Air space above Louis Armstrong Stadium wasn't confined to passing planes—when McEnroe beat back Borg's comeback bid to successfully defend his U.S. Open title, a sky-high Mac was ready for lift-off.
"For that one moment in time when the match ends and you realize you've won the U.S. Open, the feeling is so incredible, you really do feel like you can fly," McEnroe told TENNIS.com. "It's an amazing moment."
Often overshadowed by their 1980 Wimbledon final classic, this rematch months later was another five-set thriller. McEnroe, who battled back from a set down to beat Ivan Lendl in a four-set quarterfinal, then fought past Jimmy Connors, 6-4, 5-7, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6, in a four hour, 17-minute street fight of a semifinal, dug in to beat back Borg's challenge and successfully defend his title.
It was not Mac at his brilliant best—his superlative 1984 performance in which he went 82-3 and won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open remains one of the peak seasons in Open Era history—but the New Yorker regards his 1980 triumph in his hometown as perhaps his proudest moment on the court.
"That was my best overall tournament because I had to play Lendl in the quarters on Thursday, I played doubles Friday, and I beat Connors, 7-6, in the fifth, on Saturday," McEnroe told TENNIS.com. "So the fact that after blowing a two-sets-to-love lead I was still able to win that title, that was one of my best accomplishments in terms of my conditioning and will power to go the distance. I'm not going to tell you the quality of it was as good as the next year, or '84 when I felt like I was playing my best tennis. But overall, in terms of the pride I take from it, I definitely think that [1980] was the best one."
Four-time U.S. Open finalist Borg never got across the finish line in New York, losing to McEnroe in the '81 final in what would be his Grand Slam farewell.
"People said I had trouble in New York, but I enjoyed playing there and made the finals," Borg said. "I feel I played some good tennis at the U.S. Open, but it [winning the title] never happened for me. But John was just the better player in those finals and deserved to win."
Losing the gut-wrenching Wimbledon final to Borg less than a month earlier fueled McEnroe's intensity and infused him with confidence that he possessed the pattern to beat Borg in New York. Realizing Borg's return positioning several feet behind the baseline created access to angles, McEnroe knew if he could slice his lefty serve out wide to drag Borg off the court, the speedy Swede could have been the world's fastest human and he still wouldn't be able to cover the court when Mac swooped in for a sharp-angled volley. Watch the video clip to see some of McEnroe's front-court acrobatics in action.
"Obviously, I just lost the Wimbledon final in five sets. I felt like hopefully I had learned from my mistakes going into the Open final," McEnroe told TENNIS.com. "It's nice when it happens. You feel like you won't panic and that you have enough left. Bjorn was one of the fittest players our sport has ever seen. I feel like I added that little one or two percent conditioning to allow me to get through and win it—instead of losing 8-6 in the fifth again."
Top 5 U.S. Open Finals
No. 5:Austin d. Navratilova (1981)
No. 4: Sampras d. Agassi (1985)
No. 3:Graf d. Seles (1995)
No. 2:Connors d. Borg (1976)
No. 1:McEnroe d. Borg (1980)
