Original subtitles

Björn Borg, four championships in a row,

aiming for a fifth.

Björn Borg has broken McEnroe!

McEnroe again says no!

It's dead even!

Borg! Borg! Borg! Borg! Borg! Borg! Borg! Borg!

- Borg! Borg! - Quiet, please.

Final set, Borg serving.

Good luck at Wimbledon.

- Thank you. - Björn.

Make sure you bring home the trophy now, huh?

Do my best.

Yeah, sure.

Here you go.

- You selling these? - Björn! Björn!

Björn! Björn! Björn!

Uh, sorry. Don't... Don't speak French.

Un café s'il vous plaît?

- Un café? - Café.

Merci.

Do you speak English?

- Little. - A little. Uh...

Uh, can I come in with the money later?

'Cause I left my wallet in the car.

No, no, no, no, no.

- No? - No.

Okay? It's, uh... It's everything.

- Thank you. I am Amidou. - Thank you.

Uh, my name is, uh, Rune.

- Rune? - Rune.

Rune. It's, uh...

- Rune. - Swedish.

Rune.

What you do?

Uh, I-I wo... Uh... I work as a...

an, uh, electrician.

Yes.

Merci.

You like electric?

Yes, it's...

Yeah, it's, uh... It's a very good job.

It's a normal job.

Out.

- Fuck! - How?

That is a break point. Get down and look at it!

Shut the fuck up!

...and you don't think that my dad's gonna...

That's on you, my man. That's not on me.

I don't give a shit about crap like you.

- This is out, this is in! - Fuck!

Fuck you!

I have to ask that you resume playing, Mr. McEnroe.

Fuck! There's not been any mistakes officiating the lines today at all?

- Answer the question. - Time!

The question, jerk-off! Answer the question!

Stopping? I'm stopping play?

The man The New York Times described as being

the worst representative of American values since Al Capone.

Ladies and gentlemen,

John McEnroe.

So, John, uh, you upset anybody out in the wings yet?

No, not that I know of. Not yet.

You know, I like you, John. You're great.

- And, um, in three days... - Three days.

- you're going to London - Yep - to play Wimbledon.

Yeah! Yeah!

And everyone's talking about Björn Borg's chance

to win his fifth straight title and make tennis history.

Now, apparently, the only thing standing between Borg and that record is you.

Mm-hmm.

Well, here's what, uh, they're saying over in London,

where you're hardly making any friends.

John, I gotta ask you. What is it that you've done to the Brits?

Yeah, I don't know. It's just such a different place, you know?

It's a different culture and they have warm beer and it's just a different thing.

Have you got a plan to get them to stop booing?

I plan to go in there and play my game,

and if I beat Borg in the finals, it's very hard to boo me if I'm number one.

So...

- Can you make a charge, stop McEnroe? - They say McEnroe...

I love you, Björn!

Björn, I love you!

How do you feel about John McEnroe?

Well, here's what the press here is saying.

I can be anybody's nightmare though, you know.

But I guess I wouldn't be exaggerating if I were to say that you and Borg

are as different as two people could possibly be.

You keep going back to Borg. Is he backstage? Is he gonna jump out of a cake?

Feel like we keep talking about him. You know, I'm here.

I'm working interviews. Here we are.

It's just that Borg is often described as being pure perfection

and, uh, zero emotion.

Do you think he ever loses it?

I don't know.

You spent the whole fucking interview talking about Borg?

On the phone you said we would be talking about the future of tennis.

Now you're gonna bullshit me while we're here?

That's so fucked up. Every fucking time, man.

Fuck this stupid shit!

They promised, Dad. This is pointless, man. - You did fine.

- You did fine. That's everything. - Every fucking time!

Two days to go, Arthur, and everybody's talking about Björn Borg,

the Swede who, at only 24, could make history by winning his fifth Wimbledon.

Can McEnroe pull Borg from his throne, Arthur?

Borg will be playing under a tremendous amount of pressure.

Everyone expects him to win.

McEnroe, on the other hand, he is the perfect underdog.

You've played them both. Who's the toughest opponent?

McEnroe is the bigger talent,

but playing Borg is like being hit by a sledgehammer.

But if Borg is a sledgehammer, I'd say that McEnroe is a stiletto.

A slash here, a slice there, and suddenly you're covered in blood

even though none of the wounds are particularly deep, and then...

then you bleed to death.

6,000.6,000!

Björn! We love you!

So I hadn't seen you since the opening.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Borg will be here in a moment.

Any questions for the other players?

Did he win already?

Mr. Borg, the Daily Mail.

Mr. Borg, how does it feel knowing you'll make history if you win your fifth Wimbledon?

