High Strung: Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, and the Untold Story of Tennis's Fiercest Rivalry [Hardcover]

Stephen Tignor (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 17, 2011

“A book full of aces....A true page-turner.”
—Associated Press

“This is good stuff, and it’s written with flair.”
—The Oregonian

High Strung by Stephen Tignor is the gripping untold story of the fiercest rivalry in the history of professional tennis. Viewed through the lens of the fabled 1981 U.S. Open match between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, High Strung brings the golden age of tennis vibrantly alive once more. A fascinating chronicle that orbits around the four greatest, most enigmatic talents in the sport at the time—McEnroe, Borg, Jimmy Connors, and Vitas Gerulaitis—High Strung is a superior sports history, a must read for anyone who truly loves the game.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This is good stuff, and it’s written with flair. In fact, it made me want even more. ” (The Oregonian )

“A book full of aces...Even for those who know the outcomes of the many matches he recounts, Tignor’s descriptive prose and flair for dramatic writing make “High Strung” a true page-turner.” (Associated Press )

From the Back Cover

The golden age of tennis came crashing down suddenly at the 1981 U.S. Open. Bjorn Borg, the stoical Swede who had become the richest and most famous player in the sport's history, had just lost to his brash young rival, John McEnroe, in the final at Flushing Meadows. After his last shot floated out, Borg walked to the net, shook McEnroe's hand in silence, and disappeared from the game he had dominated for the last decade.

No one realized it at the time, but the era that Borg and the three other semifinalists at that year's Open—McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, and Vitas Gerulaitis—had helped define had also ended. For nearly a century, the lawns of tennis had been reserved for wealthy amateurs—gentlemen, in the original British parlance—but in 1968, the game was opened to professionals and was forever changed. The 1970s were boom years for tennis. Thanks to charismatic young players and dramatic matches, participation skyrocketed in the United States and brought the game to a new peak of global popularity. In the ensuing decade, the sport would be taken further from its genteel roots than anyone thought possible.

Through the lens of that era's final tournament, the 1981 U.S. Open, High Strung chronicles the lives and careers of the men who made those Wild West days of tennis so memorable. The Swede known as "Ice Borg," who secretly harbored an inner madman. McEnroe, the tortured, bratty genius who was destined to slay his idol. Connors, the blue-collar kid who tore the cover off the ball—and the game itself—becoming a beloved antihero. Ilie Nastase, the Romanian clown who tested the outer limits of acceptable behavior and taste. Gerulaitis, the New York charmer and Studio 54 regular who was friend to them all. And Ivan Lendl, the robotic Czech who became a harbinger of tennis's high-powered future.

The struggles these men shared were as compelling off the court as they were on. Some thrived, some survived, some were destroyed, but none has ever been forgotten.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harper; First Edition edition (May 17, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062009842
• ISBN-13: 978-0062009845
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > History > Europe > Sweden
  • #44 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Tennis
  • #46 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Racket Sports

More About the Author

Stephen Tignor is the executive editor of Tennis magazine. He writes a daily blog on Tennis.com, where he has written about the sport for the past 12 years.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally entertaining August 1, 2011

By Helen

Format:Hardcover

I was watching the tennis channel and I overheard Darren Cahill give a raving review about this book. I am a tennis freak and thought I would give it a try, well, I was totally entertained. There was so much information that one could gather from this read. There must have been hours and hours of research to find out all the interesting facts. I have had many people come up to me and ask if they could read it after I was done. I wish the author would publish another book dealing with other tennis players, maybe of the more recent era. I recommend "High Strung" not just for tennis players, but for anyone who would like to learn more about these two individuals: McEnroe and Borg. two very high strung individuals. MUST READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars IceBorg, MacAttack and Beyond September 15, 2011

By holmes ghassemi

Format:Hardcover

Tignor takes you behind the scenes of one of the most intense, competitive, yet curiously respectful rivalries in the history of sport. Where the HBO documentary left off, High Strung picks up and paints a broad, engaging and complete picture of the tennis landscape well beyond the far-too-short period these two legends spent battling one another.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book but title is very misleading September 29, 2011

By Tabe

Format:Hardcover

It's unfortunate that Tignor chose the title he did for this book as it mars what is otherwise a pretty good book on the tennis world of the 1970s and 80s. However, he did choose that title and as such, the book fails. In 235 pages, we get a fair amount of material on Borg, a fair amount on McEnroe - and little on their actual tennis. Oh, the epic finals at Wimbledon and the US Open are covered but not much else. Instead, we get page after page after page of material on other players - Connors, Gerulaitis, Nastase, and multiple others. We get a couple pages on a McEnroe/Fleming doubles match and lots of descriptions of McEnroe meltdowns. Lost in all that is the actual rivalry which, quite literally, disappears for dozens of pages at a time.

So what are we left with? A good book on the tennis scene as it shifted from amateur to open/professional and the first superstars of that era. But a highly insightful analysis of a rivalry? No.