Composure was Bjorn Borg’s middle name in his playing days. Even 40 years after retirement, the 66-year-old, 11-time Grand Slam champion from Sweden maintains the calm demeanour that made him one of tennis’ all-time greats.
Speaking to the media on the eve of the ATP Challenger-100 men’s International tennis tournament, Borg, who is here to watch his 19-year-old son Leo play, said, “One of my wife Patricia’s biggest wishes was to visit India,” he said.
On whether he gives inputs to his son during training or on tour, Borg said, “Leo has his own team. He is very motivated and works really hard on and off the court. We have a very good relationship. I ask him if he wants to know anything about tennis, and he says, ‘I have nothing to ask you!’ He is hungry for tennis.”
Recalling his experience as captain of Team Europe, which included Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, at the Laver Cup, Borg said, “I am very proud of Team Europe. Vancouver in September will be the last time I will captain at the Laver Cup. It has been six great years.”
Justifying the wild-card given to Leo, Tamil Nadu Tennis Association president Vijay Amritraj, said, “He’s a young guy from Europe who has won the Futures recently.”
The bottom line
The Indian tennis legend said foreigners had gone on to do really well [compared to Indians] whenever they were given wild-card opportunities.
Sight to behold: Legends of the game Borg and Vijay Amritraj at the media conference ahead of the ATP Challenger in Chennai. | Photo Credit: M. Vedhan
“Bjorn Phau from Germany came with Boris [Becker] for the 1998 Gold Flake Open here and he jumped into the top 50 [career-high 59 in 2006]. Russia’s Karel Kachenov was given the wild-card in 2016 and he reached the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open. We [Indians] need to be inspired by them. That’s really the bottom line. Leo is in the category,” he said.
When asked whether a WTA tournament would return to India, Vijay said, “It’s a work in progress. WTA should be back in September, hopefully. It’s really important for our girls.”
