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Thursday, 7 December, 2000, 12:41 GMT
Who is the greatest?
Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe lifted men's tennis to new ground and provided some of the best on-court entertainment the sport has ever seen.
Their antics on Centre Court at Wimbledon will live with tennis fans forever. But the enduring question remains: Who was, and still is, the better player?
Borg and McEnroe played each other 14 times between 1987-91 and ended their tour careers tied at seven games apiece. Borg has won 62 singles titles including Wimbledon five times consecutively and the French Open six times. McEnroe clocked up 83 singles titles including seven grand slams. He played with a vigour and desire that sometimes boiled over. And who can forget the 1980 Wimbledon final where Borg beat McEnroe in a thrilling match, clinching his fifth Wimbledon title in a row? They recently relived the glory days in a valiant showdown at London's Royal Albert Hall. McEnroe beat Borg in what could be their last British encounter. Who is the greatest? McEnroe or Borg? Tell us what you think?
Borg may have bored his way to 5 Wimbledons, but there can be no doubt that the greatest natural talent to grace the lawns of SW19 is John McEnroe. Even Sampras will acknowledge that there has never been a better player. Even now thousands flock to the Seniors Tournaments primarily to get a glimpse of the old genius at work and of course the colourful antics are still there for all to see. Long may he continue to grace our courts and screens.
McEnroe was certainly more talented than Borg, but Borg was more focused and therefore won more titles. Due to his volatile temperment McEnroe did not win as much as he could have done.
Tennis in the late 70s and early 80s was fantastic and Borg, McEnroe, Connors, Goolagong/Cawley, Evert-Lloyd and Navratilova were the major reasons why. Who cares who was best? They were all really great and more importantly entertaining. Sadly I rarely bother to watch Wimbledon now, simply because I find it dull. Twenty years ago it was blisteringly exciting and I still watch the repeats with awe. It truely was a golden era and one day I hope tennis will be as exciting again.
Borg was/is probably the greatest athlete ever in tennis, and McEnroe is undoubtedly the most talented player ever. They shaped modern tennis, in the sense that McEnroe introduced an aggressive edge into the game that was copied later, for instance by Becker, and is now dominant. Borg raised the level of physical requirements for a top tennis player. Without these two players, tennis would look different now.
The discussion Borg-McEnroe somewhat resembles the Sampras-Agassi discussion, in that it focusses on raw talent versus consistency.
I think they both were equal.
Bjorn Borg is the greater of the two players. His 11 grand slams confirm this. McEnroe might be the greater artist but Borg is the greater athlete - his 6 French titles are proof of this. Indeed, they are tied at 7-7 but they never played once on clay - and there is no question that Borg would have humiliated McEnroe on this surface. There's also the question of consistency - McEnroe's Grand Slam winning years are far less than Borg's. And really McEnroe lost out to Ivan Lendl badly during the 1980s - have you all forgotten the drubbings served out to McEnroe at the US Open and many other events? Think again Mac-fans a loud mouth and a lot of hype can't beat the hard statistics of the game. Borg rules and don't you forget it.
Youssef Hammami, UK
Borg was more successful, and therefore the 'better' player. However, McEnroe's audacious talent was 'better' for the game of tennis. He was inspirational in the development of the modern game and popularised the game as a spectator sport. This was only really evident towards the end of his time as Centre court king.
Stanley Milchard, Canada
I got interested in tennis in the 60s and enjoyed Laver, Roche and Newcombe - all great talents and great sportsmen. Borg and McEnroe came later with Connors. The most talented was Laver, a small guy with a big serve and a huge heart. Never say never, but nobody will match his grand slam record and nobody has even come close. The others are all great players but all pretenders to the throne. The rocket rules.
It goes without saying that Borg was greater. He introduced this whole new kind of dynamic play and when the world scene was dominated by Australians he put Europe on the map. A
Jimmy Connors was better than either of them as 107 ATP singles titles testifies. He was good enough to get to the US Open semis in 1991 when he was 39 years old. What a performance and what a player!
