To me Borg remains the most charismatic player I have seen. He was a revelation. The boy with the gold hair shining as he battled under the sun at Wimbledon. His top spin was exceptional. He was fast but never struggled to get to the ball. He was very timid and would not argue points. I used to take two weeks leave from work at Wimbledon time just to watch tennis for the whole 5 yrs of his reign as champion. On the day of this match I could not be home and I listened to the the whole game on Radio as I drove to Dover and back. He is Mr Wimbledon.

@steffanhoffmann8937

Жыл бұрын

Whilst your comments are agreeable. I would argue that he did have a terrible temper. Especially before he started winning things. It was similar to McEnroe. I watched a documentary about it many years ago. His coaching team calmed him down; and he used to spend lots of time alone meditating. During the final years of his short career; it came to the surface. He'd obviously shut it inside for years.

@ratuamartyanne8875

Жыл бұрын

Man was a god

I spent a day with both of them during an exhibition match in Columbus in 1992, I believe? They were both very gracious and easy to be around, and Bjorn to this day is still one of the nicest humans I have ever met. RIP Vitas.

The amount of pace and top spin Borg is producing in this match from a small wooden racket mind bending. The talent is off the charts.

I can’t get over the video quality. Really excellent footage, looks like it happened recently.

I was the tall ballboy, walking across at the end. Bjorn gave me his sweat band - still have it!

@visibilitypointcorp

4 жыл бұрын

Wow! Great memory, Tony.

@martydav9475

4 жыл бұрын

That's great to hear.I saw this match.Great memories.

@Bignewshound60

4 жыл бұрын

That's a wonderful story. My daughter was head ball girl for this year's championships - but of course it was not to be.

@smellymelly5246

4 жыл бұрын

Liar . That's me .

@igalflint

4 жыл бұрын

How peculiar!

So many young people think the big three invented tennis. The depth of talent in the 70s and 80s was off the charts. These guys would compete nowadays with modern equipment very strongly.. so many great players from that era.

@rishbahpandey8697

3 жыл бұрын

Not big 3 only Federer is famous and maybe nadal(not sure) , Djokovic is not famous at all

@livingtribunal4110

2 жыл бұрын

@@rishbahpandey8697 Idiot. They have 61 Majors between them.

@steffanhoffmann8937

Жыл бұрын

@@rishbahpandey8697 He's just reached the Wimbledon mens final. Today 8th July 2022. If he wins he's one behind Nadal in slams. Care to comment?

@steffanhoffmann8937

Жыл бұрын

Agreed but Gerulaitis here would be blown away by modern players. Borg would probably adapt. He was a supreme athlete.

Anyone else finding it incredible that Gerulaitis was serving (and playing) with a ball in his hands (instead of in his pocket) ?

@clint1285

3 жыл бұрын

This guy in my tennis league does this. So I started doing it. Saves a few seconds

@dansmith9724

3 жыл бұрын

I remember my tennis coach use to hold 5 balls in is hand at once. I thought that was pretty cool.

@ratuamartyanne8875

Жыл бұрын

Wow just noticed

@sascha151

Жыл бұрын

No hand towel after each point....boring breaks...filled with an endless replays....golden age of tennis

@minboogie

Жыл бұрын

@kirkleach this is my tennis goal now. I'ma backhand everything 😆

For sure it was one of the all time most fantastic matches ever seen at Wimbledon- a timeless classic!!

Terrific tennis to watch , no whining or complaining about line calls, no grunting , and best of all, the commentators weren’t constantly jabbering about the obvious , as they do now !

@bigpardner

2 жыл бұрын

I wonder who was the first player to grunt or yell? Too bad they didn't nip it in the bud, as Barney Fife would say, and stop it. Too late now I guess,

@lucianoraffaelli6560

Жыл бұрын

@@bigpardner Connors maybe?

Vitas is holding his second ball in his toss hand as he tosses, and he's playing the point with the second ball still in his hand. Unheard of today.

@dthorne4602

Жыл бұрын

One handed backhand. I still do it, myself.

@HomeAtLast501

Жыл бұрын

@@dthorne4602 Me too.

I was there. Fantastic memory!

@cormorant_on_arock7934

5 жыл бұрын

whoa that's awesome.

@Kjuken69

4 жыл бұрын

Let it be a good memory, but against the tennis today it looks retharted and clumsy!🤣 The tennis today has been so much more physical and Stronger, their equipment don't help of course!

