In our series on the best players of the past 50 years, we look at the calm Swede who won the
French Open and
Wimbledon back-to-back three timesWho’s your choice? Have your sayOn 13 September 1981, Bjorn Borg was dismantled by John McEnroe in the
US Open final. They had many classic matches; this lop-sided four-setter was not one of them. While McEnroe kissed his mother on the court in
New York, Borg ducked out, escorted by seven plain-clothed
police officers. He was absent from the presentation and the interviews. It is said he sneaked through the kitchens at Flushing Meadows, jumped into a Volvo and headed straight to the airport, still in his trademark Fila gear. Borg would never play another grand slam singles match. He had not long turned 25.
In a sport where it’s almost impossible to be an enigma, Borg remains one even 40 years on. Why did he quit? Why didn’t he fight – like, say,
Roger Federer has done this past few years – and show he could rebuild his game, come back stronger? What demons were raging inside that beautiful head with the angelic sweep of blond hair and those tiny, cobalt eyes set just a fraction too close together?