Bjorn Borg....who took the game of tennis and shook it to its core. Who won 5 straight Wimbledons and 6 French titles ( the hardest ' double ' of all - grass and clay ) The youngest ever seed at Wimbledon, who made the talented and charismatic Nastase look ordinary as he beat him in straight sets in the 76' final. Who played one of the greatest games of tennis ever seen, beating Vitas Geraulitis in 5 sets in the 1977 semi-final and who survived the incredible tie-break loss to McEnroe in 1980 and still had the strength to hang on and take the final set 8-6.
Who attracted a legion of new fans ( mainly girls ) -Wimbledon had never seen screaming like it!
Who, never audibly, questioned a line call or decision..he just walked back to the baseline, with those slightly hunched shoulders and started again.
The only player in the career of John McEnroe to earn the full and undivided respect of the temperemental American.
Who walked away from the game at the age of 26, after losing the 1981 Wimbledon final to McEnroe...perhaps, like all great sportsmen who have the guts to go out at the top, he knew that a new pretender was about to take his throne.
Borg is singularly responsible for moving the game of tennis from a rather stuffy middle-class preserve to a much wider audience..he ( unwittingly ) threw off the shackles of convention with his shaggy mop and headband and with his tennis genius,backed with never say die attitude, was irresistible viewing for the 6-7 years he was at the top of his game.
Who attracted a legion of new fans ( mainly girls ) -Wimbledon had never seen screaming like it!
Who, never audibly, questioned a line call or decision..he just walked back to the baseline, with those slightly hunched shoulders and started again.
The only player in the career of John McEnroe to earn the full and undivided respect of the temperemental American.
Who walked away from the game at the age of 26, after losing the 1981 Wimbledon final to McEnroe...perhaps, like all great sportsmen who have the guts to go out at the top, he knew that a new pretender was about to take his throne.
Borg is singularly responsible for moving the game of tennis from a rather stuffy middle-class preserve to a much wider audience..he ( unwittingly ) threw off the shackles of convention with his shaggy mop and headband and with his tennis genius,backed with never say die attitude, was irresistible viewing for the 6-7 years he was at the top of his game.
