Bjorn Borg beat Vitas Gerulaitis 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 in the French Open final, 1980 on clay
It was Borg's 3rd title in a row at the event and 5th overall. He would go onto add a 4th and 6th respectively the following year. Borg dropped just 38 games in winning the tournament and never more than 4 in a set. The match marked Gerulaitis making it to the final of a Slam on 3 different surfaces as only Jimmy Connors and Borg had done at that point
Borg won 91 points, Gerulaitis 66
Gerulaitis serve-volleyed off all but 2 first serves
Serve Stats
Borg...
- 1st serve percentage (51/74) 69%
- 1st serve points won (36/51) 71%
- 2nd serve points won (12/23) 52%
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (9/74) 12%
Gerulaitis...
- 1st serve percentage (49/83) 59%
- 1st serve points won (28/49) 57%
- 2nd serve points won (11/34) 32%
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (13/83) 16%
Serve Patterns
Borg served...
- to FH 68%
- to BH 21%
- to Body 11%
Gerulaitis served...
- to FH 38%
- to BH 59%
- to Body 4%
Return Stats
Borg made...
- 67 (47 FH, 20 BH), including 12 runaround FHs
- 4 Winners (3 FH, 1 BH), including 2 runaround FHs (1 not clean)
- 13 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (3 FH), including 2 runaround FH
- 10 Forced (2 FH, 8 BH)
- Return Rate (67/80) 84%
Gerulaitis made...
- 64 (46 FH, 18 BH), including 1 runaround FH, 11 return-approaches & 2 drop-returns
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 9 Errors, comprising...
- 1 Unforced (1 FH)
- 8 Forced (7 FH, 1 BH), including 1 drop-return attempt
- Return Rate (64/73) 88%
Break Points
Borg 8/11 (8 games)
Gerulaitis 2/5 (3 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Borg 33 (12 FH, 6 BH, 5 FHV, 4 BHV, 6 OH)
Gerulaitis 23 (3 FH, 2 BH, 7 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 5 BHV, 5 OH)
Borg's had 14 passes (9 FH, 3 BH, 2 FHV)
- FHs - 3 cc, 3 dtl, 2 inside-in returns (1 runaround) and 1 dtl/inside-out
- BHs - 1 dtl, 1 longline return (which Gerulaitis misjudged and left) and 1 inside-out/dtl
- FHVs - 2 swinging shots from behind the service line, neither has been counted a net point for Borg
- regular FHs - 1 runaround cc return (not clean), 1 running-down-drop-shot cc at net and 1 inside-out
- regular BHs - 2 cc (1 at net) and 1 dtl at net
- 1 BHV was a drop and 1 was played net-to-net
Gerulaitis had from 12 serve-volley points -
- 5 first 'volleys' (2 FHV, 2 BHV, 1 FH1/2V)
- 6 second volleys (2 FHV, 4 OH)
- 1 re-approach 'volley' (1 BH at net)
- 3 from return-approach points (2 FHV, 1 BHV)…. 1 FHV and the BHV were re-approach points
- FHs - 2 cc (1 pass, 1 return... Borg lost his racquet and couldn't play a shot to the return) and 1 dtl
- BHs - 1 cc pass
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Borg 29
- 9 Unforced (3 FH, 3 BH, 3 OH)
- 20 Forced (10 FH, 7 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.7
Gerulaitis 46
- 28 Unforced (10 FH, 8 BH, 5 FHV, 4 BHV, 1 OH)… the OH was from the baseline
- 18 Forced (4 FH, 6 BH, 4 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 2 BHV, 1 BHOH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.2
(Note 1: All 1/2 volleys refer to such shots played at net. 1/2 volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke numbers)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Borg was...
- 27/39 (69%) at net, with...
- 2/4 (50%) forced back/retreated
Gerulaitis was...
- 48/83 (58%) at net, including...
- 28/49 (57%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 28/47 (60%) off 1st serve and...
