Gods of Tennis

Come on!

[Cheering and applause] Maskell: A really marvelous recovery.

McEnroe fought Borg to six games-all and brought the match to a tiebreak.

Announcer: And what an exciting climax building up here.

Evans: The tiebreak was how you end a set if it reaches six games-all.

You play the first to 7 with a two-point margin.

In other words, you can't win it 7-6.

You have to win it 8-6.

Narrator: What happened next would go down in Wimbledon history.

"I should have won that match before the tiebreak."

That's what I was thinking.

"But here we are in the tiebreaker, so we have to deal with it."

Announcer: And the tension up there is almost too great to bear.

[Cheering and applause] Harvey: Love-1.

McEnroe, voice-over: The tiebreaker adds stress to both players, but it's more exciting.

Announcer: And it's all about nerves now.

[Cheering and applause] Announcer: Well played.

[Cheering and applause] Harvey: 3-all.

[Cheering and applause] It can go on and on forever, hypothetically.

[Cheering and applause] Harvey: 7-6.

Announcer: And there's the greatness of the man.

Narrator: Borg was the first to reach 7 points and just needed one more to take the title.

McEnroe, voice-over: So it adds to the anxiety, and it's sort of who's best able to sort of keep-- keep it together and play at that sort of high level when you really need it.

Announcer: Oh, I don't believe it.

Borg, voice-over: Tennis is such a mental sport.

I mean, sometimes you go crazy on the court, but mentally, you need your head to be straight and to be focused and concentrated.

Narrator: After nearly three hours of intense tennis, Borg was matching McEnroe point for point.

[Cheering and applause] Announcer: I think if this were a heavyweight boxing contest, they'd stop the fight.

Harvey: 8-all.

The tennis was amazing.

[Crowd ohs] Folley: The drama just went up another notch.

But Bjorn, he couldn't get there.

[Cheering and applause] McEnroe, voice-over: Every shot sort of is magnified, especially when I'm just trying to stay in the match.

You know, it's over if I lose it.

McEnroe, voice-over: You want to bring energy.

That's what it's all about.

You've got to kick it in another gear.

Narrator: At over 20 minutes, the tiebreak was breaking Wimbledon records.

But at 17-16, McEnroe had another chance to take the match to a fifth set.

[Fans speaking excitedly] Announcer: Yes, 2 sets-all.

[Cheering and applause] Narrator: Borg and McEnroe were now tied.

Whoever won the final fifth set would win Wimbledon.