‘Used Rage as a Tactic’ – American Actor Shia LeBeouf’s Enthralling Analogy on How John McEnroe Used Tennis to Create Art

John McEnroe, the former American tennis star, during his heyday on the WTA Tour, was probably the only worthy adversary to the all-conquering reign of Bjorn Borg. Their clash in the finals of the 1980 Wimbledon Championships, to this day, is considered one of the most nerve-wracking matches of all time. It was an iconic clash. With just two years of experience, the youngster at the time, McEnroe challenged the seasoned Swedish legend.

The rage and emotions the match carried helped it in being featured in the movie based on the rivalry of the two iconic players. Speaking of which, the actor who portrayed the ‘Superbrat’ on screen had a few things to say after learning about him in-depth.

LaBeouf defended the on-court behavior of John McEnroe

While in a 2017 interview, actor Shia LaBeouf explained how the emotions shown by the seven-time Grand Slam champion during the match was a tactic for keeping his engine going. At first, when asked if he believes McEnroe was misunderstood, he said, “yeah.”

“It’s more complicated. I think he’s a tactician. He brought touch and feel and a sensitivity to the game that wasn’t there before,” LaBeouf added.

“He used rage as a tactic to throw people off. He manufactured his intensity to hype himself up. In that way, he is an artist.” Tennis is a sport that appreciates gentleman-like behavior and on-court emotions were a rare thing at the time. However, when players such as McEnroe and Andre Agassi entered the tour, the dynamics of the game changed.

Read more: ‘It Was a Cultural Shock’- John McEnroe Says Going to the UK for Wimbledon Shocked Him

Of course, many found their behavior unsportsmanlike. Though there were others who believed that the on-court antics of such players helped fans connect with the sport more. Speaking of the clash, Borg who was competing for his fifth consecutive Wimbledon trophy, got the better of McEnroe in a 3-hour 53 minutes long match with a score of 1–6 7–5 6–3 6–7(16) 8–6.

McEnroe’s record against Borg

The American star locked horns with Borg 14 times before the latter retired. They met for the first time in the hard court of Sweden, and McEnroe took a straight-set victory of 6-3 6-4.

Watch this story: John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Others in the Most Shocking Moments of Wimbledon Championships.

Following that, a constant back and forth took place between the two and their head-to-head ended in a tie with seven wins each. They last squared off for the title of the 1981 US Open and there McEnroe settled his score by defeating Borg 4-6 6-2 6-4 6-3.

Do you consider the McEnroe vs. Borg rivalry to be the most intense one in the history of tennis? Let us know in the comments.