winning, Wimbledons, working on his serve, slice, volley, etc. He got worn out by the whole thing

Hey John, to win at the French Open you need to play from the back of the Court, grind out a victory no?

You sound shallow in your opinion