Tennis’ greatest male players of all times: (Part Three) Bjorn Borg – Tennis Special
Keep searching the corridors of ATP (Association of Tennis Association) for legends and you will keep on finding more and more stars. Being a tennis star might be easy but to have a respectable place in the Hall of Fame is the
real achievement of sorts. Only those men shall be brought into this series of stories whose domination and class is still considered to be an example for all those professionals to follow. Let’s go to Sweden this time and look the career of a tennis icon
who literally changed the dimensions of the game in his era.
Bjorn Borg – Sweden
Bjorn Rune Borg is the name which is still mentioned with the utmost dignity in the world of tennis. This ‘Greatest of All Times’ will never be seen in action again but the memories of his glorious career shall be remembered forever.
Stepping into the professional circuit in the year 1973, the legendary Swede took four years of hard work and labour to rise to the top of the ATP World Rankings in 1977.
The legendary right-hander was rated as “the King of Clay” for his amazing record on the red clay surface. Borg bagged 64 ATP championship titles in his career and 30 of them came on his favourite clay surface. 11 Grand Slam titles
are associated with the name of the Swede legend, seven of the Roland Garros French Open and five of the Wimbledon Championships.
Borg took coolness and physical fitness to a whole new level in his career. He had the playing style of his own, setting standards for all to follow and yet sustaining his significance among the legendary players. His uniqueness
in the game play was the massive topspin which he used to put on his strokes, dodging his opponent with sheer guile and excellence. It is quite mesmerising to wonder that how a player in the 1970’s could produce such huge topspin on the tennis ball with a
wooden racket? It was the marvel of none other than Borg and it is said to be the secret behind his success in the professional circuit.
Despite of his sublime run on the clay courts, Borg’s game play didn’t suit the hard courts. The Swede legend never won a hard court Grand Slam title in his illustrious career. He was the finalist at the US Open Championships on
four different occasions but never succeeded in clinching glory on the American soil. His best run at the Australian Open was in the year 1974 which lasted until the third round. His record of six French Open crowns was finally broken by the current world
number three, Rafael Nadal, after almost 30 years but his class is something which still prevails at Roland Garros.
Borg’s winning record at the Wimbledon Championships was 51-4, something extremely phenomenal for tennis professional. The Swede legend was the first player ever to win two Grand Slam events without losing a single set in the entire
tournament, a feat later achieved only by Nadal.
His ‘rock star’ looks are always missed by all tennis lovers but he shall remain refreshed in our minds as one of the greatest tennis icons of all times.
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