Why Bjorn Borg's 1990s Comeback was a Disaster

1981 Bjorn Borg following years of near absolute dominance over the sport of men's tennis played what was to be his last full professional season at just 25 years of age announcing His official retirement less than two years later after subsequent long periods of virtual inactivity for a player regarded at the time as one of the best ever to wield a tennis racket Spectators and critics were puzzled and critical of the swede's decision to abandon the sport at such a young age assuming that his self-imposed Exile from the tennis court would likely last no longer than a couple of years this of course didn't happen and many to this day speculate what records might have been set what trajectory the sport would have taken ultimately what Bjorn Borg would have achieved had he never retired so early however though selda mentioned perhaps for a good reason Bjorn Borg actually embarked on a formal professional comeback in the early 1990s where for three years the Swede played tournament after tournament attempting to re-establish himself as the heavyweight Contender and player to fear that he once was an attempt that for a multitude of reasons was an absolute disaster not uncommon in today's day age for tennis players in their mid-30s to maintain continued success what were the exact reasons and details behind Borg's high profile departure and often forgotten failed comeback this is a graph displaying annual aggregated wind percentages of Roger Federer rockefell Nadal and Novak Djokovic over what is generally considered each player's best five-year playing span though these three are generally considered the best tennis players to have ever existed thus far many overlooked a select few notables from older generations with Incredible win records of their own one of which of course belongs to Swedish Superstar Bjorn Borg a teenage sensation Bjorn catapulted onto the professional scene by capturing his first of six rolling Garros titles just one week following his 18th birthday the youngest ever to do so at the time with Blockbuster success Bjorn's athleticism undeniable skill and movie star attractiveness enticed Legions of oil fans particularly young girls who staked out his matches swarmed the courts following big wins and incessantly phoned his hotel begging for time alone with the Swede however unlike a majority of professional athletes during this time period Borg and his longtime coach Leonard Berglund chose to instead cut all distractions by dedicating every waking moment towards Bjorn's long-term success with the Swede later recalling everything was looked after me I was following my schedule practice eating sleeping from building his mythical Marathon Man Endurance by running up the same Swedish Mountain Trail daily to hand testing each one of his racket's string tensions before every match Borg's unrivaled success was theorized by and large to have mainly been the result of utmost self-discipline and it showed capturing 11 total Grand Slam singles titles with unflinching counter punching Borg never appeared to miss outlasting opponents both mentally and physically following his historic win against Mcenroe at the 1980 Wimbledon the future could not have appeared brighter for the star who had only just turn 25 years old no one could have known then of course but despite the win Borg years later admitted a Sinking Feeling had overcome him following the fourth set tiebreak loss that he had never experienced in his career up to that point doubt not just the fear of losing but the fear that for the first time he wasn't the better player that he wasn't the best player in the world for Borg it seemed the motivation was to be number one or nothing as if self-fulfilling prophecy Borg would proceed to lose the number one ranking and three grand slam singles finals to Mcenroe for the next year and a half period culminating in his final Grand Slam appearance at the 1981 U.S open where the beaten bork had left the court and Stadium grounds before the trophy ceremony had even started burnt out and fed up with the repetition and monotony of professional tennis oryx subsequently stepped away from the sport yearning to preview the type of Life led by those watching from the stands people who were actually allowed to leave the tennis Stadium afterwards and go home interestingly though Borgen in 1982 TV appearance relayed his initial intentions to resume his career that April after just a short break he revealed that the ATP would only allow him to do so if he played a minimum of 10 tournaments to finish the year as opposed to the seven that he'd requested so instead he said for sure I'm going to be back next year however due to his lack of match play and ranking in 1982 the ATP further clarified that now worg would be forced to enter the qualifying draw for any Grand Slam he entered which he vehemently argued against and so without a coach or having followed any dedicated training schedule for over a year at this point the steadfast discipline that worked to create the star had dissipated behind the scenes and with his wish granted of a life free from responsibility and repetition Warwick's life undertook a drastic series of unexpected turns indulging in vices deprived from him during his playing days the globetrotting celebrity initially lived life as somewhat of an international Playboy having cut himself off from his longtime coach slash Mentor Leonard Berglund and first wife Mariana simonescu with rumors propagated by the Swedish press telling Tales of Borg's dealings and extramarital sex and drugs much of which was at least somewhat substantiated by severing his long-time relationship with IMG who had helped build his fortune to a reported 75 million dollars Borg had initial success placing significant Capital into real estate in a fashion design company though by the early 90s a high-profile child's custody battle and numerous ensuing lawsuits had severely battered his wealth and reputation reaching a crisis point in 1989 when it was widely reported that Borg was rushed to the hospital following an attempt to end his own life later denying this claim blaming instead a severe bout of food poisoning wherever the truth lied in the matter the despondent former Champion somewhat aimlessly drifted through life in the decade post-retirement until one day flipping through the channels he saw tennis match on TV and left it on impressed with what he was seeing how much of the sport had changed over such a short period of time and before long found himself once again on a tennis court having reconnected with the one Pursuit which brought genuine enjoyment and a true sense of purpose Borg soon after publicly announced a return to professional tennis of sorts having accepted a wild card invite into the 1991 Monte Carlo open though speculation ran rampant regarding the then 35 year old's true comeback intentions and likelihood of success Borg's earnestness and candid enthusiasm in the lead up interviews exuded the confidence of a man who seemingly had a solid plan of action after all who else but the Man known for his mythical sense of focus and