Borg vs McEnroe

In May 2016, a film about tennis rivals Björn Borg and John McEnroe was in development.[19] Janus Metz Pedersen was chosen to direct the film, from a screenplay written by Swedish writer Ronnie Sandahl.[6][8][19] He is mostly known for directing the 2010 documentary film Armadillo and one episode of the HBO drama True Detective.[6] The film was produced by Jon Nohrstedt, who produced the Swedish animated film Bamse and the Thief City, and Fredrik Wikström Nicastro, who is most known for producing the 2010 film Easy Money.[6][19] The film is distributed by Nordisk Film in Scandinavia and internationally by SF Studios.[6]

In May 2016, Sverrir Gudnason and Shia LaBeouf were cast as Björn Borg and John McEnroe, respectively.[9] In an interview with Variety at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, LaBeouf was excited about the script and working with Scandinavian directors, stating, "They make better movies. Scandinavian film making is different. It's a different pace, a different relationship between the crew—the bonds are different".[8] Stellan Skarsgård had been cast as Borg's coach Lennart Bergelin, which is his first role in a Swedish film in several years.[6][8][15][16] Tuva Novotny and Robert Emms had joined the cast as Mariana Simionescu and Vitas Gerulaitis, respectively.[6][18]

The filming began in August 2016, and took place in Gothenburg, Prague, London, and Monaco.[6] Filming also took place in Borg's hometown of Södertälje, where he grew up, and started playing tennis as a child.[12] The production has recreated the Studio 54 nightclub at a studio in Gothenburg.[17] The tennis arena Štvanice in Prague, stands in for the Centre Court arena in Wimbledon, London, where they shot the finals of the 1980 Wimbledon Championships.[10] Gudnason described that he felt "a huge sense of authenticity, when I [he] and Shia walked from the changing room to what [was] supposed to look like the Centre Court arena, before hundreds of extras".[10][3]

In October, the first set photos of Sverrir Gudnason and Shia LaBeouf as Björn Borg and John McEnroe, respectively, were released.[20][21]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 84%, based on 143 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10.[22] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 30 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[23]

Peter Debruge of Variety magazine praised director Janus Metz: "When the big tennis finale arrives, Metz finds all sorts of ways to make the match interesting, blending urgent music, creative camera vantages and ridiculously hyperbolic announcer commentary to generate the desired tension. But the real reason we’re invested is far simpler than that: Metz and his cast have made us care about both Borg and McEnroe by this point."[5]

John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter called it "An acting-forward sports film capable of engaging viewers who don't know their 30-loves from their birdies or hat tricks."[24]