Björn Borg
 |
|
| Country |  Sweden |
|---|---|
| Residence | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Date of birth | 6 June 1956 |
| Place of birth | Södertälje |
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) |
| Weight | 72 kg (160 lb) |
| Turned pro | 1973 (international debut in 1971) |
| Retired | April 4, 1983[1] (comeback from 1991 to 1993) |
| Plays | Right-handed; two-handed backhand |
| Career prize money | US$3,655,751 |
| Int. Tennis HOF | 1987 (member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 608–127 (82.7%) |
| Career titles | 100 (including 63 listed by the ATP) |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (23 August 1977) |
| Grand Slam results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (1974) |
| French Open | W (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981) |
| Wimbledon | W (1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) |
| US Open | F (1976, 1978, 1980, 1981) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Tour Finals | W (1979, 1980) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 86–81 (51.2%) |
| Career titles | 4 |
| Highest ranking | 890 (22 March 1993) |
| Last updated on: 24 March 2007. | |
Björn Rune Borg (Swedish pronunciation: [bjœːɳ bɔrj] (
listen); born 6 June 1956) is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Sweden. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles (a record shared with Roger Federer) and four consecutive French Open singles titles (a record shared with Rafael Nadal), and is often considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time.[2][3][4][5]
During his relatively brief pro career, Borg won 41 percent of the Grand Slam singles tournaments he entered (11 of 27) and 89.8 percent (141-16) of the Grand Slam singles matches he played. Both are open era male records for an entire career. In addition, Borg's six French Open singles titles are an open era male record.[6][7] He is one of four players in the open era to win both Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year and the only player to do so for three consecutive years.
Contents |
Life and career
Borg was born in Södertälje, Sweden. As a child, Borg became fascinated with a golden tennis racquet that his father won at a table-tennis tournament. His father gave him the racquet, beginning his tennis career.
A player of great athleticism and endurance, he had a distinctive style and appearance—bowlegged, yet very fast. His muscularity allowed him to put heavy topspin on both his forehand and backhand. He used a then unorthodox two-handed backhand, adapted from the slap shot in hockey, a game he favored as a child. By the time he was 13 he was beating the best of Sweden's under-18 players, and Davis Cup captain Lennart Bergelin cautioned against anyone trying to change Borg's rough-looking, jerky strokes. They were effective.
Borg joined the professional circuit at age 14. In 1972, at the age of 15, Borg became one of the youngest players ever to represent his country in the Davis Cup and won his debut singles rubber in five sets against seasoned professional Onny Parun of New Zealand. Later that year, he won the Wimbledon junior singles title, recovering from a 5-2 deficit in the final set to overcome Britain's Buster Mottram.
In 1973, Borg reached the Wimbledon main draw quarterfinals in his first attempt. Just before his 18th birthday in 1974, Borg won his first top-level singles title at the Italian Open, becoming its youngest winner. Two weeks later he became the then-youngest winner of the French Open defeating Manuel Orantes in the final 2–6, 6–7, 6–0, 6–1, 6–1. Barely 18 at the time, Borg was the youngest-ever male French Open champion (the record has since been lowered by Mats Wilander in 1982 and Michael Chang in 1989).
In early 1975, Borg defeated the great Rod Laver, then 36 years old, in a semifinal of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) finals in Dallas, Texas 7–6, 3–6, 5–7, 7–6, 6–2. Borg subsequently lost to Arthur Ashe in the final.
Borg retained his French Open title in 1975, beating Guillermo Vilas in the final in straight sets (three sets). Borg then reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals, where he lost to eventual champion Ashe 2-6, 6-4, 8-6, 6-1. Borg did not lose another match at Wimbledon until 1981.
Borg won two singles and one doubles rubber in the 1975 Davis Cup final as Sweden beat Czechoslovakia 3–2. With these singles wins, Borg had won 19 consecutive Davis Cup singles rubbers since 1973. That was already a record at the time. But Borg never lost another Davis Cup singles rubber, and, by the end of his career, he had stretched that winning streak to 33—a Davis Cup record that still stands.
