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The mythical rivalries of sport (8/10): Bjorg vS McEnroe, “John camped in my room for 48 hours”


From 1978 to 1981, the tennis world lived for the duels between the Swede and the American.

The history of men’s tennis is marked, according to the generations, by great rivalries. The youngest will tell you about the intense battles between Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic who continue off the courts for the title of greatest player in history. The not so young will remember the games between Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg or André Agassi and Pete Sampras. And those, even a little more experienced who have seen the stars of the little yellow ball evolve with wooden rackets, will swear by the rivalry between Björn Borg and John McEnroe. A rivalry that will be short and intense with fourteen clashes on the ATP circuit between 1978 and 1981.

But the first meeting between the two tennis legends dates back to 1973 at the US Open where the three-year-old American, the youngest of the Swede, is a ball picker. “I was 14 and I watched Björn play. I understood that the tennis craze was about to explode because of him. It was like the Beatle mania and I wanted to be a part of it. “


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