Bjorn Borg, My Hero

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am obsessed with the history of the game of tennis. I am especially fascinated by little-known facts that are overlooked by most publications yet carry that little interesting anecdote that will make one say, "Wow, that's odd!" Some of these will not interest the casual fan, but for those who follow the game closely, it will make a delightful addition to tennis-related conversations around the clubhouse.

Chances are some people may not even believe you and will play the "downer" role better than Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. They will throw the "why should we believe you?" question. Chances are they are the ultimate phantom-storytellers themselves and are jealous that their stories are from an another universe, while yours seem to be backed by names, dates, and facts. Never mind them, enjoy telling these lovely anecdotes. In fact, contact me and tell your true tales related to the history of tennis, I promise that I will be all ears!

So here are four entertaining anecdotes and stories that should keep you the center of attention in clubhouse discussions and make your after-match drink with your friends all that more joyful. I will limit them to anecdotes that are related to Bjorn Borg, since he is a name that should be know by most casual or serious tennis fans.

***

The year is 1980. Another thrilling John McEnroe vs. Bjorn Borg encounter. This one is in Madison Square Garden during the year-ending Masters Championships. These two formidable players are thrown in the same group, so fans hope that they end up number one and two in the group in order to reach semifinals and hopefully meet again in the finals. Gene Mayer, with his magical two-handed shots a-la Fabrice Santoro, muddies the waters by beating McEnroe the day before. Now McEnroe must beat Borg to stay alive, and all of a sudden, the group match has taken the atmosphere of the finals.

Borg wins the first set, the second set goes to a tiebreaker. At 3-all in the tiebreaker, Borg is not happy with line call that puts him down 4-3. He walks up to the referee and starts arguing politely, only the way Borg could. The crowd is stunned. Has Borg, the iceman who never says a word or flinches his eyebrow, lost his mind? He is not supposed to do such thing. Things take even a stranger turn. Borg is penalized for a delay of game, the referee announces "warning," then a little later awards a point to McEnroe. It's now 5-3 in the tiebreaker.

Surely, this is an illusion! Nope, it's not. Borg is not moving from the chair. Another point penalty and now it's 6-3, resulting in three set points for McEnroe. Borg finally walks back to play the next point, loses the point, and the set goes to McEnroe. Keep in mind that the point penalty system for delay of game has just gone into effect recently. And out of all players, Bjorn Borg is the first victim. What were the odds for that?

In the first game of the third set, McEnroe nails a return to the crowd to give the point to Borg. A gentleman-like gesture from McEnroe? Now the crowd is thinking that McEnroe has lost his mind. For perhaps 10 minutes, we were transported to a Star Trek alternate universe. Who knows? Forty minutes later, Borg still wins the third set in another tiebreaker to take McEnroe out of the competition. Only Borg could remain cool enough after the incident to still display his mechanical tennis and pull out the victory against the genius of McEnroe. Thrilling match, strange happenings, all in one evening with McEnroe and Borg.

***

The year is 1981. Borg is playing the Martini Open of Geneva. Unknown at the time, he will announce his plans for retirement a few months later. Less than a year later, another Swede named Mats Wilander will win Roland Garros and the big question by all experts will be "who would have won if they played each other on clay?" Amazingly, just about every publication, every tennis expert in the media overlooks the fact that only several months earlier, Borg played Wilander in the round of 32 in the Martini Open and schooled him with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.

When asked the specific question, Borg is too classy to mention it, and Wilander is too busy discrediting the comparison that he is not "the second Borg, but the first Wilander." The Internet did not exist for the casual curious observer to search it, and few years later with Borg long gone and Wilander rivaling Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors, and McEnroe, the subject is all forgotten. Now this crushing and meaningful victory of Borg is nothing but data on the ATP website.

Let's remain with the same Martini Open in Geneva. Borg plays Tomas Smid in the finals. He is winning handily. In the second set, with a 3-2 lead, Borg is perturbed by what seems to be a bad call. Unlike the Madison Square Garden experience, he remains quiet and cool. He just stares at the referee for 10 seconds, melting him on his chair. He moves on and literally throws the game away with three straight shots well close to the back walls of the court. The crowd is ooh-ing and aah-ing. Yes, let it be known that even the legend Borg, the definition of concentration and professionalism during his tennis career, indeed threw a game away.

At 3-all, he is all business again, he wins three straight games and closes the match out 6-4, 6-3. It was his last title on the pro tour. Maybe that game being thrown away was a sign that Borg was no longer seeing tennis the same way, and he was about to throw in the towel. Later in the locker room, one of the tournament organizers, a good friend of mine, asks him about that game. Borg replies that it was "okay" because he would have had to change sides only one more time the rest of the match whether he won that game or not. Oh, the humiliation for Tomas Smid!

***

The year is 1981 again. A teenager boy, wearing the same Fila outfit that Bjorn Borg made famous, approaches him nervously. He has prepared this nice collage of Borg pictures on a blank paper the previous day in his bedroom. All his hopes rest on the fact that Borg may be impressed by it and give him an autograph on the collage. He knows it's a tough task, because Borg is always circled by bodyguards and photographers coming in and out of his practice sessions or matches.

As Borg is making his way to the clubhouse fresh from a grueling two-hour practice session (following a match, mind you), nobody dares to approach him, looking from a distance. The rash young boy says to himself, "It's now or never!" He quickly walks up to him, shows him the collage and hands the pen to him saying "Mr. Borg, please!" with honest, but shy puppy eyes.

Borg stops his walk, looks at the collage, smiles and says, "You made this?" The boy is about to swallow his tongue, just nods. Borg signs the collage and says, "I should get your autograph for preparing this," pats him on the shoulder and keeps walking. The boy can't believe it, Borg is now his hero forever and ever! Others in the crowd see this encounter, try their luck, but it's too late. His entourage has moved in, Borg quickens his pace and disappears into the locker rooms. A glorious encounter for the boy.

That same boy, now fresh into his 40s, still keeps the collage to this day, framed nicely!