In early 1976, Borg won the World Championship Tennis (WCT) finals in Dallas, Texas with a four-set victory over Guillermo Vilas in the final.
At the 1976 French Open Borg lost to the Italian Adriano Panatta, who remains the only player to defeat Borg at this tournament. Panatta did it twice: in the fourth round in 1973 (7–6, 2–6, 7–5, 7–6), and in the 1976 quarter-finals (6–3, 6–3, 2–6, 7–6).
Borg won Wimbledon in 1976 without losing a set, defeating the favored Ilie Năstase in the final. Borg became the youngest male Wimbledon champion of the modern era at 20 years and 1 month (a record subsequently broken by Boris Becker, who won Wimbledon aged 17 in 1985). It would be the last time Borg played Wimbledon as an underdog.
Borg also reached the final of the 1976 US Open, which was then being played on clay courts. Borg lost in four sets to World No. 1 Jimmy Connors.
Borg skipped the French Open in 1977 because he was under contract with WTT, but he repeated his Wimbledon triumph, although this time he was pushed much harder. He defeated his good friend Vitas Gerulaitis in a semifinal 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 8–6.[8] In the final, Borg was pushed to five sets for the third time in the tournament, this time by Connors. The win propelled Borg to the #1 ranking on the computer, albeit for just one week in August.
Through 1977 he had never lost to a player younger than himself.
Borg was at the height of his career from 1978 through 1980, completing the difficult French Open-Wimbledon double all three years.
In 1978, Borg won the French Open with a win over Vilas in the final. Borg did not drop a set during the tournament, a feat only he, Năstase (in 1973), and Rafael Nadal (in 2008 and 2010) have accomplished at the French Open during the open era.
Borg defeated Connors in straight sets at the 1978 Wimbledon. At the US Open, now held on hard courts in Flushing Meadow, New York, he lost the final in straight sets to Connors. That autumn, Borg faced John McEnroe for the first time in a semifinal of the Stockholm Open and was upset 6–3, 6–4.
Borg lost to McEnroe again in four sets in the final of the 1979 WCT Finals but was now overtaking Connors for the top ranking. Borg established himself firmly in the top spot with his fourth French Open singles title and fourth straight Wimbledon singles title, defeating Connors in a straight-set semifinal at the latter tournament. At the French Open, Borg defeated big-serving Victor Pecci in a four-set final, and at Wimbledon, Borg took five sets to overcome an even bigger server, Roscoe Tanner. Borg was upset by Tanner at the US Open, in a four-set quarterfinal played under the lights.
At the season-ending Masters tournament in January 1980, Borg survived a close semifinal against McEnroe 6–7, 6-3, 7–6(1). He then beat Gerulaitis in straight sets, winning his first Masters and first title in New York. In June, he overcame Gerulaitis, again in straight sets, for his fifth French Open title. Again, he did not drop a set.
Borg won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon singles title, the 1980 Wimbledon Men's Singles final, by defeating McEnroe in a five-set match, often cited as the best Wimbledon final ever played. Having lost the opening set 6-1 to an all-out McEnroe assault, Borg took the next two 7-5, 6-3 and had two Championship points at 5-4 in the fourth. But McEnroe averted disaster and went on to level the match in Wimbledon's most memorable 34-point tiebreaker, which he won 18-16. In the fourth-set tiebreak, McEnroe saved five match points and Borg six set points before McEnroe won the set. Bjorn served first to begin the 5th set and fell behind 15-40. Borg then won 19 straight points on serve in the deciding set and prevailed after 3 hours, 53 minutes. Borg himself commented years later that this was the first time that he was afraid that he would lose, as well as feeling that it was the beginning of the end of his dominance.[9] Borg married Romanian tennis pro Mariana Simionescu in Bucharest on 24 July 1980.
