Borg–Connors rivalry

The tennis players Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors met 23 times during their careers according to the ATP website, and 42 times including invitational and exhibition tournaments.

In 1975 Connors met Borg in the semifinals of the U.S. Open and defeated him in straight sets, on clay. Connors defeated Borg again at the U.S. Open again in 1976, this time in a four-set final, capturing his second U.S. Open title. In 1977 they met in the Wimbledon final, and Borg won in five sets. Borg defeated Connors at Wimbledon again in the 1978 final, this time in straight sets, to claim his third straight Wimbledon title. Two months later, Connors defeated Borg at the U.S. Open in a straight-set final on a hard surface "DecoTurf II", ending Borg's 43-match winning streak. In 1979 they met at Wimbledon again, and Borg won a straight-set semifinal. In 1981 Borg, defeated Connors in a five-set semifinal at Wimbledon and a straight-set semifinal at the U.S. Open, his tenth consecutive win against Connors. Soon afterwards Borg retired from the regular tour. They faced each other three times at the season-ending Masters Championship in New York City: in January 1978 (ending the 1977 season), January 1980 (ending the 1979 season) and January 1981 (ending the 1980 season). Connors won the first meeting, Borg the latter two.

Borg leads 15–8 in their official head-to-head, 8–5 in finals, 5–3 in Grand Slam meetings and they are 2–2 in Grand Slam finals. They also met many times in unofficial invitational and exhibition tournaments with Connors leading 7–3 and 8–1 respectively in those matches.

Head-to-head

Official matches (Borg leads 15–8)

Legend (Borg-Connors)

Grand Slams (5–3)

Masters (2–1)

ATP International Series (8–4)

No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Round	Winner	Score
1	1973	Stockholm	Indoor Hard	SF	Borg	6–4, 3–6, 7–6(7–2)
2	1974	Indianapolis	Clay	F	Connors	5–7, 6–3, 6–4
3	1975	US Open	Clay	SF	Connors	7–5, 7–5, 7–5
4	1975	Stockholm	Indoor Hard	SF	Connors	6–2, 7–6(7–2)
5	1976	Philadelphia	Carpet	F	Connors	7–6(7–5), 6–4, 6–0
6	1976	Palm Springs	Hard	SF	Connors	6–4, 6–1
7	1976	US Open	Clay	F	Connors	6–4, 3–6, 7–6(11–9), 6–4
8	1977	Pepsi Grand Slam, Boca Raton	Clay	F	Borg	6–4, 5–7, 6–3
9	1977	Wimbledon	Grass	F	Borg	3–6, 6–2, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4
10	1977	Masters, New York City	Carpet	F	Connors	6–4, 1–6, 6–4
11	1978	Pepsi Grand Slam, Boca Raton	Clay	F	Borg	7–6(7–1), 3–6, 6–1
12	1978	Wimbledon	Grass	F	Borg	6–2, 6–2, 6–3
13	1978	US Open	Hard	F	Connors	6–4, 6–2, 6–2
14	1979	Pepsi Grand Slam, Boca Raton	Clay	F	Borg	6–2, 6–3
15	1979	Las Vegas	Hard	F	Borg	6–3, 6–2
16	1979	Wimbledon	Grass	SF	Borg	6–2, 6–3, 6–2
17	1979	Tokyo Indoor	Carpet	F	Borg	6–2, 6–2
18	1979	WCT Challenge Cup, Montreal	Carpet	F	Borg	6–4, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4
19	1979	Masters, New York City	Carpet	RR	Borg	3–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4)
20	1980	WCT Invitational, Salisbury	Carpet	RR	Borg	6–3, 6–1
21	1980	Masters, New York City	Carpet	SF	Borg	6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–3
22	1981	Wimbledon	Grass	SF	Borg	0–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–0, 6–4
23	1981	US Open	Hard	SF	Borg	6–2, 7–5, 6–4

Breakdown of their rivalry

• All matches: Borg, 15–8
• All finals: Borg, 8–5
• Clay court matches: Tied, 3–3
• Grass court matches: Borg, 4–0
• Indoor matches: Borg, 6–3
• Outdoor hard court matches: Tied, 2–2
• Grand Slam matches: Borg, 5–3
• Grand Slam finals: Tied, 2–2
• Masters matches: Borg, 2–1
• Masters finals: Connors, 1–0
• Invitational matches (unofficial): Connors, 7–3
• Exhibition matches (unofficial): Connors, 8–1

Other matches

Invitational matches (Connors leads 7–3)

No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Round	Winner	Score
1	1976	Caracas	Carpet	RR	Connors	6–4, 5–7, 6–3
2	1978	Suntory Cup, Tokyo	Carpet	F	Borg	6–1, 6–2
3	1978	Buenos Aires	Carpet	F	Connors	5–7, 6–3, 6–3
4	1979	Frankfurt	Carpet	F	Borg	6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
5	1980	Europe vs. USA, Copenhagen	Carpet	RR	Connors	6–4, 6–2
6	1980	Molson Light Challenge, Toronto	Carpet	RR	Connors	7–5, 6–3
7	1982	Michelob Light Cup, Industry Hills	Hard	F	Connors	5–7, 6–2, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 6–2
8	1982	Molson Light Challenge, Montreal	Carpet	F	Connors	6–4, 6–3
9	1982	Challenge of Champions, Chicago	Carpet	RR	Borg	6–4, 1–6, 6–2
10	1983	Suntory Cup, Tokyo	Carpet	F	Connors	6–3, 6–4

Exhibitions (Connors leads 8–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Winner	Score
1	1982	Richmond	Hard	Connors	6–4, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3
2	1982	Ottawa	Carpet	Borg	1–6, 6–3, 6–3, 1–6, 6–2
3	1982	Seattle	Carpet	Connors	6–4, 3–6, 7–5
4	1982	Los Angeles	Carpet	Connors	6–3, 2–6, 6–2
5	1982	Vancouver	Carpet	Connors	6–2, 5–7, 6–4
6	1982	San Francisco	Carpet	Connors	7–5, 7–6(8–6)
7	1983	Baton Rouge	Carpet	Connors	6–7(4–7), 6–4, 6–4
8	1983	Providence	Carpet	Connors	6–4, 6–4
9	1983	Seoul	Carpet	Connors	5–7, 6–1, 4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–3)

See also

• Borg–McEnroe rivalry
• Connors–Lendl rivalry
• Connors–McEnroe rivalry
• List of tennis rivalries