Borg-Tanner WMB 1979

[TheMadhir]

sergio tacchini

[jefdarcy]

@spjfrat: How can you say it's boring today? YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS! I'm glad the times of serve and volley are over. Just look at this match when Tanner is serving: Either Borg succeeds with the first passing shot or Tanner succeeds with the first volley. Short rallyes with little action. I don't want to say there weren't great matches in the 70's and 80's,and the sport probably had more interesting personalities. But I think many people are being too nostaligic.Tennis is more spectacular today.

[stretchmorgan]

Is Tanner rocking a perm?

[SeventiesMania]

It's only when you watch clips like this that you realise the difference the challenge system makes. Tanner would've challenged the call at deuce 3-4, if he'd got it, then won the replayed point... who knows, lol?

[tomaszek888]

1. The grass played very differently back then. Ball bounce was very low and weird. Very difficult to control i guess. I don't see Nadal winning Wimbledon on the old kind of grass. The last basliner to win the old fast Wimbledon was Agassi. TV forced slowing down of all surfaces I guess.

2. Borg moved in an incredible way. He jumped between points like a boxer or what. Never seen anything like it. Great balance, athleticsm and speed.

3. Ivanisevic's serve was a copy of Tanners

4. Suck my dick

[kching]

frankly the speed of today's game is way way way higher than the game in borg's era. just compare the speed of the groundstrokes. its very telling.

[Mastophales]

I truly believe Borg was the "Ultimate Tennis Machine" and argubaly the best ever... He had great conditioning, superb ground strokes, and quick foot speed, and his demeanor on the court was as cool as anyone. I played tennis growing up in the 70's, won a few local tournaments and even mimicked the "Bjornian Topsin Forehand"... it was great, I used to drive alot of my tennis buddies crazy, with that heavy topsin ! Thanks Bjorn ! ☺

[dwalsh97]

if borg had our racquets that we use today hed be dominating everyone

[SVolleyGame]

Rackets are obviously better today. Most wooden rackets were 80 sq. large while most male pros use 90 or bigger today. But that is not all, size of sweet spot, which comes from torsion stability is much larger today and they are lighter too. All those crazy running strokes or open stance shots pro do easily today would not work with wooden rackets. Naturally volleyers had much easier time back then because any off-center shot from the baseline was a easy put away from volleyers. This is a fact.

[racecar06]

great tennis

bad perm

[tomloft2000]

i thought this was Borg's most entertaining final,even more than the much lauded match with McEnroe the next year.

[blade0954]

great final, with modern line call tech would it have been different?

[ulizinho]

is it true that Tanner executed a serve over 250 km/h with a modern carbonfibre racket?

[echo680]

@ulizinho I don't know about with a modern racket, but according to wikipedia ( I think quoting Tanner's book) he did 153mph at Palm Springs in 1978 during the final against Raúl Ramírez.. If I'm not mistaken, ,thats 246 kph....in 1978 ...stunning !

[greatmya]

Love Tanners perm and PDP racket.

[ulizinho]

does anyone know how many aces Tanner hit here and what the serve speeds are. It is amazing how the two can hit such shots with wooden rackets.

[THEKINKS08]

Tanner served 15 aces, and only 4 doubles, while Borg served 4 aces and 3 doubles. Tanner serve speed was easily around 135-140 miles per hour, here. His record speed is 153 mph in 1978.

[ulizinho]

Oh thank you for the answer.

I thought he served around 30 aces.

Still impressing, how he served with the same speed as pros do today with composite rackets.

[schusterlehrling]

@ulizinho

Tanner once used a modern racket and was 50 mph faster then any pro today , even given his age.

[ulizinho]

Hm, 50 mph ? That would be 80 km/h !! So, 80 km/h more then a 220 km/h of today´s hard hitters would even pass Roddick´s record. That would be 300 km/h ! With all respect for Tanner, this is impossible. I´d say: go and check again or better leave tennis: Schuster, bleib bei deinen Leisten.

[schusterlehrling]

Actually they had Courier and Chang as other players testing their service and he outdid them by 50 mph and had about 270 km/h I think.

[ulizinho]

Well, I dont believe that 270 of a retired not well trained expro is possible. He is not stronger or taller then Karlovic, Roddick or Ivanisevic.

Or he trained like hell in jail.

[greatmya]

what koolaide are you drinking. Face the facts. Athletes are bigger, stronger and faster today. I guess you think Bob Cousy could play in todays NBA

[schusterlehrling]

Okay, today everything is better and they did not chnage the size of the rackets to make it faster.

That, my friend is not based on facts.

They did change the rackets, and the athletes are not bigger and stronger,but by which means?

And most are smaller then Roscoe even today btw.

[kinsthetica]

it´s amazing that everyone today is not trained to serve like tanner. i tried it and it´s more effective and encourages more pace. no, i agree, the synthetic rackets are a boon for hackers, but it reduces the rallies. it´s incredibly obvious they should go to one serve to start the point.

[ulizinho]

I guess it is too difficult for average players. It is a very quick movement like Ivanisevic. Sampras and Federer have a more simple movement which is easier to copy.

[angeldixieblue]

i remeber watching this match live as a kid,it had everything,great game,don't know about aggassi and the 80"s??? 90s more like.cheers for the vid

[Kishnabe]

Reminds me of Roddick vs Federer at wimbledo2009.

