In early 1983, when Björn Borg announced his immediate retirement from tennis at the age of just 26, it stunned not just the world of tennis but sport as a whole. The Swede was arguably the first superstar of the open era, and had notched up 11 major titles since turning professional just ten years earlier.
His playing style was considered innovative, renowned for his shots with heavy topspin which enabled him to hit balls high and hard from the back of the court. His incredible fitness contributed also to his success, in an era when tennis stars were sometimes known for partying hard, Borg's conditioning often helped him to prevail even over opponents considered superior in ability.
In Britain, of course he is best known for his five successive Wimbledon Men's Singles titles. In 1976, aged just 20 years old, he defeated Romanian favourite Ilie Nastase to become the youngest ever Wimbledon Men's Singles champion, a record which stood until 1985 when Boris Becker won at the age of 17. Borg returned the following year to defend the title successfully, defeating his great rival (and top seed that year) Jimmy Connors in an epic final that went the full five sets.
In 1978 Borg was almost dumped out of the tournament in the first round, battling back from two sets to one down against unseeded American Victor Amaya before a relatively untroubled run to the final, once again facing Connors. This time however, Borg ran out winner in straight sets. He had another five-set scare in 1979, in the second round against Vijay Amritraj of India, before once again overcoming a two set to one deficit. From then on he had little trouble on his run to that final, defeating Connors in straight sets in the semi, to face huge-serving American Roscoe Tanner. That final was another five-set epic with Borg prevailing again after trailing two sets to one.
But it was his fifth and final Wimbledon title in 1980 which sealed his legend when he faced rising US superstar John McEnroe in the final. McEnroe and Borg were polar opposites; Borg was known as 'The Ice Borg' for his apparently unflappable demeanour on court, set against the brash, fiery McEnroe whose frequent losses of temper saw him dubbed 'Superbrat' by the British tabloid press. The fourth set went to a tie-break which lasted for 20 minutes, and saw McEnroe save five match points and eventually win it by 18 points to 16. However, in the deciding set, Borg edged out the American winning by 8 games to 6, to win his fifth successive Wimbledon title in a match considered one of the greatest ever at the All-England Club.
In 1981 Borg returned, fresh from having won his sixth French Open Men's Singles title to seek a sixth Wimbledon championship. That year, he did not drop a set until the semi-final, facing old foe Connors once more he recovered from losing the first set 0-6 and the second set 4-6, to battle his way past the American and set up a repeat of the previous year's final. This time, the result went the other way, with McEnroe winning in four sets to end Borg's 41-match unbeaten run at SW19.
Borg's open-era record of five Wimbledon Men's Singles titles stood until 1999 when American Pete Sampras won his sixth. However, his record of five consecutive titles remains unbeaten, only being matched by Roger Federer of Switzerland in 2007. (Sampras and Federer share the current record of most Men's Singles titles in the open era, with seven titles each). His record of six French Open titles was only beaten by Spain's Rafael Nadal in 2012, and his total of 11 major titles in the open era has only been beaten by Sampras and Federer, with Nadal having equalled the tally. Borg was less successful in major tournaments outside of the UK and France, reaching four US Open finals but losing all of them (twice to Connors, and twice to McEnroe) and only reaching the third round of the Australian Open in 1974. Nonetheless his achievements were monumental, and it was actually John McEnroe who tried (unsuccessfully) to talk the Swede out of retiring from the sport in the hope of continuing a sporting rivalry that had already become legendary.
Post-retirement he suffered a number of failed business ventures which almost saw him ruined financially, before launching a fashion label to success. He staged a short-lived playing comeback in the early 1990s, but his insistence on using a wooden racket in the more modern era when graphite rackets were prevalent, meant his return was unsuccessful.
Borg was not seen at Wimbledon even as a visitor until 2007, when he returned to witness Roger Federer equal his record of five Men's Singles titles, and he has since been seen at numerous exhibition tournaments. Thirty years after his shock retirement from tennis, his name is still synonymous with the sport and with Wimbledon, scene of his most glorious achievements.
Highlights of the 1980 Wimbledon final can be seen here:
*2023 Update - Replaced old video link*
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