He defeated McEnroe in the final of the 1980 Stockholm Open, 6–3, 6–4, and faced him one more time that year, in the round-robin portion of the year-end Masters, played in January 1981. With 19,103 fans in attendance, Borg won a deciding third-set tie-break for the second year in a row, 6–4, 6–7, 7–6(2). Borg then defeated Ivan Lendl for his second Masters title, 6–4, 6–2, 6–2.
Borg won his last Grand Slam title at the French Open in 1981, defeating Lendl in a five-set final. Borg's six French Open singles titles remains a record in the Open era for a male player.
In reaching the Wimbledon final in 1981, Borg stretched his winning streak at the All England Club to a record 41 matches. In a semifinal, Borg was down to Connors by two sets to love before coming back to win the match 0–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–0, 6–4. However, Borg's streak was brought to an end by McEnroe, who defeated him in four sets, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Borg went on to lose to McEnroe at the 1981 US Open, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3, and the defeat effectively ended Borg's career. After that defeat, Borg walked off court and out of the stadium before the ceremonies and press conference had begun. It would turn out to be the Swede's last Grand Slam final. Although he felt in good condition physically, he recognized that the relentless drive to win and defy tour organizers had begun to fade.[9]
The U.S. Open was his particular jinx. He failed to win in 10 tries, losing four finals, 1976 and 1978 to Jimmy Connors, and 1980 and 1981 to McEnroe. In 1978, 1979 and 1980, he was halfway to a Grand Slam after victories at the French and Wimbledon (the Australian Open being the last Grand Slam tournament of each year at the time) only to falter at Flushing Meadow, lefty Tanner his conqueror in 1979.
He had appeared only once at the Australian Open, earlier in his career, at which he lost in one of the earlier rounds.
In 1982, Borg played only one tournament, losing to Yannick Noah in the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo. Nevertheless, Borg's announcement in January 1983 that he was retiring from the game at the age of 26 was a shock to the tennis world. McEnroe tried unsuccessfully to persuade Borg to continue.
Retirement
When he retired, he had a choice of homes, a penthouse in Monte Carlo, not far from his successful pro shop, and a small island off the Swedish coast. Borg's marriage to the tennis player Mariana Simionescu ended in divorce, he fathered a child by another woman, and he was briefly married to the Italian singer Loredana Bertè.[9] There were rumors of a drug overdose and an attempted suicide, both of which Borg denies,[9] and he narrowly averted personal bankruptcy.[10][11]
He later bounced back as the owner of the Björn Borg fashion label, whose most noted advertising campaigns asked Swedes (from the pages of a leading national newspaper) to "Fuck for the Future." His label has since become second only to Calvin Klein in his home country.[9][12]
Attempted comeback
In the early-1990s, Borg attempted a comeback on the men's professional tennis tour. This time around, however, he was completely unsuccessful. Playing with his old wooden rackets in an attempt to regain his once-indomitable touch, he lost his first comeback match in 1991 to Jordi Arrese at the Monte Carlo Open. From 1991 to 1993 Borg was defeated twelve straight times in the first round of ATP Tour events, losing to: Jordi Arrese, Andrei Medvedev, Chris Pridham, Goran Prpić, Lionel Roux, Nicklas Kulti, Olivier Delaître, Thomas Hogstedt, Wayne Ferreira, Alexander Volkov, Jaime Oncins and Joao Cunha-Silva.The closest he came to winning a match was in 1993 in Moscow, when he pushed Alexander Volkov to three sets and lost a final set tiebreaker 9–7.[13] After that match, he retired from the tour for good and confined himself to playing on the senior tour, with modern rackets.
Memorabilia preserved
In March 2006, Bonhams Auction House in London announced that it would auction Borg's Wimbledon trophies and two of his winning rackets on 21 June 2006.[14] Several players then called Borg wondering what he was thinking, but only McEnroe was able to make Borg reconsider. According to Dagens Nyheter – who had talked to Borg – McEnroe called from New York and asked, "What's up? Have you gone mad?"[15] The conversation apparently persuaded Borg to buy out the trophies from Bonhams at an undisclosed amount.