No special feelings.

- Björn! Björn! - Mr. Borg!

Björn! Björn!

This is for the fall of '82.

It's two years away, so you don't need to think about it now,

but just so you know, we're aiming mostly for Asia.

Exhibition tournaments in Japan, South Korea,

Hong Kong, maybe China, and then South Africa.

But I think we said no to South Africa.

It's a million dollars. For one match.

Yes, but it's also supporting apartheid.

Put here. Thank you.

Soon you're gonna need another room for all those wedding gifts.

We've had an offer from the Daily Mail for the photo rights for your wedding.

- What was the other offer, Andy? - Uh, the Post.

200.

Oh, no, we decided on a private wedding.

Well, that's exactly why you should sell the rights.

Otherwise you're gonna have 50 paparazzi hiding in the bushes.

We've got some, uh...

Calder. Hey, can I make a request?

Do you have any black felt-tip markers?

Like a Sharpie and a big 80-by-80 piece of paper?

Like a board? Like a poster?

Can you send up the markers then?

Okay, thank you.

- McEnroe residence. - Hey. Hi, Mom.

Is Dad there?

No, he's at proceedings with a client.

- Do you know when he's gonna be back? - After lunch.

Whenever that is.

Well, then can he call me after the client thing?

- Why do you need to talk to him? - Because it's important.

- Okay. - Why else...

Now don't-don't be angry.

I'm not.

- You are sounding... - No, I just don't want to...

I don't want to have this with you, you know? There's a lot going on.

There's a lot going on here too.

Ah!

Mmm...

Ja.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Björn?

Nej.

Nej.

Love-15.

40-love.

Björn Borg, world number one,

is having an unexpectedly hard time

against the unseeded Egyptian El Shafei.

No, thank you.

I said no, thank you. I said it twi... Oh, Pete.

Oh, my God.

You motherfucker.

- You good? - Yeah. Look.

There it is.

Basically, you win all your matches, we see each other in the quarters,

and I got Connors in the semi, Borg in the final.

- How long this take you? - About an hour or so.

- You got your wallet? - Yep.

I gotta get out of here, man.

- How's your foot? - It's better.

- Yeah? - Yeah, I got this ankle support.

- It's, uh... It's working. - Good.

See how it goes? Cut here.

Yeah. Okay.

- Then we meet here. - Yeah. You're gonna go this way.

- Okay. - And that's us here.

You stop there. And the rest of this shit goes.

You're that sure you're gonna beat me?

- Oh, fuck yeah. - Yeah?

Any comments on your performance today, Mr. Borg?

Well, he played very, very good, and, uh,

I beat him in the end, but, uh, it's, uh... it was not easy.

But I'm looking forward to the next game.

So, tougher than you thought out there.

It took time to feel the surface,

but then after a while, I played my tennis.

You know how many times I've tried to do this,

go into a match and just been, like,

no emotion, all order, just be Borg.

This is impossible. This is not...

- This isn't human. He's like... - Yo!

Hey.

Where you guys been? I been looking for you.

- Just here. Yeah. - How ya doin'? How ya doin'?

Cool. Want a drink?

- Peter. - Good to see you.

I got a car waiting for us. Let's go.

- No, I gotta see Jennie. - Peter.

- Sorry. - All right. Here we go.

Come on.

Send my love to Jennie. Come on, ladies.

- Let's go. Let's go. - Yeah.

Come on, keep up!

Come on.

It's like my second home. I love this place.

Honestly. Everybody's so good here.

- Good people here. Hey. - Hey, Vitas.

- How you doing? How you doing, man? - Good to see you.

Hey, hey!

Hey! Whoo!

Oh!

Hit me in the fucking head!

- Hey, are you watching the matches? - Ahhh!

You watch the Borg match? - Yeah. Did you see what I'm seeing?

You see him get slower? Like much, much slower?

Because he's out of shape?

You'll understand someday, all right?

Explain it.

Look. You got four Wimbledon titles.

All right? It's a lot of pressure.

Everybody wants to beat Björn. Everybody wants something from Björn.

It makes you the loneliest fucking guy on the planet, you know?

Mmm.

That's good shit. Um...

Look this is... This is Eve, and this is Eve, and they're Brits.

They're beautiful fucking ladies.

They want to meet you, they want to party with you.

They fucking love you, and I just... I can't talk about tennis here.

I mean look at these titties, right? What the fuck? What more do you want John?

But look. You wanna know what Björn's doing right now?

Yes.

He's in bed.

His room is cold as fuck because he wants his pulse below 50 beats a minute.

- That's a rumor. - It's not. He's got all these superstitions.