I was very fortunate to see this match , three rows up from the umpires chair. My only visit to Wimbledon and I saw Conners v McEnroe in the first semi final and then this!

Vitas was such a talented player, I caught the end of this match on TV at the time, glad someone uploaded it so I can see more all these years later!!!

@MelodyMaker

4 жыл бұрын

He really executed on volley fundamentals. Great touch with that smaller headed wooden racquet.

That first point --- the angle and elegance of that half-volley. Beautiful.

Gerulaitis had the best tennis moves possible, he seemed like a lecture about doing it properly. Without a doubt he was a great champion.

I had forgotten how good a volleyer Vitas was. Those dipping topspin shots of Bjorn's are hard to volley solidly.

Goat retired too soon he is superman of his era

Borg’s iconic Fila tracksuit top .

Borg was the most badass tennis player that ever lived. Damn, he's a muthafuckin legend.

@isaiahgauthier2176

5 жыл бұрын

Jesse Burleson he was definitely “gangsta”!!!!!

@igalflint

4 жыл бұрын

The Grand Master of all Masters.

@th8257

18 күн бұрын

What's that even meant to mean, apart from social media attention seeking?

This was the greatest match I'd ever seen.

Loved Vitas. One of the most tragic sports deaths to me.

I liked Vitas' game. Also, this is the best quality of one these productions I've seen. Thanks.

These guys just had so much "style" compared to the current game -- although I partially mean the clothes, I mostly mean the strokes, and even the approach to point-construction and just all-round demeanor. Not for these heroes the fist-pump between points, or the finger-wagging at an adverse crowd. Awesome.

Borg is like something that we have never seen before or after. The Jesus Christ of tennis and extraterrestrial .

Le lob lifté en revers de Borg : de très loin le plus beau geste de l'histoire du tennis !

2 legendary players who dreamed a generation of tennis fans

Two of the quickest players ever but Borg was the ultimate counterpuncher

no towels after each and every point.

@artygunnar

4 жыл бұрын

Its a completely different game to today

@nillejoslin

4 жыл бұрын

Must be global warming...

@pix046

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, annoying the way they do that. Gerulaitis looks really likeable here. He died tragically at the age of just 40 due to an horrendous carbon monoxide poisoning. RIP.

@turbotek-wj8vc

3 жыл бұрын

Not to mention all the screaming today, it's very strange.

What a couple of great champions!!

Borg is one of greatest or probably greatest

My favourite player Vitas Gerulaitis , his style sober is wonderfull !

@leliondescavernes1747

4 жыл бұрын

Johan kriek

Great video quality. Love it.

Man to play with wooden racquets and to hit like that is really amazing!! And to hit so cleanly as well just purely amazing! Vitas had an amazing second serve with a wicked slice kicker! When Borg tried to run around his backhand and the ball just swerved into his body! Nice! For a second serve! Considering the conditions these guys played in back then and how they played I gotta give those guys back then a lot of cred! Amazing!

@SquidDesign

5 жыл бұрын

That was a really good second serve, but I think it might have caught a lump in the grass... it's unusual that a righty slice serve would jump to the right rather than the left.

@danguee1

4 жыл бұрын

@@SquidDesign His 2nd serve was normally a KICK serve - which does move to the right off the deck - rather than a slice....

@danguee1

4 жыл бұрын

@@SquidDesign When I serve down the T at deuce, I'll almost always serve a kick. If I serve wide, I'll always serve a slice.

@SquidDesign

4 жыл бұрын

@@danguee1 yes, a kick serve definitely kicks off in the other direction but the path of his racket on the serve looks like a slice to me. See his serve at 9:05. Same swing path.

Still love Borgs attire. I still buy Fila and Diadora to this day.

Gerulatis would have served about 4 or 5 times, in the time it takes Nadal & Djorkovic to prepare, bounce the ball numerous times and serve!

@greg-warsaw4708

4 жыл бұрын

Yes he would. His serves are so resolute, decisive. I am impressed how he ALWAYS seems to attack to the net right after having served - even when at disadvantage, even when defending. I think his height and range were a little bigger than Borg's so he used it but still, it was a very aggresive style in the days of long exchanges from the deep (Dibbs, Solomon, some of the time also Borg). And then, this is a show of clever plays, some intelligent game rather than just physical.

@nillejoslin

4 жыл бұрын

Lendl led that "revolution". Half of his career was preparing to serve.

