Borg wins his fifth Wimbledon title in all-time classic

Swedish great bettered first-time Wimbledon finalist John McEnroe in a match for the ages

- HT Correspondent

What ingredients could cook up a Grand Slam classic? A run-in of contrasting personalities, a clash of game styles, a riveting rivalry, the crowd picking one side, the odds stacking up against the other.

The table for the 1980 Wimbledon title match had it all. On July 5 on those pristine greens of the All England Club, the chefs, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, delivered a dish that would leave a lasting taste for years to come.

Borg, a four-time defending champion, eventually wrapped his hands around a fifth straight Wimbledon title, but not before first-time finalist McEnroe gave him a mighty run for the money in a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (16-18), 8-6 final. The battle went on for close to four hours, with the tug-of-war reaching a crescendo in the fourth set tiebreaker that whipped up 34 points — a record for a Wimbledon final.

The contest indeed had all the makings of an epic. Borg, the 24-year-old Swede, hadn't lost at Wimbledon since his 1975 quarterfinal exit. McEnroe, the 21-year-old American, was coming off the 1979 US Open triumph as a fast-rising one-handed backhand left-hander.