Björn Borg

Björn Rune Borg (? Listen / i; born June 6, 1956 in Stockholm ) is a former Swedish tennis player.

During his relatively short career, Borg won 64 singles titles, including 11 Grand Slam titles. In the years 1976 to 1980, he won five times in a row at Wimbledon, in the years 1974 to 1981, he won six titles at the French Open and he won the 1975 Davis Cup for the first time to Sweden. He also twice won the Tennis Masters season finale as the men's season.

The years 1979 and 1980 ended Borg at the top of the tennis world rankings. He was one of the dominant players of the second half of the 1970s and the first years of the 1980s and is one of the best players in tennis history at all.

Career

As early as 1972, at the age of 15 years, Borg caused a stir when he won his first Davis Cup match for Sweden. In the same year he also won the Wimbledon title in the juniors. 1973 Borg played his first full season on the pro tour and reached the second round each at the French Open and the U.S. Open and his first quarter-final at Wimbledon.

In 1974 Borg at the age of 17 years and eleven months at the Italian Open his first professional title and brought in the same year, six more titles. This included the title at the French Open, Borg won at that time as the youngest player to date. He finished the season at No. 3 in the world rankings. In 1975, he began his rise to the world class continued successfully. Among a total of five season titles of the title was again at the French Open, which he won in the final against Guillermo Vilas. At Wimbledon, Borg again reached the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open even the semi-finals. At the end of the season the world ranking third Sweden led to the first Davis Cup triumph in the country with a 3-2 final victory against Czechoslovakia, in which Borg won both singles.

1976 succeeded Borg in the final for the first time in Wimbledon victory - against the favored Ilie Năstase. At this time, this was the success of the clay court specialists Borg as a minor sensation. In the great clay court tournaments even Borg remained in that year, however, without success, he failed each on world number one Jimmy Connors - at the French Open in the quarterfinals and at the U.S. Open in the final. 1977 Borg defended his Wimbledon title in a five- set final against Connors and thus took the meantime # 1 in the world ranking. With a total of eleven tracks season he finished the fourth consecutive season in the top three players in the world.

1978 Borg dominated the pro tour final. With nine victories this season, he also succeeded in the first Double of French Open and Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, he lost against it in the final again against Connors. 1979 Borg was able to defend both titles in Paris and London and finish with ten other titles for the first time a season as the world No. 1 ranking. He also won for the first time in his career the season ending Masters, which took place in January of the following year.

1980 Borg managed the third double win French Open and Wimbledon in a row, which even today is one of the greatest achievements in tennis history. At the U.S. Open he defeated the other hand, for the third time in a row, this time the distinguished American John McEnroe. Thanks to a new Masters title and nine other titles ended Borg the season but once again at the top of world rankings.

The 1981 season was the last major of Björn Borg. He managed it for the third time in his career three finals at Grand Slam tournaments. At the French Open, he celebrated his fourth title in a row and a total of sixth tournament victory ( this record should be set by Spaniard Rafael Nadal until the year 2011), at Wimbledon, however, ended his record streak of five consecutive titles with the final defeat against John McEnroe. Also in his fourth U.S. Open final he lost to McEnroe. In Geneva Borg then won his 64th in September 1981 and thus the last tournament of his career.

After the end of the season, Borg decided to take a four month break from tournament events. He only appeared in the tournament in Monte Carlo at ( his home ), where he reached the quarterfinals. On the part of tournament organization was him then that means he would have to deny the qualifying rounds of the respective tournaments from now to be allowed to start unless he were participating in the required number of tournaments during the season. Then Borg finished the 1982 season prematurely. In 1983 he joined again in Monte Carlo, but was shortly afterwards - at the age of just 26 years - announced his retirement.

In the following decade Borg made ​​several comeback attempts on the professional tour. It failed in 1984 in Stuttgart in the first round of the tournament, as well as in 1991 in Monte Carlo, in 1992 a total of eight tournaments in 1993 and a further three tournaments. Counter Alexander Volkov he eventually lost in Moscow in 1993 in a decisive tiebreak and then finally ended his professional career. For several years, Borg is as a player on the senior tour go.

Björn Borg is next to Anja Parson and Ingemar Stenmark is the only athlete to be honored twice with the prestigious Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal - (1974, 1978).