@usaslakt

3 жыл бұрын

It would have taking the about three days to finish the match...

@clint1285

3 жыл бұрын

Lol. I know. So hard for me to watch tennis these days. It's takes everyone too Long to serve

@mahalakshmid8613

3 жыл бұрын

Both nadal & novak shoul have been disqualified from playing long time back for taking so much time to serve & fot grunting & shouting while playing disturbing the opponent every match

Wow- what a player Gerulaitais was, and what a fantastic match? I remember watching this classic encounter thinking- crikey the Borg man could get knocked out here!!

7:29 that serve!!! Borg just caught the ball with his hand. LOL!

wow good quality !!!! THX !!!!!

Gerulaitis was so good at the net ! i miss that serve and volley style.

As great a tennis player, Vitas Gerulaitis was, he finished his career oh for eighteen against his friend Borg. That's about a good measure of how good Borg was.

thanks💜

Love the commentary! No unnecessary babble.

Borg is the most impressive tennis player I have ever seen. He was a very mysterious player because he was very silent, very calm and made no gesture of irritation or joy. His nickname was "iceborg". I felt like I was seeing some sort of “God” come to Earth. No other tennis player ever gave me such a visual impression again. Federer Nadal and Djokovic are legends, but they never achieved the aura of Borg because they remained human, while Borg gave the impression of having come from another planet, of being an alien, and when he had his beard, he looked like it was Jesus Christ playing tennis. At the age of 25 he had already won 11 Grand Slams. People today can't imagine the legendary player Borg was back then. He stopped playing tennis at just 26 years old, that’s incredible too.

Borg retired too soon - heck of a good player.

@shastar2

5 жыл бұрын

He had to retire because of back injury... Too much lift without appropriate physical preparation. But he certainly opened the path for a whole generation of players. A living legend, only superseded by Roger F.

@drobson8004

5 жыл бұрын

@@shastar2 ??? Huh?

@juster3.146

4 жыл бұрын

Agreed he did retire to soon. I bet he wishes that he regrets it everyday.

@overkongen34

4 жыл бұрын

@@shastar2 That is completely wrong. He was the fittest player on tour. He retired due to lack of motivation - and because he was not allowed to play fewer tournaments.

@gunternetzer9621

Жыл бұрын

@@overkongen34 Suffered from burnout.

Borg was incredible with those rasping, whipped with topspin, returns down the line.

Gerulaitus was the master of chip and charge but Borg was the master of counterpunching

Era un grande tennista il povero Vitas !!!!!!! RIP

@adrianomangoni8365

4 жыл бұрын

Vitas, l'uomo che mi ha fatto innamorare del tennis. Ha vinto troppo poco per le sue qualità, anche per un po' di sfortuna in alcuni incontri importanti. Poi, la cattiva sorte se lo è portato via...

@ginobonamente4669

4 жыл бұрын

@@adrianomangoni8365 aveva davanti Borg, Connors e Mc Enroe e lui non era potente sufficientemente, ma era un bel tennis quello che esprimeva

I remember this classic so well. They look like they're barely hitting the ball by today's standards but the touch and finesse was supreme. So close, 26-25 in total games.

I watched Borg play Vitas at the NEC (Gunner Nielsen Trophy) Ex Racing Driver RIP🙏. Vitas won in 2 sets, most fed up as a Borg fan.Great game of tennis. James Hunt played and so did Jody Scheckter. ( with a massive outsized tennis racquet as I recall) , 1977/78 I think

Borg never failed at that time👍👍🏆

One style, one technique!!!!

Please post more classic Borg matches.

thank you.....sorry if I was mistaken, no harm meant.

la qualitée de la video et du son sont absolument genial !!! merci de faire la même avec : 1987 QF Lendl vs. Leconte.. just saying;-)

It’s 5 AM on a Saturday and I’m watching this. With zero regrets Borg was the best!

The serve volley specialist Vs the baseliner, always a classic...Even though Borg did as instructed by his coach, to serve and volley himself, when playing on the grass, at Wimbledon...

wow...we have gone very far since 1977...so many things have changed

@th8257

18 күн бұрын

Bot

Back when the grass courts were slick and fast, and a slice backhand was a deadly shot. They had to slow the grass up when the oversize racquets came in because nobody could hit the serves back.

