I remember watching this match. At the time, I thought it was the best tennis match I'd ever seen. I haven't changed my mind since then. This was a perfect tennis contest.
Oh really? I’m not too sure about that, there’s a hell of a lot of running in this match and not just side to side but also from net to baseline chasing down lobs . No player before or since wa as quick as Borg and gerulaitis is no slouch either
@@jimlereveilleur-ms7wc I wouldn't say that there is a huge difference in the amount of energy spent during points maybe slightly higher for modern tennis. Anyways they have 25 seconds between points now and still players like Rafa and Novak take so much more time between points. I think the pace at which Federer plays is appropriate considering the longer rallies that we see nowadays.
I love how touch, guile and flair were dominant back then, instead of the modern day wham-bam power game. I wish wooden rackets were still mandatory. The same distressing development has happened to my other beloved sport of rugby union, which has just become huge blokes smashing into each other.
This is the kind of tennis I would like to see. Chances for all play styles, no 90% service winners in Wimbly as in the 1990th, no silly ground stroke rallys for 6h+, no direct winners with insane top spin, not created by the players but by material, disguise, placement and tactics over blind uninspirational power, force the opponent taking difficult shots and making errors.
Great match, everyone who has played with a wooden racket may appreciate Gerulaitis' volley skills, he was at the net at the same level with McEnroe, but McEnroe's serve made the difference in their careers.
Agreed. This was a very competitive match though. Unlike some of their other matches between him and Borg (such as the 1980 french final) which were painful
Vitas dont le jeu nous a enchanté dans ces années 75/82 ...finaliste à Roland Garros,l us open,demi finaliste à Wimbledon...finaliste au Masters ....bloqué au sommet par les légendes Mac enroe,Borg ou Lendl ...
@Sully Sullivan Different times. Give Djokovic a wooden racket and Borg will destroy him. Pitch Borg in his prime in modern game against Djokovic and he would not have a chance. Both will have to adapt to the same era of play to make an fair contest. (I believe both could too.)
This very Wimbledon is when I first watched tennis on television and wanted to learn and play tennis at age 7. Bjorg was the man. I still have in storage my original wood rackets, also my fiberglass racket and my aluminum racket as things evolved into graphite-metal-composite technology which we then called mini-trampolines on a stick.
C'est juste magique...ils sont beaux comme des dieux...et je voudrais bien voir les champions actuels avec des raquettes en bois, ou il faut tout centrer sinon adieu Berthe!!!!
Borg was the first athlete I tried to emulate in sports. I even bought a Bancroft Borg racket. Never could mimic that 2-handed backhand! One of my all-time sports heroes!
I thought it was 18. Borg owned Gerulaitis, as great a player as Vitas was. One of the greatest serve and volleyers of his era. Just goes to show how elevated Borg was from the rest of the pack. He also owned ALL of the baseliners. Couldn't touch him.
Prompted by the great Nadal/Djokovic match on June 11 at the 2021 French, I was reminiscing about the memorable semifinal matches I've seen. This is the greatest -- partially because it went to five sets. Yeah, there really was more artistry to the game back then. After graduating college, I hit Europe for my obligatory post-college excursion in '78. People in London were still speaking of it as the greatest Wimbledon semi ever. Too bad Vitas never beat Borg (as far as I know). But Mac fixed that. Borg and Gerulaitis were friends; Borg stayed at Vitas's Long Island house when playing the U.S. Open.
increible este partido..... Vitas Gerulaitis tenia el partido completamente ganado..... Borg superado por completo en lo tecnico y tactico .ante el juego de red de VItas.....la fortuna y la garra y el despliegue fisico de Borg hicieron que gane un partido que tenia completamente perdido.... la elegancia y estilo de Vitas no pudieron contra el despligue fisico y la garra de Borg.... hermoso partido
If Vitas had a better backhand passing shot, he might have won this match, along with a few slams. This is undoubtedly a Wimbledon classic. If he could hit the shot he hit at 2:31:40 regularly on his backhand pass, he would have been a multi-slam winner.
