June 30, 1977: In one of the greatest Wimbledon matchups ever, Borg defeats Gerulaitis!

June 30, 1977: In one of the greatest Wimbledon matchups ever, Borg defeats Gerulaitis!

Bjorn Brog and Vitas Gerulaitis, who were close friends and training partners, played one of the greatest matches in Wimbledon history forty years ago. Borg won 6-4 3-6 6-3 3-6 8-6 to advance to the final. With both players showcasing their speed, anticipation, and shot-making prowess, the match developed into an open contest with winners from every area of the court, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats the entire time.

There were about 130 clear winners from the field out of 353 total points (Borg won 177, Gerulaitis 176), with a far higher number coming straight off the serve. Vitas was the more aggressive player, frequently approaching the net and hitting almost forty winners from volleys, but Bjorn was superior with groundstrokes, particularly from the backhand side. The third set’s fourth game featured 13 victories in a flurry of groundstrokes, volleys, passing shots, and lobs! Nearly every time, Gerulaitis was racing to the net, while Borg, as usual, was selecting his strategies carefully.

Vitas only served 49% of the time, whereas Borg’s first serve rate was higher at 57%. With 20 break points (only two in the final two sets), Bjorn converted five of them and was broken four times out of the 11 opportunities Gerulaitis created. With a backhand down the line return winner in the first game of the match, Borg got off to the ideal start. He would go on to win the set 6-4. In the fourth game, Bjorn held off a break point to maintain his lead, and in the tenth game, he sealed the set with an ace to give himself an early advantage. In the fifth game of the second set, Vitas survived a break point and broke in the following.

As previously said, the drama reached a peak in the fourth game of the third set, when Borg scored five break points and eight deuces. After 10 minutes of excellent tennis, Vitas holds off everyone and concludes the match with a serve winner to even the score at 2-2. Bjorn worked some magic with his groundstrokes in game 8, breaking his good friend with a forehand winner to grab a 5-3 lead and set up a set for the next game. The Swede was one set away from another Wimbledon final after winning another set on the forehand.

Vitas pushed even harder in set four, refusing to give up, and was given an early break in that game. After game 9, they were tied at two sets apiece, forcing Vitas to send the match to a decider. Bjorn held better in the subsequent games, but he was unable to inflict further damage on Gerulaitis’s serve outside deuces.

In that instance, Gerulaitis had the superior beginning; in game three, he broke for love and had a game point for a 3-1 victory. With three excellent passing plays to even the score at 2-2 and relieve some of the pressure to win the game, Borg, cool as ice, got back into the game. In game 14, Borg earned two match points with a stunning lob after holding in a very tense game 11 to take a 6-5 lead. After Vitas hit a hard volley out, he converted the first to celebrate one of his hardest-ever Wimbledon victories.