These were the days.. best days of my life...

I remember watching this final and desperately wanting McEnroe to win. Hard to believe it was over 40 years ago now and Borg, McEnroe and me are all now in our sixties. Time flies so quickly.

One of the greatest matches ever. I'll date myself - but I remember dragging myself out of bed at 7am on a Sunday morning to watch it live in 1980. Can't believe it's been 40 years...

Long hair and short shorts! Borg is the coolest guy and McEnroe shows a lot of heart!

I watched this on TV too, but it looks, sound and feels like another era. I guess it was. I met my wife the day of this match. Still married.

Well, it seems Wimbledon has ceased posting these classic matches. At least they posted this one, which was the best of the best. I’ll just keep watching it over & over.

This was an epic match but I would like to call attention to the superb resolution detail of this video transfer. Outstanding.

Great that McEnroe got the applause he deserved but Borg was true class that year to come back. And a true gent in his reaction when he won.

Borg was and always will be my fav. Best ever and with class

For those who were not around and who thought the game was slow, remember that these two were the best players of their time who lugged around heavy wooden racquets. Borg was probably the greatest baseliner of the wooden era and McEnroe was more gifted than any previous player, Laver included, as far as serving and volleying. This was an epic match. Serve and volleyers were more successful at that time and only a few baseliners really had much success in the wooden era. Everyone was rushing to the net - men and women. Evert and Borg were exceptions to the rule. With today's modern racquets and slower courts, baseliners rule.

One of the three greatest matches of all time!

The greatest tennis match of all time.

These two were actually pretty good friends off court. McEnroe said that Borg's retirement really threw him mentally for quite a while afterwards. Suddenly, the person he'd been chasing to replace as number one was suddenly gone. He'd lost his target. Maybe it goes some way to explaining McEnroe's dip in form in 1982.

what glorious days!! when commentators knew that the secret to a good commentary is to say virtually nothing. Hats off to them

Amazing how McEnroe usually very volatile is very calm and respectful ( despite all the noise (against him) from the crowd ) like he was trying to do just like Borg...

This was the very first tennis match I ever watched. I remember mum was entertaining friends and family downstairs at the time. Fell in love with tennis and have enjoyed it ever since. 42 yrs lol. Can scarcely believe how much time has passed.

I came to watch this right after seeing the Borg vs McEnroe film, which I'd previously ignored. It's a cracking film, great job. But with material like that match... wow.

Borg is still the coolest guy to have played pro tennis . He just has this incredible aura ( as well as the most stylish clothing of course)

Oh and I can watch Johnny Mac play tennis all day long. What a player.

This was when I used to watch Tennis.

Ahh... when tennis was still watchable. No fist pump.

In the days of yore when humans had not yet been reduced to exist in the digital plane, there lived giants and titans of great lore and legend

Björn Borg quit tennis at a relatively young age. Definitely in the top 3 ever for me. A great player, cool guy, pure icon.

Bjorn Borg, coolest tennis player ever.

The greatest wimbleton match of all time Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe.

Boy this brings back memories

I was 14 when i watched this..i have seen Game 7's, Superbowl's, World Series, Snake Stabler, Miracle on ice...that 22min in that tiebreaker was the most gut-wrenching, heartstopping, suspense filled period of my life!!!!

Start of 1st set: <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="0">00:00</a>:20 Start of 2nd set: <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="28">00:28</a>:44 Start of 3rd set: <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="77">01:17</a>:23 Start of 4th set: <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="117">01:57</a>:00 Start of 4th set tiebreak: <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="160">02:40</a>:50 Start of 5th set: <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="184">03:04</a>:53 Championship point no.8: <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="231">03:51</a>:09 Incredible match! Missing the first game of the third set though. Is it lost?

This match is tennis, it's the history of tennis.

it's almost a different game from the top play today , due to massive improvements in racquets and overall strength and conditioning but in many ways this is a more enjoyable style of play to watch.

Borg was probably the coolest tennis player ever - in every respect!

I remember watching this match live on TV. Wow, long time ago

All the greatest tennis matches are below than this match. This one is the best of all time!

I remember watching Borg's match on cassette tapes in my elementary school classmate's place. I am in my 50s now. What hasn't changed is I still watch tennis!

Just saw Borg vs McEnroe. Great movie, probably one of the best sports movies ever!

One thing is for sure Borg has the best look ever !

Borg was incredible tennis player borg once said he never got tired on the court.

My favorite tennis match ever!!!.... Bjorn Borg..What a great champion Heart of a Lion 👏👏👏

Much better commentary than that of commentary I listened to over 40 years ago. Knowledgeable commentary, very sparse as it should be.

This rackets are much harder to play with than today's rackets.

