| 1975 also saw Borg
help Sweden to win its first ever Davis Cup title. He won two singles
and one doubles rubber in the final as Sweden beat Czechoslovakia
3–2. With his two singles wins in the final, Borg had put together
a run of 19 consecutive wins in Davis Cup singles rubbers going
back to 1973. That was already a record at the time. But Borg never
lost another Davis Cup singles rubber, and by the end of his career
he had stretched that winning streak to 33 - a Davis Cup record
which still stands.
With two French Open wins and a Davis Cup under his belt, Borg set
his sights on winning Wimbledon. Borg did not make much of an impact
at Wimbledon prior to 1976, and many people doubted whether his
strong base-line game could be adapted to be successful on Wimbledon's
fast-playing grass courts. But after two weeks of solid practice
in serve-and-volley tactics, Borg swept through Wimbledon in 1976
without losing a set, defeating the much-favoured Ilie Nastase in
straight sets in the final. Borg became the youngest male Wimbledon
champion of the modern era at 20 years and 1 month (a record later
broken by Boris Becker who won Wimbledon aged 17 in 1985). Borg
also reached the final of the 1976 US Open, where he lost to Jimmy
Connors. Some speculate that provided Borg's surviving the first
week of Wimbledon, when the courts were slick and fast, was key
to his triumphing, for by the second week of this tournament the
grass courts are so stamped upon that in some ways they approximate
clay courts.
Borg repeated his Wimbledon triumph in 1977, although this time
he was pushed much harder. He won a thrilling five-set victory over
Vitas Gerulaitis in the semi-finals 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 8-6 [1].
And in the final he was also pushed to five sets by Connors.
The end of the 1970s and the start of the 1980s saw Borg at the
height of his powers. He won both the French Open and Wimbledon
for three years running in 1978, 1979 and 1980. He also won the
season-ending Masters title in 1979 and 1980. And Borg was also
runner-up at the US Open in 1978 (lost to Connors) and 1980 (lost
to McEnroe).
Borg's fifth consecutive Wimbledon title was won in an all-time
great final in 1980 against the new up-and-coming star of men's
tennis John McEnroe. In a 34-point fourth-set tie-breaker, Borg
saved six sets-points and McEnroe saved five match-points before
McEnroe finally won the tie-break 18-16. In the end, Borg's renowned
mental toughness prevailed in the decisive fifth set, which he won
8-6.
Borg won what turned out to be his final Grand Slam title at the
French Open in 1981. In the final, he beat another of tennis' up-and-coming
stars, Ivan Lendl, in five sets. Borg's six French Open titles remains
a record for a male player.
In making the final at Wimbledon in 1981, Borg stretched his winning
streak at the All England Club to a record 41 matches. But it finally
came to an end in the 1981 final, where McEnroe beat him in four
sets.
Borg's last Grand Slam final was a four-set defeat to McEnroe at
the 1981 US Open. The US Open was undoubtedly Borg's "bogey
tournament". He reached the final four times but never won.
(Borg chose to make the journey to the Australian Open only once,
in 1974, where he lost in the third round.) The U.S. open final
is always played at night, to catch the prime-time sports viewing
TV audience and Borg reputedly found himself hampered by playing
under electric lights. He tried unsuccessfully to lobby U.S. representatives
to shift the tournament to the afternoon.
The spark seemed to have burned out of Borg's game by the end of
1981, and he was on the brink of burn-out. But Borg's announcement
in 1982 that he was retiring from the game at the age of just 26
was a shock to the tennis world.
After retiring, Borg suffered a drug overdose, was rumoured to have
attempted suicide and had a turbulent relationship with his then-wife,
the Italian singer Loredana Bertè. He later bounced back
as the owner of the Björn Borg fashion label, whose most noted
advertising campaigns asked Swedes (from the pages of a leading
national newspaper) to "Fuck for the Future".
In the early-1990s (possibly pushed by financial difficulties with
his fashion label, which was not doing very well at the time), Borg
attempted a comeback on the men's professional tennis tour. However
this time around he was not at all successful. Playing with his
old wooden rackets in an attempt to regain his once-indomitable
touch, he lost his first comeback match in 1991 to Jordi Arrese
at the Monte Carlo Open. A series of first-round losses to lowly-ranked
players followed over the next two years. The closest he came to
winning a match was in 1993 in Moscow, when he pushed Alexander
Volkov to three sets and lost a final-set tie-breaker 9–7. After
that match, he retired from the tour for good and confined himself
to playing on the senior tour, with modern rackets, where he has
delighted crowds by renewing his old rivalries with McEnroe and
Connors.
Borg was ranked the World No. 1 in six different stretches between
1977 and 1981, totaling 109 weeks. During his career, he won a total
of 57 top-level singles and 4 doubles titles. Borg was inducted
into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island
in 1987.
Borg is one of only three individuals to have won the BBC Sports
Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award twice. (He won
it in 1979 and 1984).
