Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life

Sports writer and tennis enthusiast Paul Fein says that a classic tennis match is an event so momentous that the world almost stands still and watches, an episode so fascinating that we remember, even savor, it for years. The U.S. Open has treated us to several such dynamic and often career-changing duels. Let’s take a walk down Memory Lane and revisit these legendary matches.

1980 Final – John McEnroe def. Bjorn Borg 7-6, 6-1, 6-7, 5-7, 6-4

“I want to be remembered as the greatest champion ever,” declared Bjorn Borg after he out-dueled John McEnroe in the thrilling 1980 Wimbledon final. Many experts considered the 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7, 8-6 smorgasbord of scintillating shot-making the greatest match ever. With his fifth straight Wimbledon crown seized soon after his fifth French Open title, the stoical Swede needed two more majors, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open (then played in December), to…