Rituals.

Cut the shit and say the stuff I want to fucking hear.

This year, his parents aren't allowed to come. All right?

He only lets them come every second year,

and when they do, they gotta wear the same clothes throughout the tournament.

- Get the fuck outta here. - Yeah, right?

Every year he trains on the same court, he rents the same hotel,

he rents the same car, he sleeps in the same room.

His coach always brings 50 rackets strung tight as fuck,

and every night before the match, they meet in Lennart's room,

going over all the rackets, organizing everything according to tension and key.

It's like a fucking religion.

Mariana, his girlfriend, she takes care of his bag.

Same meticulous order. Everything exact.

What is that?

When he gets to the arena, takes the same chair

and two towels.

Not one. Not three. Two.

And he never treads on the baseline.

- Why? - 'Cause that means bad luck.

They say he's an iceberg. Really he's a volcano keeping it all in until boom.

A bit shorter, huh?

That geography test.

What happened there?

I got a 96 out of a hundred.

What about the other four?

I got the top of my class.

How many kids in your class, John?

Thirty.

The real world outside of school is a lot bigger than 30 people.

Right?

Tennis making you lose focus?

Oh, come on.

Is somebody gonna do something about the pigeons? I mean...

You don't hear that?

On the roof. You don't hear that? On the roof.

- Nothing will be done about any pigeons... - Of course not.

- during this match, Mr. McEnroe. - Fuck it.

Go, Mac!

This is ruining my focus! Don't you get it?

I have to ask you...

- to continue playing, Mr. McEnroe. - Shut up. Shut up.

Come on, Big Mac!

Shh!

15-love.

Why don't you light off fireworks

while I'm doing this?

Light off fireworks while I'm serving, okay?

Whistle a fucking song or something.

Boo!

Quiet, please.

Thank-Thank you. Thank you.

Come on. Shut the fuck up!

New ball. Give me another ball.

30-love.

My father's gonna appeal it anyway.

But congrats on staying awake for the whole match today, boss.

Lighten up, junior. You won. Come on. Give us a smile.

- Shut the fuck up. - Fuck you.

Love-40.

So, Arthur, what must Björn Borg be thinking

after this sensational demonstration?

Well, if McEnroe can maintain this form,

we may very well have a new champion.

The world of tennis

has never before seen anything quite like this.

Hey, Borg!

Hey, pal, how ya doin'? Want a bottle of champagne?

- Sure. - Yeah? Far out.

Let's get some champagne over here.

- Here you go. - Thank you.

Now...

Tom, multiply two numbers.

- Any two numbers? - Yes.

Thirty-two times 14.

- 448. - Now, now.

You gotta make him sweat.

122 times 46.

5,612.

Okay.

66,322 times 2,198.

You can dance to Debbie Harry?

- You're like 57 years old. - Honestly.

- The fuck do you care about my generation? - Hey, guys.

- Hey. Hey, Pete. How you doing? - Yeah, pretty excited.

So, uh, it's you and me.

John?

You ready?

- See you out there. - See you, John.

Seriously?

You still not talking to me?

Where's my ankle support?

The fuck?

Come on, John.

John, give me the ankle support.

John.

If you gentlemen would like to come this way?

40-15.

John McEnroe is slaughtering fellow countryman Peter Fleming.

I didn't take your ankle thing, you know?

I really didn't, Pete. That's not something I would do. Why...

- Fuck you, John. - Fuck me, fuck me. Fine.

Fuck me. Who cares? Fuck me. Fine.

Look, I fucking told you, man. I fucking told you. Didn't I?

- Fuck the ankle support, okay? - Are you done?

Sit down.

Hey. Are we good?

I'm gonna say this once.

You're going to win Wimbledon.

If not this year, then it's only a matter of time.

You're going to be number one.

I know it.

Okay.

But you will never be remembered as one of the greats. You know why?

John, look at me.

'Cause nobody likes you.

Not one kid out there wants to be like Johnny Mac when he grows up.

- Yeah? - Mm-hmm.

You know, in 20 years, the only thing people are gonna say is,

"Hey, what was the name of that crazy guy that always yelled at the umpire?"

You fucked up my game. I'm your friend.

Say sorry. Fuck him.

John McEnroe?

Hi, John.

How are you?

You think we could ask the receptionist not to yell out my name like that...

every time I come in here?

- Weren't you the only one out there? - I'm the only one out there.

It makes me feel uncomfortable, she yells my name out like that.

- I walk in here edgy. - Okay.

- Well, we don't want you edgy. - Okay.

- We want you to feel comfortable. - Thank you.

No problem.