Ces deux joueurs s entendaient bien et s entraîner souvent ensemble,Gerulaitis avait selon les propos de Borg un très bon jeu de fond de court ,régulier...les matchs officiels tournaient cependant toujours à l avantage du suédois
Gerulaitis est incroyable à la volée. Il était considéré comme le meilleur voleur au monde. Sur les retours, les passings shoot il n a pas la régularité de borg , ça sort souvent, alors que borg fait toujours jouer son adversaire.
Good quality video. Amazing how much slower the game was in those days, even on the very fast grass court of Wimbledon. Borg did not have a very good running lob and his overhead smash is not very accurate too. Compare that with Federer of Djokovic in a much faster game. Tennis has evolved a lot.
The days when players didn't grunt so load they could be heard on other courts, no bouncing the ball 13 times before serving (Zverev) and no fake 'injuries' to try and derail an opponent. Some of the tosspot players today, are completely head wrecking.
Nadal and Djokovic would endlessly be telling Borg to hold on as they simply could not get how someone can only take a few seconds between serves. To be fair to them, Mcenroe was beyond slow - so slow I often fast forward YT videos to get past his slowwwww walk back and slowwwww rocking motion before serving. But Borg, even when behind, would never change his serving manner. That must have irked opponents too.
For somebody so good, Borg's backhand was very poor technically speaking. Double handed but releasing the left hand at point of contact with the ball. What was that about?
Self-taught at forehand and backhand. Everybody said he was doing it wrong - wrong grip, wrong stroke, wrong footwoork. The modern tennis stroke started with this. Actually his backhand looks more fluid than today's jerky, short-swinged two-handed backhand. The play was slower then and he could afford to hit that long, loopy backhand.
Unlike today's players, these guys had the skills to play serve and volley. Today nobody's good enough to do it on their level, and if they are faced with it, they don't even know how to properly answer it (Murray losing to M. Zverev, Federer losing to Stakhovsky, Nadal losing to Brown)..
@@fundhund62 Raonic got to the finals.....Serve and volleying.....beat Federer in the semis. Tim Henman beat Roger at Wimbledon, and a career advantage in h2h. Rafter was 3-0 against Fed.
Fact is serve and volley does not pay off today. Top 4 players are base line players only then come Federer who is an all court player. The more agressive players who dare to approach the net come only after him. They are young so maybe one will reach the top. Would make tennis more interesting. But not next this year and not even 2021. Djokovic and Nadal rule.
I remember watching this match. At the time, I thought it was the best tennis match I'd ever seen.
I haven't changed my mind since then. This was a perfect tennis contest.
The modern players could really learn from how quick these players are between points . No time wasting at all
Modern players hit and spend 10 Times more énergy than them
Oh really? I’m not too sure about that, there’s a hell of a lot of running in this match and not just side to side but also from net to baseline chasing down lobs . No player before or since wa as quick as Borg and gerulaitis is no slouch either
@@patrickkelly9110 That is very true. But also Lendl and McEnroe would have taken at least an hour longer to play this match...
@@jimlereveilleur-ms7wc I wouldn't say that there is a huge difference in the amount of energy spent during points maybe slightly higher for modern tennis. Anyways they have 25 seconds between points now and still players like Rafa and Novak take so much more time between points. I think the pace at which Federer plays is appropriate considering the longer rallies that we see nowadays.
@@patrickkelly9110 The art is to play the game at your pace, and not the opponent's. Brad Gilbert
Wow. My first vitas match. I mean what can I say. Amazing player. We all know how good the borgster is, but vitas! Hats off to him.
I love how touch, guile and flair were dominant back then, instead of the modern day wham-bam power game. I wish wooden rackets were still mandatory.
The same distressing development has happened to my other beloved sport of rugby union, which has just become huge blokes smashing into each other.
Yes, tennis should have stuck with the wooden racquet just like baseball kept the wooden bat. Now tennis is just boring and has been since the 90s.
This is the kind of tennis I would like to see. Chances for all play styles, no 90% service winners in Wimbly as in the 1990th, no silly ground stroke rallys for 6h+, no direct winners with insane top spin, not created by the players but by material, disguise, placement and tactics over blind uninspirational power, force the opponent taking difficult shots and making errors.
Bring back wooden rackets, and we would see the most talented players take over once again.
Not gonna happen, though.
@@fundhund62 I think, wood is not neccessary, just reduce head size to 70 sqinch.