Distinctions and honors
- Borg was ranked by the ATP rankings World No. 1 in six different stretches between 1977 and 1981, totaling 109 weeks.
- During his career, he won a total of 77 (61 listed on the Association of Tennis Professionals website) top-level singles and four doubles titles.
- Borg won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award in 1979.
- Borg was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.
- On 10 December 2006, the British Broadcasting Corporation gave Borg a Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented by Boris Becker.[16]
- Borg was named one of the 10 Most Superstitious Athletes by Men's Fitness [17]
Place among the all-time greats
With 11 titles, Borg ranks fourth in the list of male tennis players who have won the most Grand Slam singles titles behind Roger Federer (16), Pete Sampras (14), and Roy Emerson (12). The French Open-Wimbledon double he achieved three times consecutively was called by Wimbledon officials "the most difficult double in tennis"[18] and "a feat considered impossible among today's players."[19] Only Rafael Nadal (in 2008 and 2010) and Roger Federer (in 2009) have managed to achieve this double since, and Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi and Roger Federer are the only male players since Borg to have won the French Open and Wimbledon men's singles titles over their career.
In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, had already included Borg in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time. And in 2003, Bud Collins chose Borg as one of his top-five male players of all time.[20]
In 2008, ESPN.com asked tennis analysts, writers, and former players to build the perfect open era player. Borg was the only player mentioned in four categories—defense, footwork, intangibles, and mental toughness—with his mental game and footwork singled-out as the best in open era history.[21]
Borg never won the US Open or the Australian Open, losing in the final at the US Open four times. The only players to defeat Borg in a Grand Slam final were fellow World No. 1 tennis players John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors. Even though it was then played on grass, a surface where he enjoyed much success, Borg chose to play the Australian Open only once, in 1974, where he lost in the third round. Chris Evert, a contemporary of Borg, has pointed out that skipping Grand Slam tournaments - especially the Australian Open - was not unusual then, before counting Grand Slam titles became the norm.[22] Additionally, another contemporary Arthur Ashe told Sports Illustrated, "I think Bjorn could have won the U.S. Open. I think he could have won the Grand Slam. But by the time he left, the historical challenge didn't mean anything. He was bigger than the game. He was like Elvis or Liz Taylor or somebody."[23]
Playing style
Borg had one of the most distinctive playing styles in the open era. Borg played from the baseline, with powerful ground-strokes and a double-handed backhand (very rare at the time and unorthodox). He hit the ball hard and high from the back of the court and brought it down with considerable topspin, which made his ground strokes very consistent.[24] There had been other players, particularly Rod Laver and Arthur Ashe, who played with topspin on both the forehand and backhand. Yet Laver and Ashe used topspin only as a way to mix up their shots and pass their opponents at the net easily. Borg was one of the first top players to use heavy topspin on his shots consistently.
Complementing his consistent ground-strokes was his fitness. Both of these factors allowed Borg to be dominant at the French Open.
One of the factors that made Borg unique was his dominance on the grass courts of Wimbledon, where baseliners since World War II did not usually succeed. Some experts attributed his dominance on this surface to his consistency, an underrated serve, and his adaptation to grass courts. Against the best players, he almost always served-and-volleyed on his first serves (but he naturally played from the baseline after his second serves).
Another trait usually associated with Borg is his grace under pressure. His calm court demeanor earned him the nickname of the "Ice Man" or "Ice-Borg."[25]
Borg's physical conditioning was legendary as he could outlast most of his opponents under the most grueling conditions. Contrary to popular belief, however, this wasn't due to his exceptionally low resting heart rate, often reported to be near 35 beats per minute. In his introduction to Borg's autobiography My Life and Game, Eugene Scott relates that this rumor arose from a medical exam the 18-year-old Borg once took for military service, where his pulse was recorded as 38. Scott goes on to reveal Borg's true pulse rate as "about 50 when he wakes up and around 60 in the afternoon." [26] Borg is credited with helping to develop the style of play that has come to dominate the game today.
