Tennis World english 38 Tennis World English 38 | Page 28

was
given
against
him.

Now
it
was
6-3
in
McEnroe’s
favor.
Borg
slowly
walked
backed
to
the
baseline
and
bounced
the
ball.
He
missed
the
first
serve,
and
his
second
started
a
prolonged
rally,
which
ended
in
an
error
from
Borg.
McEnroe
won
the
second
set.
I
thought
the
drama
was
over,
but
it
was
just
beginning.

The
third
set
started
with
Borg
serving,
and
on
the
second
point
the
situation
again
became
tense.
The
Swede
served
an
ace,
and
McEnroe
started
walking
to
the
other
side
of
the
court.
However,
Lugg
suddenly
overruled
the
call.

Borg
started
to
argue
again,
but
realized
that
the
umpire
would
not
listen
to
him.
He
returned
to
the
baseline
for
his
second
serve,
which
McEnroe
launched
into
the
stands
on
purpose,
in
defiance
of
the
umpire’s
overrule.
The
crowd
gave
the
American
a
standing
ovation.
Suffice
to
say,
that
this
was
really
an
incredible
dream.

McEnroe
still
pushed
Borg
in
that
game,
getting
to
30-30
and
then
40-40,
but
Borg
eventually
held.

The
match
was
played
on
carpet,
but
the
dynamics
were
similar
to
those
of
Wimbledon.
Rallies
were
incredible
­
seeing
these
two
was
always
a
treat.

At
the
start
of
the
fifth
game,
at
2-2,
McEnroe
produced
a
surgical
lob,
and
on
the
next
point
Borg
repaid
the
favor
with
an
incredible
forehand
pass
on
the
run.
Between
the
two
men,
there
were
never
any
trivial
points.
Behind
every
exchange
there
was
a
plan,
a
philosophy.

Things
calmed
down
for
a
while
until,
at
4-4
and
deuce,
the
Swede
hit
a
deep
backhand
near
the
baseline,
which
forced
McEnroe
to
hit
a
short
shot
in
reply.
Borg
pounced,
hitting
an
easy
winner
into
the
open
court.
Lugg
remained
silent
for
a
moment,
and
then
announced
that
the
point
needed
to
be
replayed
because
the
ball
had
been
out
earlier.

Again,
Borg
headed
for
the
chair
and
argued
his
case.
But
his
attitude
was
different
this
time,
more
relaxed.
He
seemed
almost
resigned
to
his
fate.
Lugg
explained
his
decision,
but
Borg
was
unconvinced
yet
again.
It
seemed
like
there
was
some
conspiracy
against
him.
The
man
in
the
blue
jacket
returned,
and
a
few
words
convinced
Borg
to
return
to
play.

The
score
was
40-40,
but
in
less
than
a
minute
it
became
5-4
in
favor
of
Borg.
The
next
few
games
were,
remarkably,
uneventful,
with
both
men
holding
serving
relatively
easily.
But
then,
another
tie-break!
It
seemed
as
if
they
could
not
do
anything
else.
I
thought
that
they
should
start
each
set
with
a
tie-break,
since
they
always
seemed
to
play
them
in
the
end!
On
the
third
point,
McEnroe
tried
to
hit
a
drop
volley,
but
Borg
anticipated
his
actions
and
quickly
jumped
on
it.
2-1
for
the
Swede.
McEnroe
drew
Borg
into
attacking
the
net
on
the
following
points.
Borg
won
the
first
one,
but
on
the
second
the
American
hit
a
blinding
pass
to
take
back
the
mini
break.
The
crowd
went
wild,
as
it
seemed
they
might
be
in
for
another
thrilling
tie-break.

Borg
had
other
ideas,
however,
and
was
seemingly
not
interested
in
repeatin
the
theatrics
of
the
Wimbledon
final.
The
next
point
was
a
tough
rally,
which
ended
with
Supermac
at
the
net.
But
Borg
hit
a
spectacular
cross-court
backhand
which
put
McEnroe
on
his
knees
­
literally.
McEnroe
then
got
dragged
into
a
baseline
exchange,
but
one
of
his
balls
clipped
the
net,
costing
him
momentum
in
the
rally
and,
ultimately,
the
point.

With
luck
now
clearly
on
Borg’s
side,
McEnroe’s
next
two
backands
cannot
find
the
court,
and
Borg
took
the
tie-break
and
the
match.

I
closed
my
eyes,
and
when
I
opened
them
the
dream
had
changed.
There
was
a
young
lady
dressed
in
white.