| Score: | 4–6, 7–6(7–1), 7–6(7–4), 6–4 |
| Draw: | 128 (16 / 8) |
| Seeds: | 16 |
| Before Name: | Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles |
| After Name: | Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles |
| Type: | grand slam |
See main article: 1981 Wimbledon Championships.
John McEnroe defeated five-time defending champion Björn Borg in a rematch of the previous year's final, 4–6, 7–6(7–1), 7–6(7–4), 6–4, to win the gentlemen's singles tennis title at the 1981 Wimbledon Championships. It was his first Wimbledon singles title and third major singles title overall. Borg was attempting to equal William Renshaw's record of six consecutive Wimbledon titles and Roy Emerson's all-time record of 12 major titles.[1]
During this tournament, McEnroe famously shouted "You cannot be serious!" to the chair umpire in response to a serve being called "out". The disagreement took place on 22 June, during his first round match against Tom Gullikson.[2]
See also: 1 and 1. 
Björn Borg (final)
See also: 2 and 8. 
John McEnroe (champion)
See also: 3 and 3. Jimmy Connors (semifinals)
See also: 4 and 6. Ivan Lendl (first round)
See also: 5. Gene Mayer (withdrew before the tournament began)
See also: 6 and 4. Brian Teacher (second round)
See also: 7 and 2. Brian Gottfried (second round)
See also: 8 and 5. Roscoe Tanner (second round)
See also: 9 and 4. 
José Luis Clerc (third round)
See also: 10 and 6. Guillermo Vilas (first round)
See also: 11 and 5. Víctor Pecci (first round)
See also: 12 and 2. 
Peter McNamara (quarterfinals)
See also: 13 and 7. 
Yannick Noah (first round)
See also: 14 and 3. 
Wojciech Fibak (fourth round)
See also: 15 and 8. 
Balázs Taróczy (third round)
See also: 16 and 1. Vitas Gerulaitis (fourth round)
Gene Mayer withdrew due to injury. He was replaced in the draw by lucky loser Mike Estep.
See main article: 1981 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles qualifying.