November 10, 1973: The day Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg faced off for the first time
Every day Tennis Majors takes you back in time to celebrate a great moment in tennis history. Today, we go back to 1973 to witness how one of the greatest rivalries of all-time began, when Bjorn Borg defeated Jimmy Connors at the Stockholm Open
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© Panoramic / Tennis Majors
What exactly happened on that day?
On this day, November 10 in 1973, a 17-year-old Bjorn Borg, playing in front of his home crowd in Stockholm, faced another rising star, 21-year-old Jimmy Connors, for the first time in his career. The Swedish teenager prevailed on that day (6-4, 3-6, 7-6), but it would be the first of many, as this three-set battle marked the beginning of one of the fiercest rivalries of the 1970s, with Connors repeatedly ruining Borg’s dream of winning the US Open while Borg took the edge from the American at Wimbledon.
The Players Involved: Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg
- Jimmy Connors: rising American star with a fiery temperament
Jimmy Connors, born 1952, was one of the most promising of a talented cast of tennis stars that emerged in the early 1970s. Coached by his mother Gloria, Connors was one of the first few players to hit the ball flat and mainly from the comfort of his own baseline. Taking the ball early and hitting it on the rise, Connors’ groundbreaking technique would be very influential for future generations of tennis players.
The brash American was already known for his outrageous on-court behaviour, and his keen knack for disrupting the well-mannered, genteel world of tennis. While his mother and coach, Gloria, loudly cheered for him in the stands, screaming “Come on, Jimbo!”, the confident southpaw displayed an unusual amount of aggressiveness, even in the way he pumped himself up during matches.
Connors was, at times, downright vulgar – giving the finger to a linesman or putting his racket between his legs in a crude manner. His constant quarreling with the officials made him infamous. “Jimbo” turned pro in 1972 and was considered one of the best hopes of American tennis at the time, along with Harold Solomon and Roscoe Tanner. In only two years from his professional debut, he had already won 16 titles and reached the quarter-finals of three Grand Slam events.
- Bjorn Borg – Ice-cool Swede who changed tennis in the 1970s
Bjorn Borg, born in 1956, commenced playing tennis at the age of nine. By the age of 15 in 1972, the svelte Swede was already a member of the his nation’s Davis Cup team and, in his first appearance in the competition, he won his debut singles match against New Zealand’s Onny Parun.
Borg turned professional the next year, in 1973, before even turning 17, and soon reached the final in Monte-Carlo, where he was defeated by Ilie Nastase (6-4, 6-1, 6-2). In his debut appearance at Roland-Garros, he reached the fourth round, beaten by Adriano Panatta (7-6, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6), and his first run at Wimbledon took him to the quarter-finals. His game style, which involved revolutionary topspin forehand drives and a two-handed backhand, was revolutionary at the time and would be imitated by millions all around the world.
The place: Stockholm, Sweden
The Stockholm Open was first held in 1969. It took place at the Kungliga Tennishallen. Played every year on indoor hard courts, the Stockholm Open was a prestigious event and had been won by tennis legends such as Stan Smith (1970, 1972) and Arthur Ashe (in 1971).
The facts: How two future legends wowed the crowd
In November 1973, despite their youth and relative inexperience, 21-year-old Jimmy Connors and 17-year-old Bjorn Borg were far from being unknown to the general public. Both players had already achieved eye-opening results at the highest level. Connors had scored wins against great players such as Stan Smith while Borg had made a successful Davis Cup debut at the age of 15. Each had enough credentials to be seeded at the Stockholm Open.
In front of his home crowd, Borg managed to defeat the man who had recently become the first-ever world No 1 of the ATP rankings, Ilie Nastase (6-2, 4-6, 7-5), and in the quarter-finals, he eliminated Nikki Pilic, the Roland-Garros runner-up (7-5, 4-6, 6-4).
These two important wins allowed Borg to set up a semi-final clash against Connors. The young American, who had reached the quarter-finals at both Wimbledon and the US Open, hadn’t dropped a single set on his way to the final four, not even against the legendary Spaniard Manuel Orantes, whom he swept off the court, 6-2, 6-1.
In this first encounter between the two future legends, it was Borg who prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 7-6. And the crowds embraced the moment – and Borg’s success: according to The New York Times, “young Borg brought the crowd of 4,000 to its feet when he won the tiebreaker by seven points to two.”
What next: A long-standing, epic rivalry
On the following day, the Swedish teenager, who would later come to be known as Ice Borg, was defeated in the final by another American, Tom Gorman (6-3, 4-6, 7-6).
The semi-final encounter between Borg and Connors was the first of 32 matches between these two tennis icons (although the ATP website counts only 23). Their rivalry would be enhanced not only by the great matches they contested, but also by the contrast in their personalities, Connors being one of the most expressive players in tennis history, while the mercurial Ice Borg always remained calm, cool and collected.
After Borg won their first showdown, Connors would then beat him seven consecutive times, including the 1975 US Open semi-finals and the 1976 US Open final. In fact, Borg would not beat the American again until January 1977 (at Boca Raton, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3). One of their most famous matches would be the 1977 Wimbledon final, won by the Swede (3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4).
Throughout the years, Borg and Connors would face each other in four Grand Slam finals, two at the US Open (both won by Connors, in 1976 and 1978, once on clay at Forest Hills, once on hard court at Flushing Meadows), and twice on grass at Wimbledon, where the Swede always prevailed in 1977 and 1978.
Connors’s wins over Borg at the US Open would live in history – and infamy – as the Swedish legend would never manage to win the tournament, even when he would finally beat Connors in New York, in the 1981 semi-finals, he would fall at the hands of another super brat – John McEnroe – in the final.
The last of their 32 encounters took place in April 1983, in Tokyo, where Connors defeated a semi-retired Borg (6-3, 6-4). Despite that last loss, Borg would still finish by leading 18-14 in their lifetime head-to-head.