resolve to win at all costs however any respect his comeback announcement may have garnered quickly disappeared the second he took his first step back onto Stadium Court akin to some time traveler Bjorn Borg bizarrely played his first match in nearly a decade sporting the same look attire and Technology as he did in 1980 having regrown his hair held back by a vintage Fila headband with match outfit to boot most controversially he took Court in 1991 playing with a wooden racket many years after any respectable professional has stopped using them allegedly in search of rackets identical to the ones made by Dani back in the 70s a company that had since gone bankrupt by that point the Swede paid a woodworking firm 28 thousand dollars to custom build 80 replicas though Borg's former coach and Mentor Len R Berglund somewhat sheepishly showed up to the match carrying half a dozen of his former Protege old Danes optimistically being reported as saying maybe we'll talk in regards to their coaching relationship Orcutt instead already hired Tia hansai for the job a 79 year old self-proclaimed specialist in martial arts and sleep inducing massage who showed up in Monaco claiming he knew nothing about tennis and predicting that Borg could win another Wimbledon eccentricities aside to the crowd's Delight the match began with Bjorn Borg once again gracing Stadium Court of the tournament he had one on Three previous occasions playing far worse than those in the crowd had ever remembered now to be fair Borg's style of play similar to the equipment brought with him was very reminiscent of that which had won him matches over a decade prior passively slow serves in returns coupled with loopy Baseline rallies where the loser of the exchange was simply hooplinked first the difference now being it was Bjorn who was consistently missing finding himself one step behind his opponent georgiadese at every turn no amount of practice done since his initial comeback announcement would have changed the fundamental fact that professional tennis was a much faster and far more physical sport than it had ever been in the wooden racket era where even a somewhat weaker player such as that essay easily overpowered and outmaneuvered the Sweden most rallies with Borg struggling to just stay afloat before unceremoniously bowing out 2-6-3-6 having awkwardly lost his widely anticipated comeback match so handily what puzzled to fans and players alike was how the man once famous for his meticulous preparation by his own later admission played no practice no exhibitions kind of just turned up with fellow sweets Stefan edberg commenting on Borg's return following the match it's very very sad [Music] unperturbed however to everyone's surprise Borg impressively doubled down on his commitment to professional tennis the following year admitting to have taken inspiration by Jimmy Connors unlikely run to the 1991 U.S open semi-finals at 39 years old pursuing the Endeavor more seriously this time around Borg temporarily relocated to Florida's Nick voluntary Academy for months leading up to the 1992 season practicing a reported four to five hours a day with various hitting partners and even conceding to modern technology by adopting a new Raku however Borg's 1992-1993 schedule consisted not of entries into lower level satellite tournaments where he would have been more or less guaranteed the Abundant match experience he desperately needed but instead only scattered about wildcard invitations into top tier ATP events perhaps committed to the possibility that his game and playing level stood the test of time and so totaling 11 professional matches over a further year and a half span Bjorn Borg lost every single one of them failing to capture a set during the entire 1992 season to add insult to injury the Swede also played doubles in all all but one of these 11 tournaments also failing to win even a single match the issue of course was apparent whether his return stemmed from a hopeless attempt at turning back the clock or wanting to Simply play for the fun of it the reason Bjorn Borg was so successful back in the 70s was not an inherent god-given tennis talent but a true motivation to power through mental adversity and be the very best at what he did a mammoth task he once gracefully achieved due to a lack of distraction a sense of routine and schedule prepared for him by a proper Mentor behind the scenes fast forward to 1992 and many had trouble even deciphering what Bjorn was doing there with Mcenroe bluntly remarking following Borg's stated desire to reconnect with his old rival I have an interest in playing the top players he's not a top player in late 1993 bjornborg lost against 17th ranked Alexander volkov in what proved to be his final ever professional match a match where Borg had lucklessly squandered a match point late in the third set against one of the then best players in the world a cruel ending which perhaps encapsulated the ill-fated comeback as a whole that without true meaning her purpose no past Accolade or success could save Borg from remaining one step behind whatever faced him on the other side of the net so to summarize this wasn't the collected calculated man many once knew because aside from his once Godlike Fitness level and discipline practice regimen Borg's Secret's success was undoubtedly preparation dedicating his time into working on specific plays all but guaranteed to be effective at neutralizing any type of opponent thrown his way servant volleyers aggressive baseliners Moon Ballers you name it in fact as I've said in the past a tennis player's ability means little if they're not implementing tried tested and researched plays against the right opponent that's why I implore you to check out the singles Playbook by fuzzy yellow balls the sponsor of today's video because inside there are 41 plays that simply yet effectively show you how to play your strengths attack your opponent's weaknesses and avoid making mistakes each page has a diagram of the play and a QR code in the top right corner that takes you to a video explaining how to run it with plays coming from some of the best players of all time like Martina Navratilova all adapted in a Playbook format so that mere mortals like you and I can use them from day one in our matches best of all by clicking the link at the end of this video you will receive access to a free video Lesson demonstrating one of the singles playbooks most popular and effective plays home base designed to help you neutralize aggressive bass liners just so you can see if what the singles Playbook offers is right for you no strings attached so be sure to click the link on screen now for your free video Lesson showing you one of the many plays from the singles Playbook to take your tennis IQ to the next level

Channel: CULT TENNIS

Views: 322,773

Keywords: Bjorn Borg, 1991 Bjorn Borg, cult tennis, Bjorn borg comeback, Bjorn Borg documentary, 1992 Bjorn Borg, Bjorn Borg Monte Carlo, McEnroe vs Borg, Bjorn Borg cult tennis, what happened to Bjorn Borg, Bjorn Borg retirement

Id: QWJlVxH-ESs

Length: 11min 56sec (716 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 12 2022