Tennis have indeed come a long way in the past 45 years

Je ne me rappelais plus que Geru jouait aussi bien

@leliondescavernes1747

3 жыл бұрын

Il faut regarder sa demi-finale contre Roscoe Tanner à l'USOPEN 79,pour s'en rendre compte

@fraerithlelfe6027

3 жыл бұрын

@@leliondescavernes1747 C'est fait. Depuis peu. Il était incroyable !

There is a mistake that the narrator makes at the very beginning. He states that Borg had just won the French Open. This is not true. The fact is, this Wimbledon match is dated 1977, and that year, Guillermo Vilas won the French Open.

@SuperHammaren

7 жыл бұрын

Yes, Borg did not even play in the french open that year. He played some World tennis team matches I believe.

@elseniorgallo

7 жыл бұрын

SuperHammaren : That's right. He joined World Team Tennis, like Laver and Evert.

@BobBob-fj1vh

6 жыл бұрын

Oh my my how the time has passed. I remember this match like it was yesterday. I watched this match IN London!

@MrBjorn6

6 жыл бұрын

Bob Bob I watched it in Birmingham UK 😉

@zedearl5181

5 жыл бұрын

I remember this match, i was always a Borg fan then i became a Vitas fan also. R.I.P. Vitas

This match was a changing of the guard for how winning tennis was to be played imo even more than the 85 uso or 74 Wimbledon finals. Borg had next to no business beating Vitas that day, but it was absolutely no accident nor mystery how he won Wimbledon 5 times in a row despite playing a clay court game in a s&v era- he had the grand athleticism, a solid underrated serve & great topspin that essentially made him Nadal of his era, playing wall-style tennis. Ps: this grand 5 setter caused Vitas & Borg to become life-long friends, that's how crazy of a match this was

@denisdaly1708

5 жыл бұрын

After this match, they practiced together for Body's final, at Geralitis's suggestion. Now, that's sport.

@911801111801

3 жыл бұрын

Nadal is the Borg of this era (but with lots of improvements); not the other way around.

Net and Volley, ancient tennis

@zarkoostojic9063

2 жыл бұрын

😥😢😢

Wow i totally forgot how close this was!

Forty five long years have passed. Why not show the whole match?

It's a totally different game today!

Borg my absolute idol ever. Vitas a great player that took tennis professionally but in a different way. He loved enjoying life at the same time than tennis. That may have cost him some tournaments. Apparently a great human being, it was very sad when he died so early due to a stupid tragedy.

Bjorn Borg the Best

Borg retried way too young he had another 5 years left in him playing at the top level 🎾👍😊

@ratuamartyanne8875

Жыл бұрын

I adore vBorg, he is my hero. BUT I know he was burnt out. I recall watching himbeat Mac in 1980, and knew it was a pyrrhic victory. Because he showed he could bleed. The next year i knew McEnroe would win. Then Lendl became stronger. His final season, I am not sure of. But, I guess it was unproductive. And, let us not forget the farce which was his 'comeback' in 91.

Maravilla

Borg . . .sigue el más grande, simplemente

In the other semi final was a player wearing pretty much the same tennis clothes and headband as Bjorn Borg. Namely one John McEnroe.

Les 4 premières têtes de série de ce Wimbledon 77 furent Connors,Borg,Vilas,et Tanner... Guillermo et Roscoe qui avaient disputé la finale de Melbourne,sur gazon,6 mois auparavant, furent battus par Billy Martin et John Lloyd !!!!!!

At 5.20 Dan says about Vita "A wonderfully fit active man " well he'd want to be he's playing Borg at the Wimbledon semis !!!!!

at this time tennis was more fun to watch

Saw Vitas at Wimbledon-class act. Borg was great on grass. For me Jimmy was always No. 1 and if it were not for irascibility would have doubled his collection of major titles. That’s tennis i guess. I believe the guys i mentioned would adjust to the modern game because two of em were great and the third-a US open winner against Mac( another great), Vitas was near being a great for a few years. Live these matches when they rip up on youtube feeds. Hope all enjoy this fine ( hilites) footage. I know i will later when i come back from the shops-playlisted it already! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spettacolo

M. Borg a écrit un joli livre sur sa vie et les vitamines y tiennent un rôle important.

@leliondescavernes1747

4 жыл бұрын

Quelle sorte de vitamine s'agit il?

No fist pumps? No grunting? No towels? I can’t watch this;)

I know I have this on vhs or dvd somewhere.