Grand Slam Record ( 1974-1981 )

• French Open: Winner 1974, 1975, 1978-1981
• Wimbledon: Winner 1976-1980 ( record series, along with Roger Federer ), Finale 1981
• U.S. Open: Finale 1976, 1978, 1980 and 1981, each lost 2 times against Connors and McEnroe

• Masters: Winner 1979 and 1980, final 1975 and 1977

Game style

Björn Borg revolutionized the tennis game by further developed a fundamentally new grip and stroke technique and perfected. While hitherto more or less for forehand and backhand the same universal handle ( "shake -hand grip " ) was common Borg used for the forehand a different grip posture ( " Western " ) than for backhands ( "Eastern "). He was not the first top player with a two-handed backhand - even the slightly older Jimmy Connors played the backhand already ambidextrous - but he was beating obscured by his hand position in a position on the backhand side especially what the reaction time of your opponent enormously shortened. Borg perfected the already advanced by Rod Laver topspin technique and played them extremely accurate and reliable. This enabled him to primarily dictate his games from the baseline. Against his powerful and extremely precise top-spin strokes were tennis players with outdated grip and stroke technique usually a losing battle.

The disadvantage of the topspin stroke, the reduced ball speed, was more than offset by the increased precision and far greater safety. For the " straight " and therefore faster and more powerful strikes pose due to the flatter trajectory at a higher risk, either on the net or behind the baseline to land.

In this technique, the superior position of Björn Borg was based top tennis in the first place. By now it has become the basis of modern tennis and of course at all levels - from beginners to elite players.

However, Borg was also known for his " coolness": Never saw him during an encounter emotions at. Neither hopeless residues still escapades of his opponent or wrong decisions of the referee and linesman brought him out of the rest. This helped him in the English and American press the nickname "Ice -Borg ." He often played only on the verge of defeat his best tennis and turned -lost matches still to. In his autobiography, Borg revealed after the end of his career, the reason for his apparent indifference: As a junior he was locked because of a violent tantrum after a severe disadvantage for several months. Although bad decisions left him afterwards not cold, but he did not let his annoyance show it. So Borgs coolness resulted from his consistently solid self-discipline.

His image was also his extraordinary for that time fitness. He was always full austrainiert, and his opponents can not remember ever sweating him seriously or even breathing hard to have seen. However, behind it bein hard and sophisticated training with his longtime trainer Lennart Bergelin or his personal friend Vitas Gerulaitis, then even a top 10 player. Borg brought a new professionalism in the " Mr. Sports " tennis.

Influence

Because of his Nimbus Björn Borg was the defining sporting role model - especially for the serious sports and youth far beyond the tennis is. Borg caused a real tennis boom. Many who knew what to do with tennis earlier, suddenly interested in tennis; countless children began the tennis game to learn, just to emulate him. So it was entirely justified, if in the tennis world - there was talk of a " Borg Mania " - in allusion to the " Beatlemania ". So Björn Borg belongs the great merit of tennis, the hitherto rather represented a niche sport to have made a pronounced mass sports.

Groundbreaking was also his marketing. Today's global marketing and modeling agency International Management Group (IMG ) of the late Mark McCormack was great with sports personalities such as Borg and the golfer Arnold Palmer.

After his tennis career, Borg attempted as a businessman. However, several large-scale economic projects did not achieve the desired success. Although his fortune was estimated at the end of his career to about U.S. $ 80 million, he enlisted in 1996 in Sweden bankruptcy. This economic low point has now been overcome Borg, he is now successfully in Sweden as a businessman.

For several years, Björn Borg is named for a successful especially in Scandinavia clothing and perfume brand. 2004 gave customers from around 70 million euros for Bjorn Borg products. On 20 December 2004, the brand owner World Brand Marketing ( WBM ) went to Stockholm's new market (stock exchange ).

Personal

Borg was born in Sodersjukhuset in the south of Stockholm. He grew up in Södertälje.

His first youth romance was the tennis player Helena Anliot, the sport also operate professionally later. On July 24, 1980, he married Romanian tennis player Mariana Simionescu in Bucharest. They were divorced in 1984. In 1985, he hit the Björling Jannike photo model, with which he the son of Robin ( born 1985 ) has. They separated in 1988. Between 1989 and 1993 he was married to the Italian singer Loredana Bertè. Since June 8, 2002 Björn Borg is married to Patricia Östfeldt, with her he has the Son Leo ( * 2003).