Why wimbledon in 1990s were like that compared to 1980s or 1970s
Great match, everyone who has played with a wooden racket may appreciate Gerulaitis' volley skills, he was at the net at the same level with McEnroe, but McEnroe's serve made the difference in their careers.
Agreed. This was a very competitive match though. Unlike some of their other matches between him and Borg (such as the 1980 french final) which were painful
Don’t agree.McEnroe level above
Dan Maskell was the voice of Wimbledon
fantatisc era ! everything is fine ... music , tennis , art ! i wanna a time machine !!
What music. There's no music.. And what tennis.. Tennis is 10 time better nowadays..
Vitas dont le jeu nous a enchanté dans ces années 75/82 ...finaliste à Roland Garros,l us open,demi finaliste à Wimbledon...finaliste au Masters ....bloqué au sommet par les légendes Mac enroe,Borg ou Lendl ...
Vous avez oublié de mentionner le n ° 1 non reconnu cette année-là. Le fantastique Guillermo ...
2:52:33 Borg steps on his own racket after the serve, still manages to win the point
Bjorn Borg is the greatest player of all time, better than Federer, Nadal or anyone!
HAAHAHAHHAAHA
agree 100 per cent ....
he was ONLY 26 when he retired with 11 slams....He was in the prime of his life. Most definitely he would've won many more slams.
@Sully Sullivan Different times. Give Djokovic a wooden racket and Borg will destroy him. Pitch Borg in his prime in modern game against Djokovic and he would not have a chance. Both will have to adapt to the same era of play to make an fair contest. (I believe both could too.)
This is true -- won 11 GS and 100 tournaments in an eight years career.. and brought tennis in a new age
This very Wimbledon is when I first watched tennis on television and wanted to learn and play tennis at age 7. Bjorg was the man. I still have in storage my original wood rackets, also my fiberglass racket and my aluminum racket as things evolved into graphite-metal-composite technology which we then called mini-trampolines on a stick.
C'est juste magique...ils sont beaux comme des dieux...et je voudrais bien voir les champions actuels avec des raquettes en bois, ou il faut tout centrer sinon adieu Berthe!!!!
Borg was the first athlete I tried to emulate in sports. I even bought a Bancroft Borg racket. Never could mimic that 2-handed backhand! One of my all-time sports heroes!
Brilliant tennis of its time. Seems a little slow now, but the angles are incredible. Great final set
No one beat Vitas Gerulatis 17 times in a row
Such a brilliant story.
Not even Jimmy Connors :)
What's amazing is Roger Federer's record against David Ferrer is exactly the same!
@@tennistimetiborhunyadi3934 🤣🤣🤣
I thought it was 18. Borg owned Gerulaitis, as great a player as Vitas was. One of the greatest serve and volleyers of his era. Just goes to show how elevated Borg was from the rest of the pack. He also owned ALL of the baseliners. Couldn't touch him.
Prompted by the great Nadal/Djokovic match on June 11 at the 2021 French, I was reminiscing about the memorable semifinal matches I've seen. This is the greatest -- partially because it went to five sets. Yeah, there really was more artistry to the game back then. After graduating college, I hit Europe for my obligatory post-college excursion in '78. People in London were still speaking of it as the greatest Wimbledon semi ever. Too bad Vitas never beat Borg (as far as I know). But Mac fixed that. Borg and Gerulaitis were friends; Borg stayed at Vitas's Long Island house when playing the U.S. Open.
Vitas demonstrates the perfect pronation on the serve . 🙏
I'd forgotten how frequently Borg came to the net on grass. Quite surprising.
Borg was able to adapt his game and excel on every surface!
This is a textbook example of superb tennis! Today's tennis is BORING!
Björn Borg. Hero. 🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾
Mine also, I was so depressed on July 4th 1981, and Sept 13th 1981!!! That dam McEnroe.
increible este partido..... Vitas Gerulaitis tenia el partido completamente ganado..... Borg superado por completo en lo tecnico y tactico .ante el juego de red de VItas.....la fortuna y la garra y el despliegue fisico de Borg hicieron que gane un partido que tenia completamente perdido.... la elegancia y estilo de Vitas no pudieron contra el despligue fisico y la garra de Borg.... hermoso partido
If Vitas had a better backhand passing shot, he might have won this match, along with a few slams. This is undoubtedly a Wimbledon classic. If he could hit the shot he hit at 2:31:40 regularly on his backhand pass, he would have been a multi-slam winner.
