The Ice Borg.
The sport of tennis would enjoy immense popularity during the 70's and well into the late 80's. Public tennis courts were rarely empty and when you were able to snag a court, your playing time would always be limited. Other players would show up, sign the board and then take over the court after your forty-five minute time slot ended. If you wanted to play longer you had to resign the chalkboard and wait for your turn all over again. Sometimes your wait would be an hour or more and playing uninterrupted matches was very rare on the public courts.
Players that played on the public courts were of all skill levels. The least skilled players always seemed to interrupt other games in progress because of their inability to keep their tennis balls on their own court. The better players would join and compete in private clubs. However, some better players would also compete with less talented players including myself on the public courts.
I always preferred to play a much better player over a player that I could easily beat. It was the best way for me to get better at playing tennis. Over the years I became a much better tennis player by losing a lot more matches than I won. I did consider myself to be a pretty good tennis player, but the truth is I was not.
Sure I could whale away standing at the baseline, but my net game left a lot to be desired. My first serve was good, but not very hard and I rarely served up powerful aces for being a taller player. My second serve was more of a slice that could be easily returned. Although I rarely doubled faulted, I lost most of my points during rallies at the net and I had too many unforced errors.
I tried to fashion my tennis game after the great Swedish player Bjorn Borg. During the 70's, he was the greatest tennis player on the planet. Borg played tennis with pinpoint precision, all the while his long blonde hair was neatly tucked under his ever present headband.
Borg was a tennis machine.
Borg just always seemed to be the ultimate in sportsmanship compared to his arch rivals John McEnroe, Ilie Nastase and Jimmy Connors who forever brought reproach on the game as well as themselves. Borg, his two fisted backhand wrapped around the extended grip of his racquet, dominated Wimbledon for five straight years in the late 70's. I always watched Borg whenever he would play on television. Borg won all the majors except for one.
It was a mystery he never could win the U.S Open.
On four occasions Borg would lose in the final. He never could explain his inability to capture New York in September. Some tennis experts theorized that it might have been the stadium lighting. The final of the US Open was always played late afternoon in early September. Perhaps it was true, maybe Borg just could not win under the lights. Afterall, by the time the final had reached match point, it was evening in New York and the stadium lights were at their brightest.
During my employment at Collegiate Sports I had a rare opportunity to see Borg play live and up close. One of my work colleagues had gotten a pair of tickets to watch Borg’s match during the Canadian Open up at York University back in 1980. The seats were in the Seagram’s corporate box which was situated directly behind Borg’s chair for the match. On that afternoon I was sitting within six feet of the greatest tennis player in the universe.
Borg was so cool under pressure and just never seemed to get rattled during the match. He would just towel off between games and sip his Swedish sports drink under the big corporate umbrella while sitting right in front of me. It was extremely hot that afternoon and I can't recall even seeing a bead of sweat on Bjorn’s forehead. I guess the Collegiate Sports headband that he always wore while playing in Canada kept him cool and dry.
I will always remember the unique sound of pro tennis as the ball struck each player’s tightly strung racquet during the lengthy baseline rallies. It was just before the larger power racquets became so dominant and in my opinion ruined the game. The game was more finesse and skill back then and no one had more finesse and skill than Bjorn Borg.
Borg would win that match in two straight sets as he knocked Tom Gullikson out of the tournament that afternoon. He would eventually lose in the final after retiring with a knee injury to upstart Ivan Lendl. It sure was a great way to spend a sunny afternoon in August and I will never forget the excitement of seeing a true iconic sports legend play up close and live.
For years I tried to emulate Borg whenever I played. Although I never had the long flowing hair, I did wear the same style shirts and I wore a gold rope chain around my skinny sunburned neck. Although mine was much thinner, lighter and hundreds of bucks cheaper. I also used the Donnay Borg Pro racquet and I developed a pretty good two fisted backhand passing shot just like my tennis hero.
Sadly, within two years Bjorn Borg retired from pro tennis at the age of twenty-six. He left the game on top leaving the world to wonder just how much greater Borg might have been. As the 80's gave way into the 90's, tennis began to dwindle in popularity. It became rare to see the public courts used for anything but road hockey games or just sitting empty.
I will always remember that hot sunny August afternoon back in 1980 when I saw arguably the greatest tennis player in my lifetime. Borg was so much bigger than life on that day and thanks to his Collegiate Sports headband, so cool and so dry in the summer heat.