Records
- These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.
| Grand Slam | Years | Record accomplished | Player tied |
| French Open | 1974-81 | 6 finals overall | Stands alone |
| French Open | 1978-81 | 4 consecutive wins | Rafael Nadal |
| French Open | 1978-81 | 4 consecutive finals | Ivan Lendl Rafael Nadal Roger Federer |
| French Open | 1978 & 1980 | 2 French Open's won without losing a set | Rafael Nadal |
| Wimbledon | 1976-80 | 5 consecutive wins | Roger Federer |
| Wimbledon | 1976 | Only player to win Wimbledon without losing a set | Stands alone |
| Grand Slam | 1974-81 | 8 consecutive years with a victory in a slam | Pete Sampras Roger Federer |
| Grand Slam | 1976-80 | 3 Grand Slams won in straight sets | Stands alone |
Career statistics
Grand Slam singles tournament records
Stand alone:
- Borg's 11 Grand Slam singles titles out of 27 tournaments played gives him a male open era record 41 winning percentage. Margaret Court holds the record among all players.[26]
- In Grand Slam singles tournaments, Borg's match record is 141–16, giving him an 89.8 winning percentage, better than any male player ever. The only other male players in the open era with winning percentages over 80 are Roger Federer (87.5), Rafael Nadal (86.9), Pete Sampras (84.2), Jimmy Connors (82.6), Ivan Lendl (81.9), John McEnroe (81.5), Andre Agassi (80.9), and Boris Becker (80.3).[27]
- Borg is the first player to win combination of 6 French Open and 5 Wimbledon. Nobody has else matched or surpassed this combination of Grand Slam wins.
- Borg defeated a record eight different (eventual) Grand Slam champions in Grand Slam finals. (Only six were already Grand Slam champions at the time they lost to Borg, but another two later went on to win Slam titles.)
- Either McEnroe or Borg appeared in nine consecutive Wimbledon finals (1976–84), winning 6 consecutive (1976–81) and 8 (1976–81, 1983–84) overall titles.
- Borg's 41 consecutive singles match winning streak at Wimbledon remains an all-time record. Federer also achieved this feat, with a winning streak of 41 consecutive Wimbledon singles matches from 2003 through 2008, before being beaten by Nadal.
- Borg is the only male player to have won both the French Open and Wimbledon singles titles in the same year for three consecutive years (1978–80).
- Borg is the first player to appear in 6 French Open finals.
Share:
- Borg (1974–1981), Sampras (1993–2000) and Federer (2003–2010) won at least one Grand Slam singles title for eight consecutive years, an all-time men's record.
- Borg (6 French Open and 5 Wimbledon), Sampras (7 Wimbledon and 5 US Open) and Federer (6 Wimbledon and 5 US Open) are the only male players to win two different Grand Slam singles tournaments at least five times.
- Borg and Federer have won more consecutive Wimbledon singles titles (5) than any other male player under modern rules. Only William Renshaw won more consecutive singles titles (1881–86), but in Renshaw's day, the defending champion played only one match, the Challenge Round.
- Borg won more French Open singles titles (6) than any other male player in tennis history (MaxMax Decugis won 8 titles when only French players were allowed to compete).
- Borg and Nadal won four consecutive French Open singles titles, the only players to do so, during the open era.
- Borg (1978–81), Lendl (1984–87), Nadal (2005–08) and Federer (2006–09) played in four consecutive French Open singles finals, a men's open era record.
- Borg was the first male player to have appeared in the singles finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year for four consecutive years (1978–81); this has been equaled by Federer (2006–2009).
- Borg (6-0), Nadal (5-0) and Gustavo Kuerten (3-0) are the only players in the Open Era to never lose a French Open final while appearing in at least 3 finals.
