Facing Borg

[scoop]

Bunner Smith of Bradenton, Florida played Bjorn Borg almost a half century ago in the Orange Bowl 18 and unders. His recollections…

“It was nearly 45-46 years ago! Miami … I grew up in Florida and had played lots of future top players… Harold Solomon, Brian Gottfried, Billy Martin. Billy never missed. But, Borg was a totally different level. From what I remember, his forehand was huge and I never got passed by anyone so much ever as I did by Borg that day. Borg rarely if ever made an unforced error. Everyone knew he was special and expected him to be a future top pro. Best ever on clay until Rafa came along. He was the best player I ever played.”

Borg already had the icy countenance as a teen. “He was young, younger than me and very quiet on the court. I don’t remember much conversation. From what I remember he was quiet and all business on the court. I Watched him play him so many times over those years. His on court focus was always as good as anyone ever… stoic! I think when John McEnroe came onto the scene it brought out the best in both of them.”

Even as a junior, Borg had his world-renowned image already crafted. “He always had long hair and a headband,” recalls Smith.

Borg was one of the rare few who won the Orange Bowl 16s and 18s, “I think Borg won the Orange bowl in both 16s and 18s,” said Smith. “Only Billy Martin was another junior that was that dominant back then. Billy was also an amazing junior.”

Today Smith is involved in tennis philanthropy. “We have a nonprofit foundation T.E.A.M. (Tennis education and mentoring) focusing on less-privileged and at-risk kids 6 to 12 years old. We are doing programs at the Boys and Girls Clubs in the Sarasota/Bradenton area and also in Maryland. The USTA has given us grants the past few years.”

 

[shawnbm]

No matter what comes to pass, there will always be the mystique of Borg. How many French Opens could he have won? I certainly think he had more in him if he chose to continue. He was like the Beatles--so bright and brilliant and then it was over with no warning. The greatest nickname in men's tennis history--the Angelic Assassin!

 

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Scoop Malinowski writes:

Borg's sudden departure was one of the most mysterious retirements in sports history. I wish I was following tennis then to have observed that whole drama. After the fact all these years later it seems like Borg felt he lost his aura of invincibility and no longer believed he was the best and something died inside of him. It happens in boxing too, the great champions lose and lose their self belief and feeling of supremacy. Lennox Lewis beat Vitali Klitschko barely and then waited for Vitali to lose in his next two fights. When Vitali beat two tough top five heavyweights, Lewis opted to retire than to give the rematch. Marvin Hagler never boxed again after he lost to Sugar Ray Leonard. It seems McEnroe was so tough that Borg felt he couldn't beat him anymore. That's my guess. Borg created a monster in McEnroe, much like Rafa and Fed created a monster in Djokovic.

 

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Scoop Malinowski writes:

Catherine, Where in Rhode Island was his last match? Was it shortly after the US Open, his final major appearance? I was told a story that Borg once trained for a week with the Romanian Davis Cup team and triple bageled every player on the team during the week

 

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Scoop Malinowski writes:

So the logical assumption is Federer and Nadal killed the Davis Cup?

 

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Scoop Malinowski writes:

Davis Cup has lost it's appeal to top players since the 90s when Americans like Sampras and Agassi lost desire to play it, preferring to focus on majors and ranking. Sampras said that he was disappointed how the US media ignored promoting and covering Davis Cup in America. Pete poured his heart and soul for America in Russia but most Americans didn't know about it. So Davis Cup has lost prestige and many of the elite players have skipped it, furthering diminishing the prestige. As great as the event is, Davis Cup is becoming irrelevant and almost like a Challenger, minor league event with B and C level players. The game has evolved away to a different direction from Davis Cup. Laver Cup is like a condensed version of Davis Cup. It works better in this day and age.

 

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Scoop Malinowski writes:

I agree Catherine, Davis Cup has become obsolete. I loved it too like you. Some of the best matches I ever saw were in Davis Cup. Courier vs England. Sampras vs Russia. McEnroe and Sampras in doubles. USA vs Australia. Youzhny vs Mathieu. Czech Rep matches. Argentina with Maradona cheering.

 

[shawnbm]

McEnroe versus wilander was one of the best matches I ever saw.

 

[shawnbm]

And it was Davis cup

 

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Scoop Malinowski writes:

Bryden Klein update: Lost in qualies for Japan $75k Challenger as 3 seed ranked in 300s to unseeded Makoto Ochi of Japan 63 76. The struggles continue.

 

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Scoop Malinowski writes:

Hartt, you are right, Davis Cup is highly regarded and respected in certain countries like Czech Rep, Croatia, Argentina, Belgium, Australia, France, etc. But the overall formula has been criticized and picked at for decades now. Some love it, some don't care. Everything can be improved and perfected and hopefully the powers that be will figure out how to save the Davis Cup and restore the prestige and relevance.