Bjorn Borg

Biography

Björn Borg (born June 6, 1956) is a Swedish tennis player. He won 11 Grand Slam singles championships, and a total of 62 singles tournaments during his career. He was born in Södertälje.

Borg was the number 1 ranked player during 6 different stretches between 1977 and 1981, totalling 109 weeks. He retired in 1983, at the young age of 26, and in 1987 was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. Borg attempted a comeback in 1991, using his trademark wooden racquet, but it was unsuccessful.

Borg won 5 consecutive Wimbledon championships, in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980. He also won 6 French Open titles, in 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1981. Borg's most famous match was probably his 5-set win in the 1980 Wimbledon final over John McEnroe, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3,6-7 (16-18), 8-6.

In 1975, Borg led the Swedish team to victory over Czechoslovakia 3-2 in the Davis Cup.

Borg was noted for his baseline style of play and great endurance, and dubbed "The Ice Man" for his calm court demeanor. Along with Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, Borg elevated the game of tennis to new levels of popularity that were never before seen and have not been seen since.

After retiring, he suffered an overdose, and was rumoured to have attempted suicide. 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 1984 Bjorn repeated his 1979 achievement of winning the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award to join Muhammad Ali as a multiple winner. They were joined in this select club by Greg Norman in 1993.