1981 Cuore Cup – Singles

Singles
1981 Cuore Cup
Champion	John McEnroe
Runner-up	Björn Borg
Score	7–6(7–2), 6–4
Draw	32
Seeds	8

The 1981 Cuore Cup – Singles was an event of the 1981 Cuore Cup tennis tournament and was played on indoor carpet courts at the Palazzo dello Sport in Milan, Italy, between 23 March and 29 March 1981. The draw comprised 32 players and eight of them were seeded. Second-seeded John McEnroe was the defending Milan Indoor singles champion and retained the singles title after a straight-sets win in the final against first-seeded Björn Borg, 7–6^(7–2), 6–4.^[1][2]

	Semifinals							Final
	1	Björn Borg	7	7
		Gianni Ocleppo	5	6
								1	Björn Borg	6	4
								2	John McEnroe	7	6
		Sandy Mayer	3	4
	2	John McEnroe	6	6

	First Round							Second Round							Quarterfinals							Semifinals
	1	Björn Borg	6	6
		Trey Waltke	1	3				1	Björn Borg	6	5	6
		Christophe Roger-Vasselin	2	2					Bill Scanlon	1	7	3
		Bill Scanlon	6	6											1	Björn Borg	6	6
		Carlos Kirmayr	6	6												Stan Smith	0	2
		Adriano Panatta	0	2					Carlos Kirmayr	3	6
		Stan Smith	6	6					Stan Smith	6	7
	7	Bob Lutz	3	2																		1	Björn Borg	7	7
	3	Gene Mayer	7	6																			Gianni Ocleppo	5	6
		Andrés Gómez	6	1				3	Gene Mayer	6	6
		Mats Wilander	3	1					Peter Rennert	4	2
		Peter Rennert	6	6											3	Gene Mayer	3	1r
	Q	Tim Wilkison	4	2												Gianni Ocleppo	6	4
		Gianni Ocleppo	6	6					Gianni Ocleppo	6
		Victor Amaya	7	6					Victor Amaya	5d
	5	John Sadri	6	2

	First Round							Second Round							Quarterfinals							Semifinals
	8	Tomáš Šmíd	6	6
	Q	Richard Lewis	3	0				8	Tomáš Šmíd	6	2
		Jean-François Caujolle	3	2					Butch Walts	7	6
		Butch Walts	6	6												Butch Walts	2	6	5
		Fritz Buehning	2	2												Sandy Mayer	6	4	7
		Sandy Mayer	6	6					Sandy Mayer	6	6
		Rolf Gehring	1	1				4	Brian Gottfried	1	4
	4	Brian Gottfried	6	6																			Sandy Mayer	3	4
	6	Vijay Amritraj	4	6	6																	2	John McEnroe	6	6
		Ferdi Taygan	6	3	1			6	Vijay Amritraj	6	6	6
		Željko Franulović	6	4	6				Tim Gullikson	3	7	3
		Tim Gullikson	4	6	7										6	Vijay Amritraj	3	7	2
		Paolo Bertolucci	2	4											2	John McEnroe	6	5	6
		Heinz Günthardt	6	6					Heinz Günthardt	2	3
		Raúl Ramírez	6	4				2	John McEnroe	6	6
	2	John McEnroe	7	6

• ITF tournament edition details