Borg back on centre stage and honoured to see pair worthy of taking his record

WHATEVER happens in tomorrow's Wimbledon men's final, the television cameras will search out a familiar face in the Royal Box. There will sit a man whose great deeds of the past have come under ferocious attack from a pair of players who have taken tennis to a rarefied level and helped obscure the distinguished tread of certain others in the process.

Bjorn Borg once walked away from tennis but even the most committed emigre from the sport would have been attracted back by what Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are presently doing with a racket.

He returned to Wimbledon again yesterday – last year was only his second time back at the courts since 1981 – and wasted no time in saluting these titans who have begun to trade on the rivalry which helped inspire Borg and his old adversary John McEnroe to ever greater efforts. Borg profited to the extent that he won five consecutive Wimbledon titles between 1976 and 1980, the last of which was claimed after an extraordinary duel with McEnroe. Should Federer defeat Nadal tomorrow on Centre Court he will break Borg's record, having equalled it last year. Should Nadal prevail – and Borg backed him to win Wimbledon at the start of the tournament, although he now favours Federer – then the Spaniard will emulate an enduring twin achievement of successive French Open and Wimbledon titles, a double which Borg was the last man to complete back in 1980.

The Swede was a master at adapting from clay to grass. However, even he is aghast at Nadal, who managed to fit a win on grass – at the Artois Championships at Queen's – into the short time between the European Grand Slams.

"I was there at Roland Garros and saw the final," recalled Borg. "Nadal played extremely well, even though Roger played what I think was his best tennis up to the final for the last three years. Then I went back home to Sweden and I was watching Queen's on television, and I was so surprised to see him (Nadal] play. He was maybe struggling in the first couple of rounds, but he was still playing good grass court tennis, despite just coming from Paris. It looked like he had been practising for the grass for one month or something. I started thinking about myself, and for me it was impossible to get used to the grass that quickly."

This comparison is followed by an inevitable invitation to ponder how he might have fared in today's game, and whether he could have handled the power now on display. The 52-year-old acknowledged that the competition is tougher now, but warned against looking back. He, for one, is enjoying the here-and-now.

"I will be at the final and I hope I am going to see another great final, because I really enjoy watching these guys play," he continued. "To see these two guys play, that's the best thing that can happen to me, as a spectator and a former tennis player. You just know that it is going to be an unbelievable tennis match. It doesn't matter who is going to win. I just want to see good tennis."

Given his current relevance – when could Borg ever be considered irrelevant? – the Ice Man was in demand yesterday. Forget the breakfast of champions, this was breakfast with a champion. Few things are more guaranteed to get tennis fans out of bed than the prospect of Borg and bacon butties served up in a shaded garden behind an exclusive Wimbledon street – one called, incidentally, Murray Road.

While Borg was impressed with the pride of Scotland at this year's Wimbledon there could be no getting away from Federer and Nadal, and the nature of rivalry. Borg shared a healthy one with McEnroe, even if the latter did his best to inject some rancour. Nadal and Federer share with Borg a focus and are blessed with his combative qualities too, though, again like the Swede, they refrain from turning the air blue.

"I think me and McEnroe had a lot of respect for each other on the court and off the court," Borg contemplated. "We knew that every time we played we produced great tennis. But what Federer and Nadal are doing is great for tennis – they are promoting tennis in the right way. They are playing great tennis that everybody enjoys, and it doesn't matter what kind of surface.

"They are both hungry, and have played a lot of times against each other," he continued. "I think they push each other every time they play, because they have respect, and they know that if they don't play well then they will not win. Both Federer and Nadal enjoy playing each other because they push each other to the limit, like me and John did."

Someone so calm and collected as Borg is hardly going to start stamping his feet when his career highlights start to be eclipsed, as was always bound to happen. He actively wills it, and is proud that players who are regarded as standard bearers in a new era of tennis are beginning to make inroads into his own catalogue of triumphs. Indeed, he helped pave the way, and was among the first to dedicate himself to the tireless physical conditioning which helps set the likes of Nadal and Federer apart.

Asked if the thought of relinquishing his records troubled him, the Swede's eyes sparkled. "Yes, I cannot sleep," he said, and the long pause is then punctured by a laugh. "No, it doesn't bother me all.