McEnroe was the greatest artist the game has ever seen. Only the sad, conformist adherents of industry over flair could possibly place Borg above the maverick genius of McEnroe.
John McEnroe was the better all-rounder, playing men's and mixed doubles. Although he did not win five consecutive victories at Wimbledon, he played in an era that was becoming more athletic and competitive. This is not to diminish the genius of Borg, I just think McEnroe had the edge.
In terms of natural talent, McEnroe was the more gifted of the two. He did, and still does things on court that take one's breath away. But if you measure greatness in terms of potential realised, I think Borg shades it. Perhaps he made better use of the talents bestowed on him. I would, however, prefer to watch Mc over Borg every day of the week.
McEnroe is the greatest player of all time. For me his tennis is quintessential. He is an exquisite genius on the grass court!
Both McEnroe and Borg were simply incomparable. Both of them have the same grace, class and versatility.They were just great rivals.
Six Wimbledon titles in a row, you have to say Borg, although McEnroe was definitely the greatest personality in tennis
I think Borg and McEnore were both great players but I think Borg was slightly better. I also think these two players gave so much to tennis and this is highlighted by the lack of characters today.
Borg was more successful, and therefore the "better" player. However McEnroe's audacious talent was "better" for the game of tennis. He was inspirational in the development of the modern game and popularised the game as a spectator sport. This was only really evident towards the end of his time as king of centre court.
I wonder how Pistol Pete will be remembered..
No contest, McEnroe made the game exciting and has made me a life-long tennis fan.
I watched McEnroe play Bjorn Borg recently in Hong Kong in a 35 & over singles final match won by McEnroe. I must say McEnroe played tennis with great touch and pace that no-one can imitate. He was simply a class above the rest. Sampras would not have any chance against him.
That only leaves Ron Laver as worthy of comparision. I have watched all four mentioned play in their prime. But I cannot cast my vote on whether I would go for McEnroe or Laver. They were simply way above all the rest.
To be a sporting great, you must not only be great technically, but you must also be sporting. McEnroe was not sporting, Borg wins this competition hands down.
Borg is the reason that I love Wimbledon and those great matches in 1980 and 1981 were the pinnacle of tennis in my view. While I think you could say that McEnroe was the most naturally gifted player, I feel Borg was a greater player because he was able to sustain his form for so long and on all surfaces. Sampras and the rest are a pale imitation of these great players.
Personally I believe that Borg was the best player out of the two but there is nothing really to compare the two players. They are a credit to the game and will be remembered for a long time.
I hated his on-court antics and loved it when Borg beat him but Mac was the better player.
One thing worth a mention is that most of the time that he challenged a call I thought he was correct even as I hated him...
The greatest is Rod Laver. Call me a biased Aussie if you like, but he is the only man in history to have won the Grand Slam twice. Only four male players have ever won the grand slam (2 from the US and 2 from Australia), the names of Borg and McEnroe are not on that list.
I would choose Borg, but it's very close and McEnroe's doubles skills certainly add to his reputation. The greatest tennis players are those who can win on all surfaces. Pete Sampras is peerless on fast courts, but on clay? Give him a wooden racket from the 70s and both Borg and McEnroe would defeat him.
The best player ever - Rod Laver, dominant in his era on all surfaces.
I think McEnroe is the greatest of all time. I like his agressiveness and determination. I started enjoing tennis after McEnroe. He is a role model for young tennis players worldwide.
I don't think there's any question that if one had existed without the other, he would have totally dominated the game and arguably made that time in tennis far less interesting.
Only because those two were great at the same time are we still discussing it now. Who was the winner? Without wanting to sound too corny, I would have to say that the game of tennis was the ultimate victor.
Borg without doubt. Not only was he a great tennis player but a true gentleman aswell.
