In 1980 Wimbledon belonged to the world set Björn Borg. But the long and dramatic final had shown that John McEnroe had a game on grass that suited the Swede badly, and the historic suite of titles would be broken.

When the world's two best players met in the final a year later, in 1981, in Borg's sixth final, the Swede had 41 straight wins in Wimbledon. What no one knew at the time was that he would leave tennis completely two years later. 1981 was the beginning of the end.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph 2010, Björn Borg recalls:

- It's tough to be world-class. You have no privacy at all and cannot move freely. That was one of the reasons why I lost my motivation.

In 1981 Björn Borg came to England with his sixth straight title in the French Open. Self-confidence was still good. But the title in Paris would be his last in a Grand Slam tournament.

The final in Wimbledon belonged to John McEnroe, called "Superbrat" and who learned the lesson from the finals a year earlier. American won by 3-1 in set; the champion from Sweden, "the Iceman", would never play Wimbledon again.

In his memoirs from 1992, Björn Borg remembers: "Wimbledon 1981 was the first time I started thinking that this is no longer fun".

The rivalry with McEnroe was punctured later that summer. Before the US Open in McEnroe's own New York, the players had split fraternally on all sets, 20-20, when the American would once and for all stop Björn Borg's dominance.

They had met in the US Open finals the year before, but McEnroe had won and the title that Björn Borg lacked almost desperately, being King in New York, would never come true. In 1981, McEnroe played his life's tennis in front of a fanatical home crowd and won in the final against Borg's third straight US Open, 3-1 in set.

Björn Borg had already received a death threat just before the semi-finals, but claimed in retrospect that it did not affect him.

"But he was not himself," said McEnroe, who was now new to the world.

Björn Borg himself stated in an SVT interview much later that he lacked motivation:

- The spark was like blown away.

The disappointment after the last Grand Slam final of his life was so great that Björn Borg immediately packed his bag and left the centercourt. He ignored both the victory ceremony and the press conference and had a car waiting. It became a symbolic sorti.

In 1982, Borg played only one tournament, in Monte Carlo. He pondered and needed long leave. In January 1983, only 26 years old, Björn Borg left the tennis completely. Although John McEnroe, among others, tried to persuade him to continue.

The rivalry between Borg and McEnroe was good for tennis and was missed by many, not least McEnroe himself. In his own biography he remembers:

“What we had was as duels as between big boxers. Our story was a drama that seemed to have it all. "

In addition: “The fact that Borg left tennis was a big blow to the whole sport. It was surreal. The wind disappeared from my sails. I had a very hard time motivating myself to continue playing. It took several years. "

John McEnroe continued to play top tennis until 1992. Björn Borg tried to make a comeback in the early 90's but was unsuccessful and gave up in 1993.

When Borg was still at the peak of his career in the summer of 1980, he gave an open-hearted interview with SVT's Göran Zachrisson - and looked ahead:

- When I am 75 years old and sitting at home, I can look back in the books. This I did, and this I did. That's what I want you to set goals and do as best you can.

Today, Björn Borg is 64 years old and can long enjoy a magical career, of course. The rivalry with John McEnroe is certainly one of the highlights. And the two previous worldviews, which were so different on every level, have built a lifelong friendship.

CLIP: Borg vs. McEnroe - the duel that became legendary

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