[theatlantean1]

Man, this is great. I get on Youtube sometimes and just browse for hours, reliving memories of better days. It seems like the "stories" were much better then. I don't know, maybe it's just "the grass is greener on the other side of the fence" thing, but when I relive the matches back in the late 70's / early 80's, it just seemed so much "cooler" back then. Tennis stars seemed to have much more of an "aura" about them than they do nowadays, especially Borg. That guy defined cool. The greatest!

[vladtepes97]

this was back when players were players, highly skilled and not so reliant on technology. the oversized metal racquet brought down to teenybopper status.

[melende1966]

this is bjorn borg

ice borg=cyborg

[spjfrat]

You could hit hard with wood, but it was more difficult. Second serves were difficult. More variety in the game back then. It is all baseline now. Boring.

[jna180]

"it is all baseline now." <--not at all true.

[mikazack]

Interesting. How many Serve and Volleyplayers are tere in top 100 today?

[spamthetube000]

@jna180: i agree. alot of players go to the net and try and put it away.

[schusterlehrling]

@jna180

but much more, as the BIGGER rackets are harder to pass.

Ridiculous decision to allow bigger rackets.

[ulizinho]

There are enough restrictions about rackets, and Federer uses a relatively small racket. Michael Chang, probably had the largest and longest.

[schusterlehrling]

Well, why were the restriction lifted then?

THAT is my point.

It did no good to Tennis and increased the number of injuries dramatically.

Tjey just WANTED to produce the hardest and fastes strokes ever, but they did it with trickery.

That is my point.

[temp850]

@spjfrat You can't hit as hard with wood though and you can't flick the ball around or topspin with wood like you can with the new frames. Wood also breaks your arm after a while, so you can't use power very often with it.

[snoble2k]

Tanner also changed his hair style should you guys remember that move. These guys were much more skilled at the game than these guys today. Tanner served incredibly hard with that PDP, the ball was struck on the rise of the toss. Borg could hit just as hard as the guys today.

[News4usall]

Tanner using the PDP racket! Designed by the Head Edge racket.

Forgot all about that one.

Anyway - thanks for the memories.

[leijuk]

When Borg won his first Wimbledon title 1976 The Sun 1st page announced ' A star is bjorn'!!!!

[Bampottery]

Does anyone know who the English commentator is?

[Bampottery]

I used to take the week off work to watch this guy:).

[Bampottery]

Wimbledon has never been the same since he walked out in '81- Gracious, elegant, humble man. Great athlete, great looks, great presence. They've never even come close to producing another with equal entertainment value and charisma.

[bandlea]

Damn you right tennis has never been the same since Borg left in 81,why he retired so early is still a mystery,he will always remain the KING OF TENNIS.

[Bampottery]

Borg never returned to Wimbledon after 81, but finished the tennis circuit until 83. He has given several reasons for that seemingly bazaar decision. Personally, I believe he was a boy that was overly disciplined and held too tight. He walked away and literally "closed" the chapter/book, and didn't look back, until 20 years later. It was all or nothing with Borg. As soon as he had reached the point were he could no longer give it his best he wasn't giving it second best.

[theatlantean1]

I second that my brotha from anotha mutha. Borg was then, and still is the KING OF TENNIS. You can tell that even Federer believes that. When asked who he would like to have played the most in their prime, Federer said "Borg on grass, Centre Court, Wimbledon". There's been just a handful of guys who have transcended the sport, who have the "IT FACTOR"......Borg (70's), Agassi (80's), Federer (Current), and Nadal (if he stays healthy). These guys all make the non-tennis fan want to watch.

[Pitonto]

Agassi was only one of the best number 2 ever.

[theatlantean1]

@Pitonto Agassi is in my Top 10 for sure. He's definitely the most gifted ball-striker to ever play. I grew up playing some of the same tournaments with him, and he always had something special. He captured the imagination of many, including those his same age. His story is so unique, that it would make a great book. He was by far the most entertaining, and most influential personality to ever set foot on a tennis court. The only guy who compares in those departments now is Nadal.

[KaitainCPS]

@theatlantean1

Totally agree, about both Agassi and Nadal.

[pildskadden]

I ditto that in every way!

[reg156k1]

great post, i was 13 and liked both Borg for his passing shot and Tanner for his devastating serve

I remember trying to imitate his serve but too much difficult to coordinate correctly

[casheasy]

Awesome that you posted this match. I don't remember seeing any of it when I was a kid, about 12 when it was played. The man from Lookout Mountain had him on the ropes, but he took aim on that passing shot at 15-40.....and missed. I still think Borg would have broken him again and held on, but it would have been great to see.

[AXOU2203]

Tanner missed an easy passing shot at 3-4 15-40, would have he put in, he'd probably won.

[ArgusSlayer]

I doubt it.

[pablotjob]

if roscoe tanner play nowadays, he would have the faster serve.,....

[chapaev36]

Thanks, man. Slapshots aren't usually as aesthetically pleasing as backhands, but I still like it. Can't wait to see Sweden's formidable hockey team at the Olympic games.

[Hania454]

Wow, I remember watching this with my dad as a kid. Great post.

[leelinus]

Great video. I haven't seen this since I watched the match live. Thanks.

[chipesh]

Remember this well. Tanner had an immense serve and Borg did an amazing job retuning some of them.

[palpatine274]

Rivetting stuff.

Thank you very much.

[ushuaia97]

I think R. Tanner deserved to win this match, even if Borg is my favourite tennis player.

For Tanner, to win this match could have change his life