Bjorn Borg says there is one particular match after which he and John McEnroe started having much bigger respect for each other, and that came after one of his acts toward the American.
The late 1970s and early 1980s were marked by the Borg and McEnroe rivalry. During that period, they clashed 14 times on the main level, and split wins. Of those 14 meetings, only five in a non-final stage. At the Grand Slam level, they met four times - and just as in their overall head-to-head - they split wins.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Borg recalled his 1979 New Orleans clash against McEnroe. After easily winning the second set to force a decider, the American found himself trailing 1-4 in the third set. And unsurprisingly, he started losing it out there. That's when the Swede pulled off a move that stunned everyone, but helped his rival.
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Borg: McEnroe thought I was crazy, but what I told him at the net helped him
"We had a rally or something, and it was 4-1 and 15-0 or something. And I looked at John and said maybe you should come to the net. I did like this with the finger, come, John. And John looked at me like, are you crazy? Why should I go up and talk to you? No, come. And he walked slowly up to me, and he said, what do you want? And I told John; this is only a game," Borg told Sky Sports.
"Just take it easy. And John looked at me like, are you crazy or something? I had match point. He ended up winning the match. But after that particular match, we got such a respect from each other, not only the tennis court, but even outside the tennis court. Good friends."
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McEnroe won the match in question 5-7 6-1 7-5.
In 1981, Borg and McEnroe met three times, with the American claiming wins in their Milan, Wimbledon and US Open final matches. The Swede shockingly retired after the 1981 US Open and they never played again.
