Long live the old King of Roland Garros: A tribute to Bjorn Borg

Borg was the perfect dose of calm in an age where his contemporaries from America received as many court violations as titles. While both Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe weren’t exactly silent about their off-court dislike for each other’s faces, Bjorn Borg was respectfully adored by both. There’s a famous incident where McEnroe was playing Borg in a tournament where he started one of his tirades about a line call that he didn’t agree with. Borg was silently standing at the back of the court, observing the drama with a steely eye. At one point, McEnroe looked over at Borg who simply shook his head, indicating the ball was long. McEnroe started play at once. In another incident, McEnroe double faulted on purpose when Borg was awarded a bad line call.

Bjorn Borg of Sweden (left) and John McEnroe of the USA prior to the Men’s Singles Final at Wimbledon on 4th July 1981.

All in all, Borg collected 11 Grand Slam titles. Unlike most other tennis greats, Borg was probably the only one to never see success on hard courts. He won at Roland Garros a record six times, a feat bettered by Nadal only last year. His other five majors came at the All England Club. The RG-Wimbledon double, which is regarded to be the toughest double in tennis, has been replicated by only Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer ever since. Borg achieved this thrice, from 1978-1980.

No article about the Iceberg can be completed without an honorary mention of the 1980 Wimbledon singles final, which remains one of the best matches ever to have been played, comparable only to the Federer-Nadal classic 28 years later. In a match that saw the word ‘drama’ raised to unbelievable heights, Borg had championship points at 5-4, which McEnroe wrestled away. The tiebreaker that followe, known in today’s tennis world as ‘THE tiebreaker’, was built with 34 points of seat-breaking madness. McEnroe proceeded to win the break, but not the match.

Today, Mr. Borg has seen it all. His retirement, failed comeback, attempted sleeping pill suicide and bankruptcy are all a part of his legend. His namesake clothing brand is second to only Calvin Klein in Sweden. Today, at 56, he has earned his right to sit and rest in peace as ex-tennis royalty. We wish him a happy birthday and a wonderful life ahead.