With the finals of the US open to be played between Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, let us rewind the clock and look at 5 great finals that were played at the flushing meadows.
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John McEnroe d. Bjorn Borg – 1980 Finals
This classic clash was the last chapter in the storied rivalry between these two legends of tennis. People acclaim this to be one of the all-time greatest 5 matches in tennis. Even though Borg managed to scrape through a gruelling match in Wimbledon, lingering seeds of doubts had been planted in his mind by the American upstart McEnroe.
He was ready to capitalize on any chinks in the armory of the Swede legend. The opportune moment arrived at the 1980 U.S. Open Finals. U.S. Open glory had long evaded Borg and he was desperate to win it that year. However, McEnroe took advantage of an erratic Borg serve throughout the match to finally win a riveting contest 7-6,6-1,6-7,5-7,6-4.
This slowly started the era of McEnroe, taking over men’s tennis dominance from Bjorn Borg. This match was nothing short of dramatic, as one would go from strength to strength, while the other would never be the same again. This definitely features among the 5 best finals of the U.S. Open.