Vitas was a hint of John McEnroe.. very good touch at the net 👍

I was working at Wimbledon and got to see this match. I think that it was one of my favourite matches ever-so fast. I knew the Robinson barley man well. His job was to go out and make sure that the labels were facing the cameras

That guy announcing the match is straight gangsta.😂😩🤣💯😎

The intro is wrong. Borg had not just won the French Open - he skipped it w an injury. He won both the French Open and Wimbledon 1978-1980. He only won Wimbledon in 1976 and 1977

He was borg - it was futile to resist . One of the greatest baseline returners ever . I was in london at the time with a college buddy tried to find VG a h.s. classmate couldn't locate him met connors briefly who'd also lose to borg had scrounged an S.I photographer's pass but since there were two of us it was not enough. So I believe we watched it on tv in a pub or something. Wimbledon center court looks a little chewed and brown . Later went to Stonehenge and saw the megalithic calendar and ferried to ireland from Swansea to see friends and relations. We had the time of our life.

I was in hospital at 15 having my appendix out during the 1st week at Wimbledon in 1977. I remember while in Derby hospital Ille Nastase telling the umpire to refer to him as Mr Nastase. My boarding school only gave 4 weeks summer holiday in the summer instead of 6 weeks, which meant that my summer holiday never started until mid July after wimbledon was over. But they gave me another week off to recover after the operation and so I was luck enough to see this match from home which was on a Friday as semi finals were in those days meaning I would normally have been in a class room. Great timing for me to see my very 1st semi final in full.

@gailsykes2691

Жыл бұрын

I know I'm nit picking but it was on a Thursday. It was my dad's funeral that day and I know it may seem a bit disrespectful but the tennis match definitely took my mind off things. Terrific match.

@adrianboyddodd8007

Жыл бұрын

@@gailsykes2691 Hi Gail. I am sure it would make either of those players very happy to know that their performance that day had made a contribution to your healing.

greatest match,bull____.In the last 2 games,at 6-6 in the fifth,Gerulaitis had 7(seven) unforced errors in the last 2 games.He blew it.Terrible choke job by V.G.

Ah those were the days. No towels, players taking the first ball thrown to them, two bounces, serve! No team of commentators analyzing the shot from 3 angles in ultra slow motion. Just Dan Maskall whose only comment on a Borg backhand passing shot in the 5th set of a Wimbledon semi final is to chuckle to himself like Shere Khan. Perfect.

Gerulaitis play with the second ball in his hand 4:24

Imagine how good Vitas G would have been had he not loved the partying all night. I think he was good enough to have at least 3-4 major titles

@gunternetzer9621

Жыл бұрын

A very good all court game but he lacked a big shot.

I remember using that same white gauze .....

Presenter says Borg had just won the French Open. Nope, not in 77, that was Vilas.

I love the old days. No moaning.

Vitas was good but he didn't have that one special weapon to beat the top players. Lost him to soon .RIP

9:55 Thats why I came for

I remember to see that match on tv but not remembering it was so disputed!

They would've done great today as well. Remember, those wooden rackets are much smaller and more difficult to hit accurate shots with.

I wish we see this kind of sport again, instead of this athletic show of today

@ThetennisDr

5 жыл бұрын

ahmad ball was actually faster back then

@diegovvv4422

4 жыл бұрын

@@ThetennisDr disagree.

I do believe Gerulaitis was almost as quick as Borg was

@senorgato70

6 жыл бұрын

Yes, they were both rated as the two quickest players in the game at that time.

@MrJeepsters

6 жыл бұрын

Gerulaitis avait un jeu de jambe et une vitesse exceptionnelle. ( comme Borg et Vilas)

@KingCast65

6 жыл бұрын

And Johan Kriek.

@jimsj9482

4 жыл бұрын

Nastase was quick too.

@hymansahak181

4 жыл бұрын

Gregoryt700 Yes, I’m surprised how fast he comes to net on a serve and volley. His first step is lightning fast.

I'm just waiting to hear Dan Maskell to say......"Oh, I say!" xx

@alanchong7513

4 жыл бұрын

Good one! Dan Maskell was famous for that line!

@MelodyMaker

4 жыл бұрын

Hearing his voice and thinking this was 43 years ago is just the most bizarre realization. Only now upon reviewing this video do I think about how his calming voice was entrenched within the positive Wimbledon vibe.

@gailsykes2691

Жыл бұрын

He also loved "a dream of a passing shot".