Connors-Borg legend

Connors-Borg

Gran Slam tournaments

The pair Connors-Borg has the best winning percentage in this category (89.7 against 89.6 for the pair Federer-Nadal). But the difference is so insignificant that I'll look to others number for more meaning. They only won 19 slams compared to the record 29 (Federer-Nadal). At the same time they lost more finals (7 against 4) when none of them won the slam. They also won less than 109 games than Federer-Nadal (280 against 389). Even if I take into consideration they hardly ever played the Australian Open. And that Borg retired at the end of season 1981, so not playing in the 1982-83 slams. I still consider they are behind de pair Federer-Nadal. It's obviously easier to maintain a high winniner percentage if you play much less.

Ranked: 2

Year-End Championship

They are the worst pair in this category, winning only 3 times. They also missed more than the other pairs, because of Borg retirement. And none of them played in 1976. They missed altogether 8 editions (40%) over 20 which is a lot and explains why they score so low. 

 

Ranked: 4 (last)

National Representation

Tennis became an Olympic sport in 1988. So we only consider the Davis Cup here. And this pair didn't do well, winning only twice. But as for the master they missed many editions, especially for Connors not really interested in competing for his country. And Borg lacked support with Sweden, being the only top player for his country.

Ranked: 4 (last)

ATP Masters 1000

At the time they were playing, the tournaments listed for Connors-Borg corresponded to the current masters 1000 category. Then it was reduced to 7 (1976-77), then finally 9 in 1979. But at this time the players didn't play them all. They played in different circuits (North America or Europe). Connors played mostly in North America, and Borg played more in Europe. Why do they get 36.5 wins? It's because the Monte-Carlo final Connors played against Vilas was never completed for bad climatic conditions. So I give a half-win for this one. They get almost the same result as the pair McEnroe-Lendl (36.5 against 37). But as Borg didn't play in 1982-83 they could have won more. But maybe not as Borg was burned out and simply unable to compete for mental and motivation issues. So maybe better give both teams a draw.

Ranked: 2 (draw)

Career statistics

This pair won a record 147 tournaments, but they don't hold the record for finals played. This record is owned by McEnroe-Lendl (201 against 210). To separate them I decided to use ATP points distribution (100% winner, 60% runner-up)

Connors-Borg (147-54) = 147+(54 x 60%) = 179.4

McEnroe-Lendl (143-67) = 143 +(67 x 60%) = 183.2

Connors-Borg lose slightly to McEnroe-Lendl: 98% (179.4/183.2)

Wins per season are not available for Borg, but we have his career winning percentage (82.7%) and I made an estimation as only 1 season (1973) was left out. Being ranked 18 in 1973 (ranked 18 typically have 60-66% wins). Combined to Connors win% the pair would score about the same as McEnroe-Lendl (86.4%). But as it's just an estimate the previous titles calculation (179.4 to 183.2) doesn't give McEnroe-Lendl a big enough advantage to win the contest. So a draw is fair for both teams. See Federer-Nadal description for the losing explanation.

Ranked: 2 (draw)

Conclusion:

If in "Career statistics" they are ranked 1 and never top the rankings in the others categories. It just means they won many small tournaments. They are probably the second best team of this study for being ranked 2 in "Gran Slam tournament" and ranked 1 (draw) in "Career statistics".
 

Ranked: 2