Fire & Ice

Often the best ideas are the ones that seem so obvious in retrospect. Say, for instance, a fascinating documentary about the storied rivalry, and the unlikely friendship that formed in the later years, between the temperamental John McEnroe and the famously cool Bjorn Borg. What else could it possibly be called but McEnroe/Borg: Fire & Ice?

At its height the Borg/McEnroe matchup was every bit as hotly contested as Federer/Nadal. But what really pushed it over the top was the personality contrast between the fiery, outspoken New Yorker and the unflappable, ultra-professional Swede. Well, that and some unbelievable matches — their first ever meeting, in the 1980 Wimbledon final, was a match for the ages, its 34-point fourth-set tiebreaker possessing not just the length but also the drama of a true epic.

(Incidentally, if you’re in Netflix territory, the match is worth watching on its own: not just for the action but for the fashions, for the masterfully minimal sportscasting — the BBC’s John Barrett doesn’t say a word until the score is 40-15, more than two minutes into the first game — and for the supercharged atmosphere inside Wimbledon’s centre court.)

Both of them thrived on the competition, and after Borg’s early retirement — he gave up the game at 26 — McEnroe seemed to lose a bit of his passion. What remained, aside from some compelling sports television, was a friendship that persists to this day.

McEnroe/Borg: Fire & Ice airs tonight (June 17th) on HBO, and repeats through the end of the month — plenty of time to get your old tennis whites and wooden racquets out of storage. The timing, obviously, is meant to coincide with this year’s 2011 Wimbledon Championships, which start next week. Just don’t be too disappointed if the present-day action pales a bit in comparison to the Borg/McEnroe days; we’ll always have 1980.