- 0/2 off 2nd serve
--
- 7/11 (64%) return-approaching
- 0/3 forced back/retreated
Match Report
A commendably creative - possibly unique - match played by Vitas Gerulaitis to counter the Borg juggernaut. It doesn't come to anything Borg as the final scoreline indicates, but does give the defending champion odd moments of discomfort, especially in the first set. And does make for more interesting viewing than who-blinks-first baseline rallies (which almost certainly have gone Borg's way) or incessant approaching (which there is an element of in the third set)
On serve, Vitas serve-volleys of virtually all first serves and stays back on all seconds. That's not unusual. What he does from the baseline - in return games and on his second serve points - is
Vitas' Strategy
Off the baseline, Vitas plays to bring Borg to net. And then draw OH errors out of him
He does the drawing bit well. Note Borg with 39 approaches (Vitas has 23 from rallies). Most of those are forced. Vitas dinks, chips and lightly slices or pushes balls short to force Borg forward. Rarely are these bait balls out and out drop shots
Borg comes in to meet them. Rarely does he make an error on the ball he's run down, and about as rarely does he hit a point ending shot. Usually, he's hovering around the service line after his first run-up shot, rarely fully at net but with his momentum certainly making it a lot more natural to carry on to that position that he does not favour
Then Vitas lobs. Not as to hit a winner, but to make Borg hit OHs. Rarely does he even try to pass Borg
Note Borg's point ending OH numbers. 6 winners to 3 UEs. For that particular shot, these are not good numbers at all. From Vitas' point of view though, they're even worse, but... probably better than what he would have got just rallying neutrally from the back of the court {Note the groundstroke UEs - Borg 6, Vitas 19 (including 1 OH)}
Worth noting that on top of the point ending OHs, Borg fails to put away a large number of smashes too. Typically takes him 2-3 OHs to finish a point, or he retreats or other shots come into play. Borg does not smash well by any means
Its a very interesting approach, not one likely to end well (and doesn't), but taking as a given that neutral baselining would get Vitas slaughtered, only other alternative would be for him to seek net himself. And he does this, mixing it in with the bring-Borg-in-and-rope-a-dope-with-him bit
Vitas executes pretty well. Its not easy to bring someone in - especially someone as fleet of foot as Borg - without leaving them putaway balls in the forecourt. But Vitas manages. I think he overdid the defensive lobbing and could have gone for more regular passing shots. Borg though is pretty good on the volley in this match (9 winners, 0 UEs, 3 FEs), but that's not something one would have counted on. Generally, Borg is prone to making a mess of volleys... and the likelihood of winning a majority of points against anybody's OH (even someone not proficient at the shot) is extremely slim
Borg wins 70% net points. Not all of those are forced approach points, but the majority are
Vitas at net
Second part of Vitas' plan is to serve-volley off all first serves. That goes reasonably well too - he wins 60% doing so off first serves, with 59% first serves in. Not bad - and better than any alternative. Vitas serve is not strong and sans serve-volleying, would likely be neutralized instantly by the ever consistent Borg return
He perseveres with junking Borg forward over approaching himself til end of second set. I thought a judicious blend of seeking net and the junking tactics would have been better. The junking on its own was never a match winning strategy - he should have used it just as a distraction and led with approaching
The Vitas volley vs Borg pass is a great battle. There's scope for improvement for Vitas. Note the 9 volleying UEs. That's not as bad as it looks... most were not completely easy. Borg passes extremely well too. Note Vitas' 7 volleying FEs, on top of Borg's 14 passing winners
The head of Borg's passing spear is dip rather than power. Balls don't appear to be hit overly hard, but tend to be coming down almost as soon as its past the net. Even coming forward a long way, balls are usually dropping on Vitas as he makes volleys with a large number down by his feet. In this light, Vitas does well to make so many balls. He mostly goes with touch and drop volleys, which is a good idea against such balls
It was Borg's 3rd title in a row at the event and 5th overall. He would go onto add a 4th and 6th respectively the following year. Borg dropped just 38 games in winning the tournament and never more than 4 in a set. The match marked Gerulaitis making it to the final of a Slam on 3 different surfaces as only Jimmy Connors and Borg had done at that point
Borg won 91 points, Gerulaitis 66
Gerulaitis serve-volleyed off all but 2 first serves
Serve Stats
Borg...
- 1st serve percentage (51/74) 69%
- 1st serve points won (36/51) 71%
- 2nd serve points won (12/23) 52%
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (9/74) 12%
Gerulaitis...
- 1st serve percentage (49/83) 59%
- 1st serve points won (28/49) 57%
- 2nd serve points won (11/34) 32%
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (13/83) 16%
Serve Patterns
Borg served...
- to FH 68%
- to BH 21%
- to Body 11%
Gerulaitis served...
- to FH 38%
- to BH 59%
- to Body 4%
Return Stats
Borg made...
- 67 (47 FH, 20 BH), including 12 runaround FHs
- 4 Winners (3 FH, 1 BH), including 2 runaround FHs (1 not clean)
- 13 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (3 FH), including 2 runaround FH
- 10 Forced (2 FH, 8 BH)
- Return Rate (67/80) 84%
Gerulaitis made...
- 64 (46 FH, 18 BH), including 1 runaround FH, 11 return-approaches & 2 drop-returns
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 9 Errors, comprising...
