Customer Reviews

The Wimbledon Collection - The Classic Match - Borg vs. McEnroe 1980 Final

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been watching and playing tennis for parts of five decades, still active in the 55 and Over USTA tournaments. However, I have found that most of my tennis friends don't have the interest to watch a 5-set men's match, especially given the way the men play the game today.

This match, a classic by any standard, will probably hold the interest of most tennis fans. While tennis in 1980 was played at a slower, less powerful pace due to the use of wood racquets, the shot making was nearly flawless, especially during the epic 34 point tie-breaker at the end of the fourth set. It is tennis the way most of us hackers who grew up watching Laver, Rosewall, Ashe, Borg and McEnroe, remember it. This match highlights the touch and finesse both men owned, as well as allowing the viewer to see points crafted like a chess master might craft a winning attack.

The BBC announcers are always understated, letting the play take center stage. I personally enjoy seeing the mastery of the young McEnroe at the net and the unflappable Borg, looking the same whether he was losing the first set 6-1 or getting ready to win the match at the end of the fifth set.

Re-reading this review, I realize that I'm probably in need of a Tennis Exorcist. Which doesn't diminish the fact that it was a great match.

Rarely does a tennis match captivate it's audience like this one does. Two of the biggest personalities the game has ever seen battling over the most coveted prize in tennis. So pour yourself a dish of strawberries and cream, sit back and relax, and enjoy what is arguably the best Wimbledon final ever played!

It is one of the rarest of a match play of all time in tennis history. Words can neither describe the match nor can some critiques downplay it. So, just watch it and enjoy a rare execution of one of the highest quality of tennis.

Considered by many the greatest final ever played at Wimbledon, this goes nuclear in the fourth set, culminating in a twenty minute tiebreaker featuring some of the most dramatic tennis imaginable.

Borg was ending his peak years and Mac beginning his at this point; this match finds both at their best. McEnroe's serve and volley game was made for grass, but Borg's baseline supremacy is paired here with an unusual amount of volleying for the taciturn Swede, a must to counter Mac's amazingly consistent serve.

Mac is rarely bratty here, and as usual CyBorg never blinks, win or lose. This is four hours of A-1 tennis over two dvds for a very decent price; the value is hard to beat, as the whole match is a master class in how to play tennis, and you'll want to watch the tiebreaker over and over, if just to psyche you up for your next match. Dvd tech is perfect or freezing a frame and watching a point in slow motion, to see how footwork and timing lead to great shots. Forget instructional videos; this one has it all.

The BBC commentary is also rather humourous in spots, and thankfully far more understated than American network cheerleading. Not a sponsor or ad in sight, either, which makes this a wonderful rarity.

Highly recommended.

The photography is fine, McEnroe behaves throughout, and neither player seems to say a word during the entire five sets. The spectators, like the players, act like human beings, with no uncontrolled temper fits, and no juvenile behavior among the fans. It is pleasant to watch a tennis match rather than a performance. The significant thing here is that both players display awesome playing throughout this match. Thoroughly enjoyable. And no commercials--just five sets of great tennis with sensible commentary.

Once you start this DVD, it'll be difficult to stop watching until match point. I can't add anything that wasn't mentioned by other customer reviewers, except this -- If you're like most tennis fans, you've probably forgotten who won, which makes the recording all the more exciting. This brings me to my only gripe -- the packaging gives away the outcome. So, when it arrives, don't read, just open the drawer on your DVD player and watch.

The DVD was of excellent quality and clarity. It was a pleasure to watch.

Borg was my idol when I was beginning to play tennis, so I have enjoyed watching this match. The editing was good, but it seemed that the frame rate was a little off. Borg and Mac seemed a little "robotic" like the editor decided to speed up time by about 15%. Still enjoyable.

This is one of the best $20 purchases of my life - I see it about once every year. As a genuine tennis fan, I had read all about THE tiebreak, of course. (Borg still grumbles that people think he lost the match.) But it was much more wonderful to actually see it on DVD and listen to the mature BBC commentators and take in the crowd's excitement uninterrupted by commercials. The DVD quality is very good. A must-have for any true tennis fan.

There's not anything I can add to how great of a match this was. Just wanted to throw in here that the video quality is GREAT for a video from 1980! It certainly looks a lot clearer than anything I saw on TV back then with a rabbit ear antenna ;)