1980 Wimbledon Championships -- Men 's Singles final - wikipedia 1980 Wimbledon Championships -- Men 's Singles final Wimbledon 1980 Men 's Final Björn Borg ( 1 ) vs. John McEnroe ( 2 ) Set 5 Björn Borg 7 6 6 8 John McEnroe 6 5 7 6 Date Saturday 5 July 1980 Tournament Wimbledon Location Wimbledon, England Main articles : 1980 Wimbledon Championships and 1980 Wimbledon Championships -- Men 's Singles The 1980 Wimbledon Men 's Singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men 's Singles tournament at the 1980 Wimbledon Championships. In the final, Björn Borg defeated John McEnroe 1 -- 6, 7 -- 5, 6 -- 3, 6 -- 7, 8 -- 6 to win the match. It was regarded at the time as the greatest match ever played. It would be another 28 years before the 2008 Wimbledon men 's singles final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal would rival the match as the greatest ever played. Contents 1 Match 2 Significance 3 See also 4 References Match The match was eagerly awaited as not only was it a clash between the top two seeds, it was also a meeting of opposites : Borg was the Iceman, a ruthless baseliner who used his racket to probe other players ' weaknesses like a surgeon wielding a scalpel. McEnroe was the Brat, a modern genius in the old - fashioned craft of serve and volley, who often gave the impression that his real opponent was the umpire, or himself, or anyone other than the person standing on the other side of the net. At the start of the final, McEnroe was booed by the crowd as he entered Centre Court, because of the heated exchanges he had had with officials during his semi-final victory over Jimmy Connors. In the final 's fourth - set tiebreaker that lasted 20 minutes, McEnroe saved five championship points and eventually won 18 -- 16. The tie - break was later described by one reporter as `` the most riveting episode in the sport 's history ''. McEnroe, however, could not break Borg 's serve in the fifth set, which the Swede won 8 -- 6. Significance This match was called the best Wimbledon final by ESPN 's countdown show `` Who 's Number One ? '' and `` one of the three or four greatest sporting events in history '' by ESPN English speaking personality Mike Greenberg. In 1999, it ranked # 10 on ESPN 's SportsCentury 's Ten Greatest Games of the 20th Century. In a 2002 UK poll conducted by Channel 4, the British public voted the match # 10 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments. ' The New York Times tennis writer Neil Amdur wrote in 2011 : `` I covered the 1980 Wimbledon men 's singles final between McEnroe and Borg. Until the 2008 Nadal -- Federer classic at the All England Club, the Borg -- McEnroe five - setter at Wimbledon was the greatest tennis match I had ever seen, but after watching chunks of the 3 : 53 McEnroe -- Borg final at an HBO screening, I am tempted again to reaffirm its place as the sport 's single most compelling piece of court magic ''. See also Borg -- McEnroe rivalry Borg / McEnroe ( 2017 film ) References Jump up ^ Alan Little. 2009 Wimbledon Compendium. p. 77. ISBN 978 - 1 - 899039 - 31 - 9. Jump up ^ Douglas - Fairhurst, Robert ( 15 December 2017 ). `` Backhanded Complements ''. The Times Literary Supplement ( 5985 ). Jump up ^ `` Classic Matches : Borg v McEnroe ''. BBC Sport. 31 May 2004. Retrieved 25 June 2010. Jump up ^ Jenkins, Bruce ( 7 July 2008 ). `` The Greatest Match Ever ''. San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009. Jump up ^ `` # 10 : 1980 Wimbledon Men 's Singles Final ''. In ESPN SportCentury 's Ten Greatest Games of the 20th Century. ABC - TV. Original Air Date : 23 May 1999. Hosted by Al Michaels. Jump up ^ `` 1980 Wimbledon Gentleman 's Final ''. ( 1999 ). In ESPN SportsCentury. Michael MacCambridge, Editor. New York : Hyperion - ESPN Books. p. 259. Jump up ^ `` 100 Greatest Sporting Moments - Results ''. Channel 4. Retrieved 10 April 2012. Jump up ^ Amdur, Neil. `` McEnroe -- Borg 1980 : A Great Match Endures ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 22 September 2015. Wimbledon gentlemen 's singles finals 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 2017 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1980_Wimbledon_Championships_ -- _Men % 27s_singles_final&oldid = 849208277 '' Categories : Tennis matches 1980 Wimbledon Championships Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from March 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Edit links This page was last edited on 7 July 2018, at 09 : 21 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who won wimbledon's men's singles in 1980
Answer: Björn Borg