- Borg won the French Open singles title without losing a set in 1978 and 1980, and he was the last man to do so until Nadal in 2008 and 2010. Nadal and Borg are the only players to win two Grand Slams without dropping a set.
Surpassed:
- Borg played in 16 Grand Slam singles finals, which as of the end of his career was a male record for the open era and second in tennis history only to Rod Laver's 17 finals. The current record is 22 held by Federer, and Borg's 16 is tied for fifth all-time.
- Borg and Sampras have defeated 9 players in Grand Slam finals second only to the 11 defeated by Federer.
- Borg (1976-80 Wimbledon and the 1978-81 French Open) was the first player to win two different Grand Slam tournaments at least four consecutive times. Federer has since surpassed that record by winning two different Grand Slams five consecutive times each (2003-07 Wimbledon and 2004-08 US Open).
- Borg's five Wimbledon singles titles is the third highest number of titles won by a male player since the abolition of the Challenge Round in 1922. Sampras won seven singles titles, the last of which was in 2000. Federer has won six, the most recent in 2009.
- Borg (1976–1981) played in six consecutive Wimbledon singles finals, an Open Era record surpassed by Federer (2003–2009).
- Borg retired while on a winning streak of record 28 consecutive matches at the French Open. Later, Nadal surpassed this record by winning 29 consecutive matches in the first round of 2009 French Open.
- During the open era, Borg was the first male to play in six finals of two different Grand Slam tournaments (6 at the French Open and 6 at Wimbledon). Later, Sampras appeared in at least seven finals of two different Grand Slam tournaments (7 at Wimbledon and 8 at the US Open).
- During the open era, Borg is the first player to win the same Grand Slam 6 times (6 French Open). Later, Sampras surpassed this record by winning 7 Wimbledon titles.
- During the open era, Borg is the first player to win at least 28 consecutive matches at two different Grand Slams (1978-1981 French Open and 1976-81 Wimbledon). Later, Federer surpassed this record by winning 41 consecutive matches each at Wimbledon (2003–2008) and US Open (2004–2009).
- During the open era, Borg is the first player to appear in 3 Grand Slam Finals in a calendar year three different times in his career (1978, 1980–81). Later Federer surpassed this record by appearing in 3 Grand Slam Finals in a calendar year five different times in his career (2004, 2006–09).
- Borg is the first player of open era to win 11 Grand Slams. Later Sampras (14) and Federer (16) surpassed this record.
- Borg is the first player to appear in French Open, Wimbledon and US Open finals in the same calendar year three different times in his career (1978, 1980–81). This record has since been surpassed by Federer, who has appeared in French Open, Wimbledon and US Open finals in the same calendar year for four consecutive years (2006–09).
Youngest to win
- In 1972 Borg became the youngest ever winner of a Davis Cup match at age 15.
- In 1974, one month before his 18th birthday, Borg became the youngest winner of the Italian Open. That record has since been broken.
- In 1974, only days after his 18th birthday, Borg became the youngest man ever to hold a Grand Slam singles title. He retained that distinction until another Swede, Mats Wilander, won the French Open in 1982. The mark has since been lowered by Michael Chang from the USA.
- At 18 he was the youngest winner of the US Pro Tennis Championships until Aaron Krickstein won in 1983.
- In 1976 at age 20 Borg became the youngest winner of Wimbledon during the open era until Boris Becker became the youngest Grand Slam winner of all time by taking Wimbledon at age 17 years, 7 months in 1985 (a record broken by Michael Chang who won the French Open when he was 17 years, 3 months in 1989).
- Borg won his 11th Grand Slam singles title in 1981 aged 25 years and 1 day, the youngest male to reach that number of titles. By comparison, Roger Federer won his 11th aged 25 years and 324 days; Pete Sampras won his 11th at almost age 27, Roy Emerson at age 30, and Rod Laver at age 31.