John, you mentioned defensive.

It's your move, Dad.

How's the back?

It's the same.

He's already seen a lefty before he got here.

I mean, it's... it's not even a surprise, you know?

But he hasn't seen you.

We win.

This way, please.

- Can we touch it? - Yeah.

We push a button now, we can get billboards out before the final.

Isn't this a bit simplistic? Shouldn't we see another side of John?

What we are seeing right now is unique.

Tennis players are like rock stars.

The tabloids are having a field day with him,

but this rivalry between Borg and John

is forcing people to ask themselves, "Who am I?

The gentleman or the rebel?"

It's a beautiful morning here at Wimbledon for the men's semifinals.

Björn Borg is up against the American, Brian Gottfried.

And in a second semifinal,

a clash between two of the most controversial figures of tennis today,

John McEnroe and fellow countryman Jimmy Connors.

First serve, Wimbledon semifinal.

Love-15.

15-40.

Game and second set to Gottfried. One set all.

Björn Borg is having a tough time against Gottfried.

Unexpectedly tough.

Listen to those jeers.

I can't remember a single Wimbledon match where the crowd has made this much noise.

Out.

- Out. - Wha...

Excuse me?

It wasn't on this side of the line, Mr. McEnroe.

- The chalk flew up. - The ball has been ruled out.

Excuse me?

It was a good call. It was a bit of a scramble.

You can't be serious. You cannot be serious!

The ball was on the line! Chalk flew up all over, man!

Chalk flew up! He saw it.

That's why he's walking all over it. Everyone saw it was in.

You cannot possibly call that out.

I'm going to issue you a warning for unsportsmanlike behavior, Mr. McEnroe.

Borg isn't playing any great tennis,

but it's enough to beat the unseeded American Gottfried.

Congratulations on reaching the finals.

So it's either Jimmy Connors or John McEnroe that awaits you now.

How do you respond to McEnroe's comment from before the tournament

that Borg, the machine, will soon break down?

I... I'm just like, uh, anybody else.

I'm not a machine.

Just one more word!

You guys are the pits of the world.

You keep your mouth shut. Keep your mouth shut.

Why don't you stay on your side? No one's talking to you.

I'm talking to you.

Shut the fuck up. No one's talking to you.

Fuckin' asshole.

Yeah, I'm so fucking disgusting. Go home then!

- Play some tennis! - Shut the fuck up!

Go play tennis by yourself.

John, congratulations on your victory today.

What do you have to say about your behavior?

Can we talk about my tennis?

Are you worried about the reputation you've gained over here?

People are talking more about your behavior than your tennis.

You're certainly talking more about my behavior than my tennis.

- Do you think it's valid? - No.

But do you have any regrets about your behavior?

I mean, I regret I gotta sit here and talk to you. That's all I regret.

Do you expect anyone to root for you in the final against Borg?

Look, I get that, uh, you got your hero.

You know, your gentleman, Borg, and you need a villain.

Do you think you'll be able to keep your temper?

Let's talk about tennis.

Does anybody have any tennis questions?

Do you enjoy being a villain? Do you feel it helps you?

- You think you'll keep your temper? - Shut the fuck up, man.

- Are you watching the matches? - Yes, I'm watching the matches.

You don't understand what the fuck it takes to play tennis.

Do you know I go up there, I give everything for this game?

Everything. Everything in me gets left out on that fucking court.

And none of you understand because none of you do it.

How was the flight? You look great.

This is the crew from Argentina.

Björn.

I can't remember which door.

Well, can't you just pick one? They all look alike.

No, it has to be the right one.

Wait. Wait, please. Wait with the camera.

Björn, I don't really think it's all that important.

It's very important.

I-- I must think...

Please, Mr. Borg.

Five minutes, gentlemen.

- Turn down the volume on McEnroe, Mike. - What?

- But they switch sides all the time. - That's an order from the top.

It's the perfect rivalry...

the baseline player and the net rusher.

Ice Borg versus SuperBrat.

15,000 spectators.

Hundreds of millions at home by their TV's.

Gentlemen.

First out is McEnroe.

The crowd is booing him.

That's a first in a Wimbledon final.

There he is... Björn Borg, the emperor.

This court belongs to him.

The final we've all been waiting for.

Borg, a legend in his own lifetime.

Tremendous pressure on him today.

He's won it four times, but the fifth time, I'm sure,

will be even harder.

Quiet, please. Quiet, please.

McEnroe to serve.

Ready? Play.

15-love.

There's the talent in McEnroe in the opening point.

40-love.

And there's Borg's blistering return of serve.

40-15.

Game to McEnroe.