Grand Slam finals
Wins (11)
1974 French Open, Vs Manuel Orantes 2–6, 6–7, 6–0, 6–1, 6–1
1975 French Open, Vs Guillermo Vilas 6–2, 6–3, 6–4
1976 Wimbledon, Vs Ilie Nastase 6–4, 6–2, 9–7
1977 Wimbledon, Vs Jimmy Connors 3–6, 6–2, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4
1978 French Open, Vs Guillermo Vilas 6–1, 6–1, 6–3
1978 Wimbledon, Vs Jimmy Connors 6–2, 6–2, 6–3
1979 French Open, Vs Victor Pecci 6–3, 6–1, 6–7, 6–4
1979 Wimbledon, Vs Roscoe Tanner 6–7, 6–1, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
1980 French Open, Vs Vitas Gerulaitis 6–4, 6–1, 6–2
1980 Wimbledon, Vs John McEnroe 1–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–7, 8–6
1981 French Open, Vs Ivan Lendl 6–1, 4–6, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1
Runner-ups (5)
1976 US Open, Vs Jimmy Connors 6–4, 3–6, 7–6, 6–4
1978 US Open, Vs Jimmy Connors 6–4, 6–2, 6–2
1980 US Open, Vs John McEnroe 7–6, 6–1, 6–7, 5–7, 6–4
1981 Wimbledon, Vs John McEnroe 4–6, 7–6, 7–6, 6–4
1981 US Open, Vs John McEnroe 4–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–3
Records and Trivia
Grand Slam Records
Won more Grand Slam titles in the Open Era (11) and more
Wimbledons (5) than any player until Pete Sampras. This despite
competing in the Australian Open only once, at the age of 17.
Won more French Championships (6) than any other male player in
tennis history.
Won 4 consecutive French championships, an alltime record. His streak
of 28 consecutive matches was broken, not by defeat, but by his
subsequent absence and retirement.
Won more consecutive Wimbledons (5) than any man in the modern era.
Only Willie Renshaw won more consecutive titles there (1881–86)—
and in Renshaw's day, the defending champion played only one match,
the Challenge Round. After the adoption of the present-day rules,
Fred Perry established a record of three consecutive Wimbledons
in 1932-34, until Borg equalled it in 1978. Borg's streak of 41
consecutive match wins at Wimbledon remains an alltime record. Sampras
has come closest to this record with four consecutive Wimbledons
in 1997-2000 (and 31 consecutive match wins).
Played in 6 consecutive Wimbledon finals, still a record since the
abolition of the Challenge Round in 1922.
Played in 4 consecutive French finals, an Open-Era record.
Played in 16 Grand Slam finals, a record for the Open Era (and second
in tennis history only to 17 by Rod Laver) until Ivan Lendl played
in 19 (and Sampras in 18).
Won at least one Grand Slam title for 8 consecutive years (1974–1981),
an alltime record. Only Sampras has matched this (1993–2000).
Defeated more players (9) in Grand Slam finals than any male player
in history. Sampras was able also to tie this mark.
Won 11 Grand Slam titles out of 27 tournaments played, giving him
a record 41% winning percentage for the Open Era.
In Grand Slam tournaments, his match record is 141–16, giving him
an 89.8% winning percentage, better than any male player ever. The
only other male players in the Open Era with winning percentages
over 80% are Jimmy Connors (81.9%) and Ivan Lendl (81.8%).
His 11 Grand Slam titles put him fourth on the all-time list, tied
with Laver, and behind Sampras (14) and Roy Emerson (12).
Youngest to win
In 1972 he became the youngest-ever winner of a Davis Cup match,
at age 15.
In 1974, one month before his 18th birthday, he became the youngest
winner of the Italian Open up to that time.
In 1974, only days after his 18th birthday, he became the youngest
man ever to hold a Grand Slam title. He retained that distinction
until another Swede, Mats Wilander, took the French Open in 1982.
At 18, he was the youngest winner of the U.S. Professional Championships
until Aaron Krickstein won in 1983.
In 1976 at age 20, Borg became the youngest winner of the Open Era
at Wimbledon until Boris Becker became the youngest Grand Slam winner
of all time by taking Wimbledon in 1985.
Won his 11th Grand Slam in 1981 at age 25, the youngest to that
number of titles. By comparison, Sampras won his 11th at almost
27, Emerson at 30, Laver at 31.
Match competition
Compiled 576-124 singles record, winning more than 82% of the matches
he played. By comparison, Sampras had a 77% winning percentage at
retirement.
Won 14 consecutive five-set matches before losing to John McEnroe
at the 1980 U.S. Open, a record for the Open Era (and possibly for
tennis history).
In career five-set matches he is 24-4, his winning percentage of
.857 unrivalled in the Open Era, with Aaron Krickstein in second
place at .757 (or 28-9). Five of his wins were in Grand Slam finals
-- a mark that surpassed Bill Tilden (who won four) and has remained
unequalled.
In 1980 he won the longest-ever Wimbledon final up to that time,
3 hours and 53 minutes (the record stood until 1982). That year
he also lost the longest-ever U.S. Championships final up to that
time, 4 hours and 13 minutes (a mark broken in 1988).
Won the longest tiebreak of the Open Era, 20-18 in the third set
of his first round match at the 1973 Wimbledon -- a mark that has
been tied twice (by Federer and Goran Ivaniševic) but not broken.
Won 19 consecutive points on serve in the fifth set -- a feat perhaps
unequalled at any time -- on two occasions, his 1980 Wimbledon final
against John McEnroe and his 1980 U.S. Open quarterfinal against
Roscoe Tanner.
Career winning streaks
On the list of Open Era winning streaks, Borg is both first (49
tour matches won in 1978) and fifth (40 in 1979–80). The only other
men with winning streaks of 40+ matches are Guillermo Vilas (46),
Ivan Lendl (44), and McEnroe (42).
Holds the record for most consecutive wins on grass, with 41 victories
(all at Wimbledon), Roger Federer had a 36 match winning streak
(2003–2005) Borg won all his matches at Wimbledon, Roger played
lesser grass tournaments to get these wins.
Holds the Davis Cup record singles winning streak at 33 consecutive
victories -- a string broken only by retirement.
Holds second place for most consecutive wins on clay, with 44 victories
in 1977-79. Only Vilas holds more with 57.
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