"We were the perfect yin & yang... felt like there was a void": When John McEnroe was saddened about "bittersweet" ending to rivalry with Bjorn Borg

John McEnroe was once frustrated by the bittersweet conclusion to his rivalry with Bjorn Borg. They played each other 14 times on the ATP Tour, with each winning 7 matches.

Borg shocked the world by announcing his retirement from tennis at the age of 26 in 1983. His last Grand Slam match was against John McEnroe at the 1981 US Open, where he reached the final but lost 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 to the home favorite. Earlier that year, the American had also defeated the Swede in Wimbledon final.

After his loss to McEnroe at Flushing Meadows, Borg skipped the post-match ceremony and mandatory press conference. He left the stadium with his coach and headed straight to the airport. That upset McEnroe, who, in a 2021 interview with The New York Times, lamented the situation and expressed his wish that they could have continued playing against each other a bit longer.

"To me, it was bittersweet," McEnroe said. "The way it ended, with a whimper, with him walking out of the court before the ceremony to never play again. So even though it was a tremendous moment for me, winning Wimbledon and the Open back-to-back and taking over the No. 1 ranking, looking back I wish we could have kept playing."

"For years, I would see him and say: 'When are you coming back? This is ridiculous, let’s go.' It just felt like there was a void and it took me a couple of years to accept that. I think it was too bad for the sport as well," he added.

John McEnroe continued:

"We were the perfect yin and yang. You had someone who was naturally aggressive against someone who was a counterpuncher. Everything about us was totally different, the way we looked and the way we played."

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John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg work together as rival captains in Laver Cup

Bjorn Borg (L) and John McEnroe pictured at Laver Cup

Laver Cup is a men's tennis tournament that pits a European team against a team from the rest of the world. Inspired by golf's Ryder Cup, the event was created through a collaboration between Roger Federer's management company, TEAM8, Brazilian businessman Jorge Paulo Lemann, and Tennis Australia.

The event held its first edition in 2017, with John McEnroe captaining Team World and Bjorn Borg leading Team Europe. McEnroe's vice-captain was his brother Patrick, while Borg's vice-captain was former Australian Open finalist Thomas Enqvist.

McEnroe and Borg have remained captains over the years, but 2024 will be their final season at the Laver Cup. Andre Agassi will take over as the captain of Team World, while Yannick Noah will lead Team Europe.