McEnroe Defeats Borg in U.S. Open; USSR Topples Canada in Canada Cup

John McEnroe swept confidently past Bjorn Borg in four sets yesterday to take his third straight United States Open championship and establish himself as the undisputed king of men's tennis.

The feisty New Yorker consistently intimidated his opponent with a variety of powerful groundstrokes and volleys and often kept Borg pinned to the baseline in the 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 victory.

Neither player was at the top of his game, but Borg seemed particularly confused by McEnroe's forceful approach shots and crushing net attack. The Swede, who had won five consecutive Wimbledon titles until McEnroe took that championship from him this summer, failed to follow his serve to net and frequently passed up opportunities to attack during sharp backcourt exchanges.

The pattern of the match became apparent even as Borg took the first set. Leading 5-3, he had three set points on McEnroe's serve but played tentatively and failed to win any of them. Though he closed out the set at 6-4, Borg continued to allow his opponent to maneuver him around the court and fell behind quickly in the second set.

McEnroe, who displayed little of his well-publicized temper before the over-flowing Flushing Meadow stadium crowd, settled into a pattern of running around Borg's second serve and rushing net behind deep forehand approaches. Anticipating Borg's counter-punches with uncanny consistency, he cut off many potential passing shots with untouchable volleys.

The turning point of the match came midway through the third set, when Borg broke serve to go ahead 4-2. It seemed for a few minutes that he would turn a lackadaisical performance into a stunning comeback, as he has done so often in past fournament finals.

But McEnroe held serve and then broke back with a stunning barrage of outright winners, including two top-spin lobs Borg didn't even bother to chase. The sudden attack seemed to stun Borg, who never seriously threatened to regain the offensive.

After trading breaks with McEnroe in the fourth set, Borg made three startling groundstroke errors and lost his serve again to fall behind 2-4.

McEnroe allowed several match points to slip away at 5-2 but took the championship with a typically forceful serve that Borg simply couldn't handle.

Fist punching the air in joy, McEnroe left the court cheered by his hometown fans. Borg headed for the lockerroom with a grim countenance and, once again, without the title he desires more than any other.

The Soviet Union scored five unanswered goals in the third period to romp past Team Canada, 8-1, and capture the second Canada Cup in Montreal last night.

After a scoreless first period during which USSR goalie Vladislav Tretiak stymied the defending champions, the Soviets put on a strong skating display to thwart the home team's dangerous offense.

Vladimir Shepelev scored a hat trick to break a 1-1 tie and stake the Soviets to a 4-1 lead.

Clark Gillies of the New York Islanders scored the lone Canadian marker.

Mike Liut of the St. Louis Blues played goal for Canada.