Ces deux joueurs s entendaient bien et s entraîner souvent ensemble,Gerulaitis avait selon les propos de Borg un très bon jeu de fond de court ,régulier...les matchs officiels tournaient cependant toujours à l avantage du suédois
Gerulaitis est incroyable à la volée. Il était considéré comme le meilleur voleur au monde.
Sur les retours, les passings shoot il n a pas la régularité de borg , ça sort souvent, alors que borg fait toujours jouer son adversaire.
Are those wood racquets !?
Sound like it is about to break !
It seems difficult to find video footage from the 1977 Final. Any hints?
I met Borg in person in Doha in 2013. That day I also talked with Azarenka.
Awesome!
Good quality video. Amazing how much slower the game was in those days, even on the very fast grass court of Wimbledon. Borg did not have a very good running lob and his overhead smash is not very accurate too. Compare that with Federer of Djokovic in a much faster game. Tennis has evolved a lot.
The days when players didn't grunt so load they could be heard on other courts, no bouncing the ball 13 times before serving (Zverev) and no fake 'injuries' to try and derail an opponent.
Some of the tosspot players today, are completely head wrecking.
Borg was a machine
2:14:11
Surely not...?!
Is that Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach in the crowd on Borg's left?
Têtes de série de ce Wimbledon 1977,1.Connors 2.Borg 3.Vilas 4.Tanner...Gerulaitis et McEnroe ont remplacé roscoe et guillermo
Vilas était le n ° 1 incontesté en 1977. Un jour, justice sera rendue
Tanti auguri Vitas ovunque tu sia.
It’s like the final never happened. Never seen a hint of it anywhere.
...back in times when the wheelchair users are sitting directly on the centercourt...
Today unthinkable
left handed servers serving to the deuce court used to be a bit dangerous for them.
Why would they.. Just because they're in wheelchair.. C'mon..
Tanner et Vilas qui avaient disputé la finale de Melbourne sur gazon en janvier 77
Nadal and Djokovic would endlessly be telling Borg to hold on as they simply could not get how someone can only take a few seconds between serves. To be fair to them, Mcenroe was beyond slow - so slow I often fast forward YT videos to get past his slowwwww walk back and slowwwww rocking motion before serving.
But Borg, even when behind, would never change his serving manner. That must have irked opponents too.
Connors v Armitraj please.
That'd be awesome!
Noah - Amritraj (1985) would be great, too!
Why don't Gerulaitis put ball nr. 2 in his pocket instead of holding both in his hands? No wonder he had problems on 1st serve.
Because at that time well into 90s they still didn't have pockets
For somebody so good, Borg's backhand was very poor technically speaking. Double handed but releasing the left hand at point of contact with the ball. What was that about?
Borg's backhand was great! As great a passing shot as any player who ever lived
Armchair experts..
Self-taught at forehand and backhand. Everybody said he was doing it wrong - wrong grip, wrong stroke, wrong footwoork. The modern tennis stroke started with this. Actually his backhand looks more fluid than today's jerky, short-swinged two-handed backhand. The play was slower then and he could afford to hit that long, loopy backhand.
♥
Borg simply was lucky in that 5th set, Vitas made a lot of easy errors.
Very short pants 😁
Serve and Volley. This is unwatchable, man. Where's the rally?
Unlike today's players, these guys had the skills to play serve and volley.
Today nobody's good enough to do it on their level, and if they are faced with it, they don't even know how to properly answer it (Murray losing to M. Zverev, Federer losing to Stakhovsky, Nadal losing to Brown)..
@@fundhund62 Raonic got to the finals.....Serve and volleying.....beat Federer in the semis. Tim Henman beat Roger at Wimbledon, and a career advantage in h2h. Rafter was 3-0 against Fed.
Long rallies are pointless, and a waste of energy.
Fact is serve and volley does not pay off today. Top 4 players are base line players only then come Federer who is an all court player. The more agressive players who dare to approach the net come only after him. They are young so maybe one will reach the top. Would make tennis more interesting. But not next this year and not even 2021. Djokovic and Nadal rule.