The Wimbledon match John McEnroe said was ‘the most proud’ moment of his career even though he lost

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John McEnroe was not known as a player who took losing particularly well, but there was one Wimbledon defeat that he now remembers fondly.

McEnroe won seven Grand Slam singles titles in his career, with three of his major victories coming at Wimbledon.

The American only lost four major finals in his career, with McEnroe calling his 1984 French Open final defeat the most disappointing of his career.

However, McEnroe picked another of his Grand Slam final defeats as the most memorable match he ever played at Wimbledon.

John McEnroe said his loss to Bjorn Borg in the 1980 final was his favourite Wimbledon memory

McEnroe and Bjorn Borg had one of the biggest rivalries in tennis, which included playing each other in four Grand Slam finals.

The first of these four major finals came at Wimbledon in 1980, with Borg beating McEnroe on Centre Court, 6–1, 5–7, 3–6, 7–6(16), 6–8, in a hugely dramatic match that lasted nearly four hours.

This prevented McEnroe from winning his first Wimbledon title at the time, but when speaking to GQ Magazine he picked it as his favourite memory from playing at The Championships.

“The 1980 Wimbledon final with Borg, even though I lost it,” McEnroe said in 2017. “That’s the one I was most proud of to be part of.

“It’s talked about as one of the best matches people have seen so that certainly elevated me in a lot of different ways, even though I came out second in that one.”

McEnroe and Borg’s Wimbledon final is still ranked as one of the best in history, and their rivalry has continued after they both stopped competing.

Until last year, McEnroe and Borg were Laver Cup captains against one another for Team World and Team Europe, respectively.

What John McEnroe said his favourite memory of watching Wimbledon was in 2017

After officially retiring from tennis in 2006, McEnroe has still been present at many Grand Slam tournaments as a member of the media.

In the same interview after McEnroe spoke about the Wimbledon final in 1980, he was then asked what has been his best Wimbledon memory as a spectator.

Not only did McEnroe pick his favourite Wimbledon match, but he also called the 2008 final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the best ever.

Nadal beat Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final, 6-4 6-4 6(5)-7 6(8)-10 9-7, in a match that lasted four hours and 48 minutes.

McEnroe said, “2008 Wimbledon Final is the best match I’ve ever seen.”

McEnroe may have been there to watch the match, but Andy Murray actually left the 2008 Wimbledon final early.

While this is a match that both McEnroe loved watching, Federer has called it the most heartbreaking loss of his career.