What a match and what a champions!! Bjorn won but understood that John would soon become his heir and that this would be his last Wimbledon title.

I remember having seen this in 2008 on TV. My father, who is a big tennis fan, explained to me the whole back story and the way the players played and how legendary this match. A short while after this I saw Federer vs Nadal at Wimbledon 2008 where Nadal won for the first time. So I never got see Borg vs McEnroe but I did get to see Roger vs Rafa. Both my father and I have awesome memories belonging to our respective generations

Borg, Mc Enroe, Vilas, Connors, what a glorious time by God!

I saw both Nadal-Federer 2007 and this Borg-MacEnroe... It is very hard to decide, but the Borg-McEnroe has something for it that the Nadal-Federer has not : the birth... of tennis. Borg-MacEnroe 1980 is the real birth of tennis.... and we can not be born twice. Before Wimbledon 1980, tennis was in the belly of its mother.

Borg was the coolest...I wish he hadn’t retired so young. He’s the Barry Sanders of tennis. I never got the chance to watch him play, I was too young. My favorite player growing up was Boris Becker.

The best final ever played.

Gracias, Wimbledon, por ofrecer íntegra esta increíble final. Tenía yo 18 años cuando la vi en televisión. Un match no apto para cardíacos.

truly one of the greatest mens finals of all time i never saw it live back in the day .but i never ever tire of seeing it in replay avery emotional time. & then they met again one year later

Greatest match I've ever seen. Loved Borg. Tennis suffered when he retired way too early. Even Mac said he missed Borg

The memories of 1980s the best tenis ever. 🇵🇹👍🦁

This brings me so much joy : ) I grew up in the 80's and it's so cool to see these two young again... I mean Borg is hot as hell!

I don’t think this match has ever looked better! 50 fps really gives a nicely flowing feel to everything, and the previously rather dull colours have been enhanced well. The only thing that’s off is the sound, which appears to be out of phase. Still a joy to watch now!

With the tactic from 1980 (service volley even on the 2nd serve) they would get murdered with todays quality on tour. Crazy to see how much the game has changed.

Bjorn and John both are awesome

McEnroe for all his temper tantrums managed to stop borg in the next year Wimbledon. Those were top class tennis matches played ever

The 1980 Borg/MacEnroe Wimbledon men's final was my first introduction into tennis. It's when I first started to play and I want to play tennis like them.

Kind of unrelated but I hope the elusive Rod Laver vs. Bjorn Borg five-set full match in WCT Finals 1975 can be uploaded one day!

This match is what made me a tennis fan.

This was agonisingly tense, watching on TV as a boy in 1980. Willing Borg to win but McEnroe refusing to be beaten. Not sure I’m up to the full 4 hours again! One of the most intense finals ever.

Avevo 10 anni. Ricordo di aver visto questa trepidante partita nel salotto di casa. Era un sabato pomeriggio estivo. Tifavo per Borg. Quante emozioni e quanti ricordi ritrovare queste immagini. La vita vola.

what a wonderful game with 2 legends. Borg could serve and volley when he needed to!😉😊👏👏

Thanks for making this available to watch!

These blokes were playing with tiny wooden Dunlops. Before the days of big headed graphite rackets. The skill.must have been amazing. Ex county tennis player here, nothing flash bit that must have been so hard. Love these Borg/Mc duals. Remember watching them as a kid. Half the Brits loved Bjorg, the other Mc.

Tennis 🎾 has improved dramatically… despite this showcasing the best of the best in the 1980s , today’s Alcaraz and Sinner would literally crush them. I have been watching and playing tennis for nearly 42 years and am grateful for this wonderful video . Thanks 🙏 SF.

11 Grand Slam titles by the age of 25 and Borg only played Australia once!! If he'd played there all those years and extended his career a bit longer, I've no doubt he'd have more GS titles than Federer today. Unfair to use majors as a measure of greatness when Australia wasn't even considered one back then.

Good picture quality. Probably better than when i watched it way back then. I’m 52 now WTF. 🙂✌️

Great match, great coverage. No replays after every point. No analysis of every shot. Just let the match speak for itself. The fact that they had the players supporters/family in the same box is quite strange, don't recall seeing that before. Maybe it was normal back then. This took place a couple years before I watched tennis (born in '71) I remember watching Wimbledon first on HBO a couple years after this. It is awesome to be able to watch this now.

Funny how the courts are all worn out by the nets. Shows that the game is not being played properly these days. Only the baseline is worn out.

Yep. The rumble in the jungle was the best boxing match. And this will be the forever best tennis macht. Without any doubt.

