In 1972, when Borg (born 6 June 1956) was fifteen, he was selected to play for Sweden in the Davis Cup. He defeated Onny Parun of New Zealand to become the youngest player to win a Davis Cup match.
Two years later, Borg won the Italian Open and the French Open, the most important clay court tournaments in the world. Two years after that, in 1976, he won his first Wimbledon. Borg was on his way to greatness.
Borg won so often in the 1970s that Ilie Nastase, the man he defeated for the 1976 Wimbledon singles title, said, “They should send Borg away to another Planet. We play tennis. He plays something else.”
Borg is the only man to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year for three years in a row. He is the only man to have won at least one Grand Slam tournament for eight years in a row (1974-81) during the open era.
The only tournament Borg could never win during his eleven years in pro-tennis was the U.S. Open. He played in the tournament ten times, and his best finish was runner-up four times. “That is the one I think of,” Borg said, “but it is not a regret.”
The greatest days of Borg’s career ended after he lost the 1981 U.S. Open final to McEnroe. He announced his retirement in 1983, tried a comeback in 1991, and began playing on the senior tennis tour in 1993. But Borg had already left his mark on the sport.
