The Ice Borg.
The sport of tennis was immensely popular worldwide during the 70's and well into the late 80's. In Toronto the public tennis courts were rarely empty and if you were able to get on a court your playing time would be very limited. Other players would always show up, sign the chalkboard and then take over the court after your forty-five minute time slot ended. If you wanted to play longer you then had to resign the board and wait for your turn all over again. Sometimes your wait would be an hour or more so playing an uninterrupted match 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 higher skilled players would mostly join and compete at tennis clubs. However, some of those players would also compete with less talented players like myself on the public courts.
Personally I always preferred to play a much better player instead of a player that I could easily beat. It was the best way for me to become a better player. Over the years I became much better 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 for being a taller player and I rarely served up powerful aces. My second serve was soft and more of a slice that was easily returned. Although I rarely doubled faulted, I lost most of my points during rallies at the net and I had far too many unforced errors.
I tried to fashion my tennis game after the great Swedish player Bjorn Borg. During the 70's, Borg was the greatest tennis player on the planet. Borg played tennis with class and pinpoint precision with his long blonde hair neatly tucked under his ever present iconic 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 with 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.
It was always a mystery that 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 early September. Some tennis experts theorized that it might have been the stadium lighting since the final of the US Open was always played in late afternoon. 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 Sunday evening in New York and the stadium lights would be 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 six feet away from my tennis idol, 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 towel off between games while sipping his Swedish sports drink under the big corporate umbrella 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 or face. Thanks in part to the Collegiate Sports headband that he always wore while playing in Toronto.
I will always remember the unique sound of pro tennis. The ball striking each player’s tightly strung racquet during 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 on 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 and although I never had the long flowing hair, I did wear the same style shirts and headband. I wore a gold rope chain around my skinny sunburned neck. Although my chain 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 the sport of tennis began to dwindle in popularity. It was 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 larger than life on that day and thanks to his Collegiate Sports headband, so cool and so dry in the summer heat.
