  |
Bjorn Borg: Resistance is Futile
By James H. DeLorenzo [Originally published in the ATP Tour's International Tennis Magazine September/October 1998 issue.] One of the better laughs recently for tennis fans that are also Star Trek fans was the creation of an enigmatic, ruthless and dominating alien race to menace the heroes of the 24th Century. An alien species known as "The Borg." True tennis fans needn't wonder where the name originated. They had seen a similar phenomenon in the sport during the '70s and early '80s, and it didn't come from outer space. No, this enigmatic, sometimes ruthless but always dominating competitor came from Sodertalje, Sweden. Bjorn Borg was an International sensation, the long-haired blond with the remarkable on-court demeanor: so composed, so focused, so very, very aloof. On the court, he was the antithesis of his fiercest rival on the men's tour, John McEnroe. Off the court, he was quiet, reserved, and almost impossible to know. Now at age 42, Borg has mellowed a bit with time and experience. Along with Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Guillermo Vilas and others, Borg has been a mainstay of the senior tennis circuit, known as the Nuveen Tour in the United States and the ATP Senior Tour of Champions in Europe. Still a fascinating figure for the fans, and still somewhat shy, Borg just recently cut his long hair, which is now touched with gray. Time cannot tarnish his accomplishments, however. Winner of the most Grand Slam singles titles in the Open era of tennis, Borg won five consecutive Wimbledon titles, as well as the most consecutive (four) and total number of French Open titles (six) in history. He achieved all those milestones before the age of 27, when he retired from professional tennis. When asked why he walked away from the sport at the height of his success, Borg said, "That's one of the reasons I stepped away -- because I just didn't enjoy it. It came to the point where I did not care whether I was winning or losing and that just was not me." "Everybody was surprised because they knew I had more to give to tennis," said Borg said. "But even early in the year, I knew I had to leave tennis. I knew before the U.S. Open that it was going to be my last match. But only in my mind, I knew that. I didn't tell anyone." After a brief return to the ATP Tour in 1991, in which he competed in eight singles and three doubles events, Borg joined the men's senior professional tennis tour in 1993. He's still in spectacular shape, weighing in at a lean 165 pounds, and his blue eyes still twinkle with a youthful energy. And there's that enigmatic smile, maybe not so much like the one on the Mona Lisa as like the one a dolphin wears, a smile that hints that Borg is having more fun than anyone suspects. "I think I missed tennis for a long time without really realizing it," Borg said. "I wanted to play then, and I had no choice but to play on the ATP Tour, because that's all there was. They didn't have this [senior] tour then. If they did, I wouldn't have gone on the men's circuit." "It's a good atmosphere, it's the right atmosphere," Borg said. "On the court, we are still very competitive. But it's not the end of the world if you lose. We have a balance. We enjoy it." In August 1995, Borg defeated Connors in a Nuveen Tour event in Cape Cod, Massachusetts to gain his first tournament title since winning the 1981 Martini Open in Geneva, Switzerland over Tomas Smid. Borg had met Connors in five senior tour finals and lost all five up to that day, and it took a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory to gain the title. Borg captured his second senior circuit crown in Cape Cod in August 1997, with a 6-3, 7-5 in Aschaffenburg, Germany last fall. During the current season, Borg lost to McEnroe in the finals in Qatar, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 10-8 this past April. In late June, he suffered a defeat at the hands of Henri LeConte in Aland, Finland, 4-6, 6-4, 10-5. Even so, by mid-summer Borg had achieved the top ranking in the Nuveen Masters Point Standings. That ranking, his first move to the top of the leader board in his senior career, made him only the fifth player in the history of the circuit to achieve the #1 spot. But being at the top of the rankings is not an unfamiliar place for the stoic Swede. Before he had even turned 19 years old, Borg had captured nine tournament titles, including his first French Open. Best known as a clay court specialist, he was able to adapt his game to the grass courts of Wimbledon, where he captured the singles title for five consecutive years between 1976 and 1980. Ranked #1 on the ATP Tour's computer in 1979-80, Borg won the season-ending Masters tournament title in both years. From 1974-1981, Borg garnered 62 men's singles titles and four doubles titles total, and was ranked in the top 10 for eight consecutive years. In 1988, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island; in 1997, Borg made his first return visit since his retirement to the hallowed courts at Wimbledon. ''I think the appreciation of the people has been enormous,'' Borg said. 'It's been positive. I'm very happy people like to see me play. It's gratifying.'' "The only difference between today and before is that if you should lose, it's not the end of the world as it used to be," said Borg. "Everybody is a little more friendly. Before, when we were younger and playing against each other on the regular circuit, there was always a small distance, always that little bit tight feeling between each other even though we were friends. "I mean, now we really are friends and we can talk about matches in the past we had against each other and that's nice. But still, I don't come all the way from Sweden to lose," Borg said. "I probably will play for quite a few more years. I mean, it's a lot of fun for me and I really enjoy it, so I'd like to stick around."
|
|
| ||