Match competition
- Based on the ATP web site, Borg compiled a 576–124 win–loss singles record, winning 82.29 percent of the matches he played. By comparison, Jimmy Connors won 81.96 percent, Ivan Lendl won 81.75 percent, John McEnroe won 81.66 percent, Pete Sampras won 77.44 percent, and Andre Agassi won 76.05 percent.[27]
- Borg won 19 consecutive points on serve in the fifth set on two occasions: his 1980 Wimbledon final against McEnroe and his 1980 US Open quarterfinal against Roscoe Tanner.
Career winning streaks
- On the list of open era winning streaks, Borg is third (43 consecutive tour matches in 1978). The only other men with winning streaks of at least 40 matches are Guillermo Vilas (46), Ivan Lendl (44), John McEnroe (42), and Roger Federer (41).
- Borg previously held the record for most consecutive wins on grass, with 41 victories (all at Wimbledon). Federer, who customarily plays a second grass tournament in Halle in addition to Wimbledon, had his 65 match winning streak on grass (from 2003 through the 2008 Wimbledon final) ended by Rafael Nadal.
- Borg holds the Davis Cup record singles winning streak at 33 consecutive victories.
- Borg holds third place for most consecutive wins on clay, with 46 victories in 1977–79. Only Rafael Nadal with 81 and Vilas with 53 have won more consecutive clay court matches.
Miscellaneous
- Borg's 63 career titles as listed on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) website places him fifth on that website's open era list behind Jimmy Connors (107), Ivan Lendl (94), John McEnroe (77), and Pete Sampras (64).
- Borg retired with US$ 3.6 million in career prize money, a record at the time.
- According to the match scores listed on the ATP website, Borg bageled his opponents (sets won 6–0) 116 times from 1973 through 1981, compared to Federer's 55 bagels from 1999 through the 2007 French Open.
- Borg was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987 at only 30 years of age.
- In 1999, Borg was elected the best Swedish sportsman ever by a jury in his home country. His tennis rivals included a pair of top ranked players: Mats Wilander (who won seven Grand Slam titles) and Stefan Edberg (who won six).
- In their only career match-up, Borg defeated Wilander in September 1981 in the first round of a tournament in Geneva, Switzerland. The score was 6–1, 6–1. Geneva was the last tournament that Borg won during his career.
- Borg won the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1974 and 1978, the latter being shared with alpine skier Ingemar Stenmark. They are the only men to have won this honor twice.
- Borg was well known for his sleek signature line of Fila 'BJ' sportswear, particularly the pinstriped tennis shirts that became a trademark. Although Borg wore Fila throughout the world (except Sweden where he was contracted to Jockey) he used different rackets and shoes for different parts of the world. In North America he wore Tretorn sneakers and used a Bancroft Borg frame, while everywhere else it was the Donnay Allwood or Borg Pro, with Diadora Borg Elite shoes. There was also superstition in what he wore. Borg always reverted to the traditional green pinstripe shirt for Wimbledon, no matter what other design he may have worn at the time.
- Borg revealed on Soccer AM that he is a Charlton Athletic fan.
See also
- List of Grand Slam Men's Singles champions
- List of Swedish sportspeople
- Tennis male players statistics
- World number one male tennis player rankings
- Borg-McEnroe rivalry
- Borg-Connors rivalry
References
- ↑ "Bjorn Borg:History". http://www.bjornborg.com/en/Heritage/Hard-Facts/.
