Toronto's International Film Festival served up an ace Monday, announcing it would open with a movie depicting the epic rivalry between tennis legends Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.

The premiere of Borg/McEnroe, which stars Shia LaBeouf as McEnroe and Sverrir Gudnason as Borg, re-enacts the legendary on-court battles between the volatile American and his cucumber-cool Swedish rival.

"The story of this nail-biter matchup changed the sport of tennis forever, and the outstanding performances from LaBeouf and Gudnason will be a spectacular way for festivalgoers to kick things off," says TIFF director, Piers Handling.

The film, which will open North America's largest film festival on Sept 7, is a change in scenery for director Janus Metz, whose award-winning documentary Armadillo focused on Danish troops serving in Afghanistan.

LaBeouf, who last month was forced to publicly apologize after being arrested for drunken behavior at a hotel in Georgia, plays the US tennis star famous for his tantrums and curly mop of hair.

McEnroe frequently clashed on court with the Swede, whose cool composure provided a stark contrast in their face-offs in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They played 14 times in all－each won seven times.

"The on-court scenes have the dynamism of a street battle, and the drama peels back layers from what we know about both players," says the festival's artistic director, Cameron Bailey.

"This was more than a simple conflict pitting an icy European against an impulsive American. Audiences are in for one hell of a showdown."

Borg/McEnroe is the second tennis movie on the TIFF schedule. Battle of the Sexes, the story of tennis legend Billie Jean King's showdown with Bobby Riggs, starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell, is also in the lineup.

The Toronto film festival, which runs this year through Sept 17, has become a launchpad for Oscar-conscious studios and distributors, attracting hundreds of filmmakers and actors to the red carpet in Canada's largest city.

AFP