Both Cronin and Tignor have emphasised Vitas didn’t like alcohol. Again, the film is not factually accurate because Gerulaitis is seen to enjoy champagne, as he swigs from a bottle. Vitas Gerulaitis has often been more spoken of for his ‘joie de vivre’ and ‘bonhomie’ and his party lifestyle. Actually, this, I would argue, is untrue, as the previous September McEnroe won his first major singles title, the US Open. Also, let us not forget, the film seems to indicate McEnroe is the new pretender in world tennis to Borg. A mentor for both but not taken seriously. In the film, Vitas takes Borg to Studio 54 in 1978, whilst in 1980 he takes McEnroe to a Annabel’s nightclub in London. He’s seen smoking, drinking and womanising in two night clubs. Vitas, is the only one of the players we never see play. Anyway, Connors and McEnroe detested each other at this stage with McEnroe himself saying ‘He got under my skin and I got under his skin too and I don’t blame him…He had a young guy taking away his things, and he’d do everything he possibly could do to make me suffer.’(Cronin, 2011) Actually, Connors does not have a beard in the 1980 tournament. But the character has a beard in the film. The Jimmy Connors character is actually factually incorrect, as they do meet in the Semi-final and McEnroe tells him to ‘go away’ in no uncertain times on a line call. Fleming has previously underlined that his relationship on court with McEnroe could be volatile, once telling him ‘Just because i’m your friend doesn’t mean i’m the salvation army.’ (Cronin, 2011) The advice though McEnroe takes on board in the Final. We are also left uncertain whether McEnroe did hide it, underlining his desire to win at any cost. After a heavy defeat, Fleming underlines the importance of friendship and especially the need to be a ‘good loser’ or that McEnroe will never to be remembered as a great for being a bad loser. When Fleming and McEnroe meet in the Quarters of Wimbledon, Fleming accuses McEnroe of hiding his ankle support and McEnroe refuses to speak to him. Fleming, therefore acts as our moral compass within the film (he’s the ‘clean’ American). McEnroe agrees, but Fleming has to ring his girlfriend and says no. Also, one of the first times we first meet all three together, Vitas has two women draped over him and wants to go with clubbing. Peter Fleming is one of McEnroe’s best friends and, more importantly, his double’s partner. The presentation of Connors and Fleming within the film act as a counterpoint to both McEnroe and especially Vitas Gerulaitis. The first two meet McEnroe on his way to 1980 Wimbledon final. These three are Jimmy ‘Jimbo’ Connors, Peter Fleming and Vitas himself. In the film, only 3 other players have genuine speaking roles in the film. A construction of the rivalry between Borg & McEnroe surpasses the other stories, and factual accuracy in some cases. This is a central tenet of the movie also. ![]() This raises a complex question: to what extent are hierarchization like this constructed by television, and to what extent does Television merely relay, in reflective fashion, the pre-existent hierarchisation of the Sport itself? The central narrative question for the coming fortnight, namely, ‘who can stop Borg?’, ‘Can anyone stop Borg?’ The men’s singles was treated as much more important than either the doubles or the women’s singles. Whannel (1992) said of the 1980 men’s tournament at Wimbledon and how the tournament was framed on the BBC:. ![]() ![]() But this is often how the media represents Sport on Television or film. In many ways T he Borg V McEnroe film overplays the role of the two main protagonist in the film (but then, the title leads to that).
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