Bjorn Borg Ends Decade Of Pain Against John McEnroe

Bjorn Borg won his first ATP Champions Tour match against John McEnroe for nine and a half years by beating the American 6-4, 6-4 in their final round-robin match at the Chengdu Open on Saturday. Borg, who last beat McEnroe on April 15th, 2000 in Doha, Qatar, had lost his past 12 encounters with his old rival. The Swede was in sublime form in China though, serving 11 aces and breaking McEnroe’s serve once in each set. McEnroe was unable to earn even a single break point on Borg’s serve, such was the Swede’s dominance.

"It's always fun to walk on the court to play against John,” said Borg. “It's something special and it's always going to be that way.” For an insight into their rivalry, 29 years since their classic 1980 Wimbledon final, click here.

Despite Borg’s brilliance, neither man will feature on the final day, with both players having lost two of their round-robin matches. In the final, Thomas Enqvist will take on Goran Ivanisevic after both came through their group matches unbeaten. Enqvist overcame Sergi Bruguera 6-4, 4-6, 10-6 (Champions’ Tie-Break), while Ivanisevic saw off Pat Cash 6-4, 7-6(3). Enqvist is still unbeaten this year, with eleven consecutive match victories to his name.

Cash will face Yevgeny Kafelnikov for the first time ever in the third/fourth place play-off after squeezing past Borg and McEnroe on a percentage-of-games-won rule in Group A. Cash, Borg and McEnroe had all won one match, lost two, and won two sets and lost four.

Kafelnikov defeated Michael Chang 6-2, 6-7(5), 11-9 (Champions’ Tie-Break). For those who watched the Russian play during his career, the sight of him smiling before and after almost every rally was an unusual, but very welcome one. His mood has probably been helped by the Giant Panda mascots that have been seen escorting the players on to the court each day.

Before the matches begin on Sunday, a number of the players will get to see some of the great animals up close in a special visit to the panda sanctuary in the city of the Giant Panda.

For latest scores, gossip and updates, follow us on Twitter. To view the order of play and the round-robin groups from Chengdu, click on Results. You can also view the latest South African Airways Champions Tour Rankings.