Borg's serving is underrated. He had a good serve and won many free points from it

Damn, I've actually never seen these two play in their youth, I've just seen them in their 60s. Incredible!! The fashion, the hair! Bjorn was quite the looker too

This game is a historical representation of how the game of tennis has changed over the years: racket technology, ball type, court surfaces slowed, which led to players getting into longer rallies from the baseline, thus fewer serve and volleys at the net.

Such beautiful tennis played in that era, mostly brought about by a huge contrast in styles. Each style, Borg and McEnroe, perfectly thwarted the other. It's no wonder that their all time record against each other was 11-11. I'm so glad that I grew up in that era of the best tennis ever played.

Une finale inoubliable. J'avais 15 ans, et ces 2 gars nous ont vraiment fait rêver. On s'est tous achetés leurs polos, leur basket, et j'ai eu la Donnay Borg, injouable d'ailleurs à part pour lui...des genies !!!!!!

People have probably forgotten this BUT this is when Wimbledon still had the "Standing Room Only" section and the General Public waited in LONG lines to get into the Finals. It made Centre Court louder for sure. Imagine standing for a 4-5 hour match (and not leaving the entire time...for fear of losing your spot).

McEnroe's serve is one of the best ever

I watched this match last night and once it finished, i realised how late it was, <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="69">1:09</a> in the morning! which means that i started watching it at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="600">10:00</a>. Who knew?! Great match as well!!! :)

This was the match of all matches.

@PatrickKelly...Bjorn was the 1st "Rock Star" of tennis 🙂 before he came along everyone was a bit staid & gentlemanly...then he came along with his long flowing Blond Hair & headband..it was like wow who's this! I was suddenly interested in tennis 🙂

Absolutely loved Johnny Mac's tennis genius!!!

I woke up to "Breakfast At Wimbledon," the broadcast that proved 24-hour sports were viable. Such an amazing match. I was thirteen and glad to see someone finally challenge "The Borg."

The way Borg bounces back mentally after losing the epic 4th set tiebreak is really impressive.

Borg was a Golden "God" of tennis. It was a privilege to have watched him growing up. Pure Class

Harder to be good with those old racquets. Way more skill and more strategic. Not this endless rallies.

Johnny looked hilarious in those days.

The game should've never moved away from wooden racquets. Wooden racquets actually made it a more nuanced, more entertaining sport!

lol the ‘rawness’ of the 1970/80s is showing at the beginning of the video. so weird hearing the umpire speak pretty informally as opposed to now, where they are trained to say a particular thing to shut the crowd up

Borg played so fast - wow! One bounce, serve.

Borg is the Beatles of tennis

One of my favorite tennis matches ever in Wimbledon.

I'm a fan of these two world's greatest player Borg-McEnroe. I miss watching how they play in tennis court. I wonder how I could be as good as them oneday.

Terrific video quality.

10k and 20k to the winner and finalist.. wow!!! greatest tennis match of all time.. 4 hours..

I started becoming a tennis fan just about at this time, in my teens, so I am no stranger to this type of tennis. Yet I must strongly disagree with all the commenters who call this the greatest match ever. I don't think it comes even close to the great men's singles matches of this era, simply because the level of play is way higher today. Men's tennis of 1980 required no amazing ability to return 135 mph serves into the outside corner of the court on a frequent basis. Players covered about half the ground that superstars must cover today. They did not require the amazing accuracy to be able to win 38- shot rallies by hitting 15 straight shots into the court while covering a ton of ground. And they did not have to cover half of the array of plays. Nearly every McEnroe service point is a serve and volley that only occasionally goes an extra 2 shots. All the top guys today must be able to win points with great serves, impossible defense, drop shots, overheads, lobs, slices, sideline-to-sideline shots just across the net, inside-out crosscourt forehands, long rallies, and the ability to survive 5-hr slugfests. All sports have experienced increases in athleticism over time, but the MLB, NFL and NBA stars of yesteryear were not from a different planet, as the tennis stars were. Thus, the matches of today are far more varied, interesting and athletically amazing than those of 1980.

Elegant and graceful times. This was at the turning point for tennis. Roscoe Tanner and Jimmy Connors were the big servers of the day. The power game was just a few years away, and I remember some commentating by the end of the 80s that tennis was becoming more about the big serve. South African Kevin Curren had a match at Wimbledon where he served 33 aces against Connors in 1983 I think and then boom boom Becker arrived

This match was a thriller at its best

watching Borg volley is like watching a cow on a tightrope, which makes his 5 w’s all the more awesome. a true divinity.

McEnroe never lost his temper in a match vs Borg.

Whether it was atop clay, grass, or a hard-top court, that Bjorn Borg was an absolute dreamboat. Very easy on the eyes...

Superb commentary by Dan Maskell.