Looking purely at statistics and consistency, Borg undoubtedly comes out on top. However, having had the privilege to witness McEnroe's total destruction of Connors in the 1984 Wimbledon final, I can safely say that when on song, big Mc could beat any player from any era. I would also say the same of Henri Leconte who was blessed with the same incredible natural talent.
Borg is by far the greatest.
Borg was a wonderful player but McEnroe was the most natural tennis player to ever walk this planet. Borg may have won six French Open titles but he would never have beaten McEnroe in the US Open which is why he retired at the age of 26.
I will vote for Borg for he was the consistent king and an ice-cool character who answered only by his wooden rackets, no tantrums and no shows. I will put only Sampras with him.
McEnroe - because he played all configurations of the game; doubles, mixed and of course
singles.
They were both good, but none can or could have dominated the new age of tennis with the likes of Agassi and Sampras. To me, McEnroe was the more exciting of the two. Want my candid opinion? None of them can compare to Sampras. He is the greatest ever.
You would think that this one would be tough to call, but it is very easy. You have to remember that Borg just lost one match in the last six appearences in Wimbledon and in the French Open, he won every time he played from 1974 (six-titles). That means that he was superior on both gras and clay, something that's never been achieved before. McEnroe on the other hand was a pure attack player that never won the French, because it was to slow. Nothing was too slow or too fast for Borg. Only a handful of players have won both Wimbledon and the French Open. And remember, Borg was only 26 when he quit, but achieved much more than McEnroe did even though he played long into his thirties.
The fact that they are both still amazingly popular is the ultimate testament to their place in the game and in our hearts. Who was better doesn't come into the equation although McEnroe's double expertise would make him slight favourite. The important thing is that we have all been blessed to witness their incredible skills!
Borg undoubtedly lit the tennis world on fire when he whipped Nastase in the 1976 Wimbledon finals and then went onto to hold court for another five times. Simultaneously, he took six French titles; two in a row, then a gap and then four in a row. This feat of winning so consistently on two very different surfaces, in my humble opinion, puts him in another league to McEnroe. Additionally, let's not forget that although he never won the US Open, he got to the finals every time apart. The only exception was when he went out to Roscoe Tanner in 1979 - the same man he beat at the Wimbledon finals a couple of months beforehand. McEnroe"s doubles titles ofcourse should not go unmentioned, but I think we"re talking about singles events here.
They were both the best tennis players of their time. I wish they were still playing now because none of today's players are even good enough to be ball boys or girls at one of their matches!
McEnroe is undoubtedly the better all-round player. Borg was all calculation and mechanistic responses. Big J was all impulse and joyous stroke play. No comparison in my book.
A hard question this one! In terms of Grand Slams Borg is the better, but separating the two is (for me) almost impossible. As a Swede I would absolutely like to say that Borg was the better one but I think that is to oversimplify the matter. Borg and McEnroe played each other in different stages of their careers I think. What kept us in front of the TV ,I guess, was the fact that these guys had personality to go along with their game on the court. In short: tennis stirred emotions in those days, bad guy vs good guy and so on. OK, even as a Swede I call it too close to call.
I think that Rod Laver in his heyday would have cleaned both their clocks.
There is no doubt that McEnroe was a fantastic player, but Borg was the greatest without question. Compared to McEnroe's 4 US Opens and 3 Wimbledon titles, Borg had 6 French Open and 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles. Borg's all-court prowess and dominance put him in an entirely different league.
I think you have to assess this when both players were in their prime. This never happened when they played each other but as good as Borg was, you have to say McEnroe had the game to beat anyone including Sampras.
I think it is very hard to split the two as Borg dominated the game in the wooden racket era and McEnroe the same in the early days of the more powerful modern racket. If I had to choose, it would have to be Borg as he raised the level of the game single handily, whereas McEnroe only continued in his footsteps when Borg retired. I think both players will always be remembered as the kingpins of the golden age of tennis before its slide into the less entertaining game of today.
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