- 1 Unforced (1 FH)
- 8 Forced (7 FH, 1 BH), including 1 drop-return attempt
- Return Rate (64/73) 88%
Break Points
Borg 8/11 (8 games)
Gerulaitis 2/5 (3 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Borg 33 (12 FH, 6 BH, 5 FHV, 4 BHV, 6 OH)
Gerulaitis 23 (3 FH, 2 BH, 7 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 5 BHV, 5 OH)
Borg's had 14 passes (9 FH, 3 BH, 2 FHV)
- FHs - 3 cc, 3 dtl, 2 inside-in returns (1 runaround) and 1 dtl/inside-out
- BHs - 1 dtl, 1 longline return (which Gerulaitis misjudged and left) and 1 inside-out/dtl
- FHVs - 2 swinging shots from behind the service line, neither has been counted a net point for Borg
- regular FHs - 1 runaround cc return (not clean), 1 running-down-drop-shot cc at net and 1 inside-out
- regular BHs - 2 cc (1 at net) and 1 dtl at net
- 1 BHV was a drop and 1 was played net-to-net
Gerulaitis had from 12 serve-volley points -
- 5 first 'volleys' (2 FHV, 2 BHV, 1 FH1/2V)
- 6 second volleys (2 FHV, 4 OH)
- 1 re-approach 'volley' (1 BH at net)
- 3 from return-approach points (2 FHV, 1 BHV)…. 1 FHV and the BHV were re-approach points
- FHs - 2 cc (1 pass, 1 return... Borg lost his racquet and couldn't play a shot to the return) and 1 dtl
- BHs - 1 cc pass
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Borg 29
- 9 Unforced (3 FH, 3 BH, 3 OH)
- 20 Forced (10 FH, 7 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.7
Gerulaitis 46
- 28 Unforced (10 FH, 8 BH, 5 FHV, 4 BHV, 1 OH)… the OH was from the baseline
- 18 Forced (4 FH, 6 BH, 4 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 2 BHV, 1 BHOH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.2
(Note 1: All 1/2 volleys refer to such shots played at net. 1/2 volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke numbers)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Borg was...
- 27/39 (69%) at net, with...
- 2/4 (50%) forced back/retreated
Gerulaitis was...
- 48/83 (58%) at net, including...
- 28/49 (57%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 28/47 (60%) off 1st serve and...
- 0/2 off 2nd serve
--
- 7/11 (64%) return-approaching
- 0/3 forced back/retreated
Match Report
A commendably creative - possibly unique - match played by Vitas Gerulaitis to counter the Borg juggernaut. It doesn't come to anything Borg as the final scoreline indicates, but does give the defending champion odd moments of discomfort, especially in the first set. And does make for more interesting viewing than who-blinks-first baseline rallies (which almost certainly have gone Borg's way) or incessant approaching (which there is an element of in the third set)
On serve, Vitas serve-volleys of virtually all first serves and stays back on all seconds. That's not unusual. What he does from the baseline - in return games and on his second serve points - is
Vitas' Strategy
Off the baseline, Vitas plays to bring Borg to net. And then draw OH errors out of him
He does the drawing bit well. Note Borg with 39 approaches (Vitas has 23 from rallies). Most of those are forced. Vitas dinks, chips and lightly slices or pushes balls short to force Borg forward. Rarely are these bait balls out and out drop shots
Borg comes in to meet them. Rarely does he make an error on the ball he's run down, and about as rarely does he hit a point ending shot. Usually, he's hovering around the service line after his first run-up shot, rarely fully at net but with his momentum certainly making it a lot more natural to carry on to that position that he does not favour
Then Vitas lobs. Not as to hit a winner, but to make Borg hit OHs. Rarely does he even try to pass Borg
Note Borg's point ending OH numbers. 6 winners to 3 UEs. For that particular shot, these are not good numbers at all. From Vitas' point of view though, they're even worse, but... probably better than what he would have got just rallying neutrally from the back of the court {Note the groundstroke UEs - Borg 6, Vitas 19 (including 1 OH)}
Worth noting that on top of the point ending OHs, Borg fails to put away a large number of smashes too. Typically takes him 2-3 OHs to finish a point, or he retreats or other shots come into play. Borg does not smash well by any means
Its a very interesting approach, not one likely to end well (and doesn't), but taking as a given that neutral baselining would get Vitas slaughtered, only other alternative would be for him to seek net himself. And he does this, mixing it in with the bring-Borg-in-and-rope-a-dope-with-him bit
Vitas executes pretty well. Its not easy to bring someone in - especially someone as fleet of foot as Borg - without leaving them putaway balls in the forecourt. But Vitas manages. I think he overdid the defensive lobbing and could have gone for more regular passing shots. Borg though is pretty good on the volley in this match (9 winners, 0 UEs, 3 FEs), but that's not something one would have counted on. Generally, Borg is prone to making a mess of volleys... and the likelihood of winning a majority of points against anybody's OH (even someone not proficient at the shot) is extremely slim
Borg wins 70% net points. Not all of those are forced approach points, but the majority are
Vitas at net
Second part of Vitas' plan is to serve-volley off all first serves. That goes reasonably well too - he wins 60% doing so off first serves, with 59% first serves in. Not bad - and better than any alternative. Vitas serve is not strong and sans serve-volleying, would likely be neutralized instantly by the ever consistent Borg return
He perseveres with junking Borg forward over approaching himself til end of second set. I thought a judicious blend of seeking net and the junking tactics would have been better. The junking on its own was never a match winning strategy - he should have used it just as a distraction and led with approaching
The Vitas volley vs Borg pass is a great battle. There's scope for improvement for Vitas. Note the 9 volleying UEs. That's not as bad as it looks... most were not completely easy. Borg passes extremely well too. Note Vitas' 7 volleying FEs, on top of Borg's 14 passing winners
The head of Borg's passing spear is dip rather than power. Balls don't appear to be hit overly hard, but tend to be coming down almost as soon as its past the net. Even coming forward a long way, balls are usually dropping on Vitas as he makes volleys with a large number down by his feet. In this light, Vitas does well to make so many balls. He mostly goes with touch and drop volleys, which is a good idea against such balls
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