Bjorn Borg

Bjorn Borg

Björn Rune Borg (born June 6, 1956, in Stockholm, Sweden) is a former World No. 1 tennis player. During his relatively brief eight-year career, he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles – five at Wimbledon and a record six at the French Open – leading some to consider him the greatest male tennis player of all time.
Career Overview

As a child growing up in Södertälje, a town near Stockholm, Borg became fascinated by a tennis racket which his father had won as a prize at a ping pong tournament. His father gave him the racket, beginning one of the brightest careers in tennis history.

In 1972, at the age of 15, Borg became one of the youngest players ever to represent his country in the Davis Cup, and won his debut singles rubber in five sets over seasoned pro Onny Parun of New Zealand. Later that year, he won the Wimbledon junior singles title.

In 1974, aged 17 years and 11 months, Borg won his first top-level singles title at the Italian Open. Two weeks later, he won his first Grand Slam title at the French Open. In the final, he came back from two sets down to defeat Manuel Orantes in five sets 2–6, 6–7, 6–0, 6–1, 6–1. At the time, Borg was the youngest-ever male French Open champion (though the record has since been lowered by Mats Wilander in 1982, and Michael Chang in 1989).