- ↑ "Navratilova joins Laver and Borg on the shortlist (as voted for by . . . Navratilova)", Alastair Campbell, The Times, July 3, 2004
- ↑ "When he was king", Tim Pears, The Observer, June 5, 2005
- ↑ "Best Tennis Player Ever: Bjorn Borg", Donald Fincher, "Bleacher Report", July 6, 2008
- ↑ "Is Roger Federer the Best Player Ever", Sergio Cruz, "Tennis Cruz", October 10, 2007
- ↑ "Compare and contrast", Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated, September 23, 2002
- ↑ "Borg still making the shots", Douglas Robson, USA Today, May 25, 2006
- ↑ "Classic Matches: Borg v Gerulaitis", BBC Sport, 31 May 2004
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Adams, Tim (2007-01-07). "'I can't explain except to say I wanted to play again. It was madness'". The Observer. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/jan/07/tennis.features2. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
- ↑ Campbell, Duncan (2006-03-04). "Borg trophies sale highlights aces and double faults of tennis stars". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/mar/04/sport.tennis. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
- ↑ "Borg Bankruptcy Sought". The New York Times. 1996-10-24. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01EEDF1030F937A15753C1A960958260. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
- ↑ bjornborg.com homepage
- ↑ http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Bo/B/Bjorn-Borg.aspx?t=pa
- ↑ Borg to auction off Wimbledon trophies
- ↑ ""McEnroe fick Borg på andra tankar"" (in Swedish). DN Sport. 2006-03-28. http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=672&a=532512&previousRenderType=3.
- ↑ Sports Personality: The winners
- ↑ Top 10 Most Superstitious Athletes
- ↑ "Wimbledon Legends: Bjorn Borg", Wimbledon official website
- ↑ "Strokes for Agassi: He belongs among the 10 greatest ever", Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 September 2006
- ↑ "Top Stars of Tennis", Bud Collins, MSNBC
- ↑ GO.com homepage
- ↑ Chris Evert owned Roland Garros like no other
- ↑ "Unbjorn"
- ↑ "Wimbledon Legends:Björn Borg". BBC. 2004-05-31. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/wimbledon_history/3742099.stm. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
- ↑ Mark Hodgkinson (2007-10-25). "Bjorn Borg: My life is perfect". The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/10/25/stborg125.xml. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
- ↑ Borg, Björn, and Eugene L. Scott. My Life and Game (1980), page 11
- ↑ These percentages are available on the respective players' pages. Retrieved on 2009-06-20.
Bibliography
- Borg, Björn (1975). The Björn Borg Story. Chicago: H. Regnery Co. ISBN 0-8092-8184-8.
- Borg, Björn; Eugene L. Scott (1980). My Life and Game. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0283986638.
- John Barrett, editor, World of Tennis Yearbooks, London, from 1976 through 1983.
- Michel Sutter, Vainqueurs Winners 1946–2003, Paris, 2003. Sutter has attempted to list all tournaments meeting his criteria for selection beginning with 1946 and ending in the fall of 1991 . For each tournament, he has indicated the city, the date of the final, the winner, the runner-up, and the score of the final. A tournament is included in his list if: (1) the draw for the tournament included at least eight players (with a few exceptions, such as the Pepsi Grand Slam tournaments in the second half of the 1970s); and (2) the level of the tournaments was at least equal to the present day challenger tournaments. Sutter's book is probably the most exhaustive source of tennis tournament information since World War II, even though some professional tournaments held before the start of the open era are missing. Later, Sutter issued a second edition of his book, with only the players, their wins, and years for the 1946 through 27 April 2003, period.
Video
- The Wimbledon Collection – Legends of Wimbledon – Bjorn Borg Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 21 September 2004, Run Time: 52 minutes, ASIN: B0002HODA4.
- The Wimbledon Collection – The Classic Match – Borg vs. McEnroe 1981 Final Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 21 September 2004, Run Time: 210 minutes, ASIN: B0002HODAE.
- The Wimbledon Collection – The Classic Match – Borg vs. McEnroe 1980 Final Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 21 September 2004, Run Time: 240 minutes; ASIN: B0002HOEK8.
- Wimbledon Classic Match: Gerulaitis vs Borg Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 31 October 2006, Run Time: 180 minutes, ASIN: B000ICLR8O.
External links
- Björn Borg at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Björn Borg at Davis Cup
- Björn Borg at the International Tennis Federation
- Official Wimbledon website profile
- BBC profile
- Sunday Times article 5 July 2009
- International Tennis Hall of Fame
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