First game of the match goes to McEnroe.

McEnroe's serve and volley decides the first game.

Out.

McEnroe takes the game!

What a fantastic start for McEnroe.

McEnroe to serve.

Game, McEnroe.

Borg really having difficulty with McEnroe's left-handed serve.

Like trying to catch hummingbirds.

Borg looks shell-shocked.

McEnroe is humiliating Borg, and he's making him look slow.

Game and first set to McEnroe, six games to one.

Björn Borg is in trouble.

Trouble in Sweden.

New balls, please.

Time.

Second set, Borg to serve.

- Come on, Björn! - Quiet, please.

Point Borg! An unbelievable serve.

That's the Borg we know.

- Out. - Game to Borg.

We're seeing a completely different Borg in the second set.

There it is!

Björn Borg takes himself to set point.

Game and second set to Borg,

seven games to five.

This is exactly what Björn Borg wants.

And McEnroe seems out of touch.

It's a big momentum raiser when you come from behind like Borg has done,

and it tends to undermine your opponent's confidence.

40-15.

So that's Borg, two set points.

- Out! - Game and third set to Borg.

And there it is... Björn Borg wins the third set,

and he leads two sets to one.

So, there's going to be a fourth set now.

If Borg wins it, he can call himself five-time Wimbledon champion.

- Fault! - Fault called.

I thought it was good. McEnroe thought it was good.

30-40.

- Fuck. - Second double fault.

Out.

Out.

I believe the umpire's wrong about that call.

How will McEnroe react to this?

30-15.

Let's go, John!

Time.

It's all right. It's a great match.

Just play your tennis.

Ace, McEnroe!

McEnroe's getting stronger as the set goes on.

McEnroe has the game. A 3-2 lead in the fourth set.

- Just out. - Come on, John.

The pressure is now all on the Swede.

Game to Borg.

He has the game. Five-all.

It's out.

Björn Borg is in the lead.

And ace for Borg.

He can almost taste the championship now.

So here it is, championship point.

Quiet, please.

Oh, no, fault called.

Quiet, please.

Second serve.

He saves the first match point.

Second championship point for Borg.

Borg's got to try not to think about those lost match points now.

McEnroe!

Break point for John McEnroe.

Quiet, please.

- Quiet, please. - What a moment this is for Borg.

He stands to serve, having lost two match points.

McEnroe is back in the match, now with a chance to make it even.

John McEnroe has snatched it away from Borg

just like that!

Six games all. Tiebreak now comes into operation.

No men's final has ever ended in a tiebreaker.

Björn Borg has taken himself to another championship point.

McEnroe says no once again. What determination!

There's the greatness of Borg.

Just one fleeting opportunity, and it's through like a rapier.

Championship point number four.

Oh, John McEnroe!

He has ripped four match points from Björn Borg!

He has set point.

Now McEnroe has the chance to turn this whole thing upside down.

Ball.

If either man took any more punishment,

if this were a heavyweight boxing match, they'd stop the fight.

If Borg wins this point, the roof will blow off the Center Court.

Come on, Björn!

Quiet, please.

Borg got so close, but McEnroe just won't give in.

Both men have looked down the barrel of the gun and they're both still alive.

I don't think I've ever seen a tiebreak like this.

McEnroe again says no!

Set point for McEnroe.

The linesman calls it out!

15-all.

I can't believe it.

The score is 15-all.

Yes!

Yes!

It's dead even!

- Come on! - Incredible!

McEnroe wins the tiebreak, 18-16.

Björn Borg has lost seven match points.

And what must Borg be thinking?

That elusive fifth championship almost within his reach,

but stolen away from him seven times.

This is nothing short of unbelievable.

No one can recover after losing seven match points in a Wimbledon final.

But Borg is playing like nothing happened.

And now it's all about heart.

Hearts beating on either side of the net.

They can hit the ball.

It's up to the hearts.

So once again, match point, Borg.

Five times in a row!

Game, set, and championship to Borg.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the runner-up of Wimbledon 1980,

John Patrick McEnroe.

Here he comes.

Standing ovation for McEnroe,

whose behavior today was beyond reproach.

John Patrick McEnroe is not a champion today,

but he has finally won the hearts of Great Britain.

And Borg, king of the tennis world, without a doubt.

- Well played. - Thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks.

Thank you. Thank you.

Oh, shit.

Fuck.

Really... congratulations.

- Thank you. - Yeah.

- Good match. - Yeah.

Thought you had me.

Almost. Yeah.

Maybe next year.

- Thanks. - Yeah, thanks.

You hug people? What's up? Come on. Here.

- All right, man. - Safe trip.