Yup, he's serious! Shia LaBeouf gives his all on the court as he morphs into fiery tennis champ John McEnroe on set of new sports biopic

By Chelsea White For Dailymail.com

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They are both known for their fiery outbursts and larger-than-life personalities so its certainly game, set, match for this casting.

Shia LaBeouf revealed his impressive tennis faces as he transformed into champion player John McEnroe.

The 29-year-old looked just like the iconic ace as he darted put onto the competition-grade grass racket in hand and headband on while on the Prague set of Borg vs McEnroe on Wednesday.

Match point: Shia LaBeouf revealed his impressive tennis faces as he transformed into champion player John McEnroe on the Prague set of Borg vs McEnroe on Wednesday

Match point: Shia LaBeouf revealed his impressive tennis faces as he transformed into champion player John McEnroe on the Prague set of Borg vs McEnroe on Wednesday

Dressed in tennis whites with his hair on a mess of curls, Shia was the spitting image of the notoriously fiery player who was known for yelling 'You cannot be serious?' at umpires.

The Transformer's star is playing John in the new biopic examining his famous rivalry with Swede Bjorn Borg - who is being played by Sverrir Gudnason.  

Sverrir was also on the Prague set rocking some Eighties-style tennis wear.

While Shia looks just like John and did his best to smash the ball like the icon back and forth across the net, obviously his playing skills are not quit up to scratch.

Twins: Dressed in tennis whites with his hair on a mess of curls, Shia was the spitting image of the notoriously fiery player who was known for yelling 'You cannot be serious?' at umpires
John McEnroe 1979

Twins: Dressed in tennis whites with his hair on a mess of curls, Shia was the spitting image of the notoriously fiery player who was known for yelling 'You cannot be serious?' at umpires (right in 1979)

Getting pumped: The 29-year-old listened to music between scenes just like a real sportsman would before a competition 

Getting pumped: The 29-year-old listened to music between scenes just like a real sportsman would before a competition 

This is because, also on set was obviously a body double who was wearing a wig and dressed just like Shia.

Taking advantage if having a body double, the star was seen enjoying a cheeky cigarette between takes.

While he may not quite play like him, the actor recently told Variety that he shares a number of character traits with the sportsman.

Let the games begin: The Transformer's star is playing John in the new biopic examining his famous rivalry with Swede Bjorn Borg - who is being played by Sverrir Gudnason (pictured far right). Shia's body double was also seen on set

Let the games begin: The Transformer's star is playing John in the new biopic examining his famous rivalry with Swede Bjorn Borg - who is being played by Sverrir Gudnason (pictured far right). Shia's body double was also seen on set

'You look for parallels in your life, and I'm lucky because there is a lot here,' he explained to Variety.

When asked what they have in common, he continued: 'Everything. Passionate. Perfectionist. Narcissistic. I'm a bit of a caricature also.' 

The film, directed by Janus Metz Pedersen, centres around their 1980 Wimbledon final face-off, widely considered to be one of the greatest tennis matches in history.

Up in smoke: Taking advantage if having a body double, the star was seen enjoying a cheeky cigarette between takes

Up in smoke: Taking advantage if having a body double, the star was seen enjoying a cheeky cigarette between takes

The pair were completely opposite in their playing styles with McEnroe becoming known for tantrums and emotional outbursts on the court while Borg was calm and emotionless.

The players met 14 times on the regular tour and 22 times in total.

Their rivalry extended between 1978 and 1981, with each player winning seven times against the other. Because of their contrasting personalities, their rivalry was described as "Fire and Ice". 

Face off: The hot-tempered American had a three-year (22-game) rivalry with Swedish tennis star Björn Borg (R), and the duo famously faced off in a memorable 1980 Wimbledon match 

Head to head: McEnroe and Borg's rivalry extended between 1978 and 1981, with each player winning seven times against the other. The film will focus on their 1980 Wimbledon match up 

 

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