"Records are meant to be beaten, not only in tennis but in all sports," he continued. "To win Wimbledon six times is very difficult. To win it five times is difficult. If Roger could win it for the sixth time this year then I would be very happy for him, because I know him. He is not only an unbelievable tennis player, a true champion, but he is also a great person off the court. He keeps both his feet on the ground. That is what I like about him.

"But records? No, I don't mind. I am happy for the players. In 25-30 years from now, maybe some other player will beat these guys' records. Who knows? It is normal."

Borg is clearly not a man who obsesses about the past, or frets over his place in history. And he is certainly not possessive, as his tangled love life – which includes two former wives – suggests. In 2006 it was announced that Bonhams auctioneers in London were preparing to auction his Wimbledon trophies. The news prompted McEnroe, of all people, to phone Borg and ask whether he had taken leave of his senses. All has not always been well with Borg, whose on-court intensity was matched by a brooding demeanour off it, but, swayed by his old foe and the attendant public outcry, he rather sheepishly bought the trophies back from Bonhams.

Not that they are likely to be on display at his home, which is why he would have been a challenging subject for Lloyd Grossman's old Through the Keyhole programme. There are no obvious clues to his former life as the greatest tennis player on the planet.

"I have all my best memories here in my head," he assured those present. "That is enough for me. If you should come into my place (in Sweden], you would never believe I was a tennis player. I have nothing. But I keep my Wimbledon trophies."

The last sentence is spoken with a smile, as if he knows himself what a fool he had been to consider putting a price on items he can keep forever while his records begin to fall away.

PROFILE

AS a youngster he had an on-court temper to rival John McEnroe's – he was suspended for six months for bad behaviour – but the man born on 6 June 1956 in Södertälje matured into a tennis legend.

Between losing to eventual champion Arthur Ashe in 1975 and John McEnroe in the 1981 final, the Swede won a record 41 consecutive matches at Wimbledon. Each final triumph marked a more titanic battle than the last. He claimed five successive titles beating Ilie Nastase, Jimmy Connors – twice – Roscoe Tanner and John McEnroe.

Victory over the American, the brash rising star of the game, seemed so unlikely to his fervent supporters in fancy dress at SW19 that day that one promised: "If McEnroe loses, I'll eat my hat." Presumably his tricorn headgear did not choke him as Borg proved his star status had not yet been eclipsed.

Even in the defeat by "Superbrat" the following year, 1981, he came close to adding to his haul with a second-set fightback before the American broke his spirit to retrieve a 5-0 deficit in the third and won a tie-break before going on to triumph in the fourth.

In a move that shocked the game at the time – hard to believe now when one considers the retirement of Justine Henin – he retired at just 25 but later formed the Bjorn Borg fashion label. A tennis comeback in the 1990s proved unsuccessful – like the wooden rackets he employed, his time had passed.

Swede says Murray can reach the top

BJORN Borg has backed Andy Murray to one day win Wimbledon and has paid tribute to the Scot for providing this year's tournament with its most entertaining match, writes Alan Pattullo.

The Swede, who won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles between 1976 and 1980, has been a fan of Murray's since the Dunblane youngster emerged on to the scene three years ago.

Murray has beaten Roger Federer but never Rafael Nadal in four meetings and although he exceeded the expectations of a 12th seed when making the quarter-finals, he fell in comprehensive fashion to Nadal 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in their first meeting on grass.

The Scot did, however, beat the No8 seed Richard Gasquet in a five-set epic, coming back from two sets down.

"I thought he had a great Wimbledon," said Borg. "For me he is more mature, and stronger. I have always said that I like the way Murray plays. The match he played against Gasquet was probably the best match so far this Wimbledon – it was an unbelievable match."

Borg sympathised with Murray being pitched against Nadal in the last eight and said his exertions against Gasquet were a mitigating factor in a straight-sets defeat.

"He was tired in his legs, you could see that," said Borg. "It is tough enough playing Nadal when you are fit and strong. If you are a little bit tired it is going to be very difficult. He has to be pleased with what he has done. He reached the quarter-final. It wouldn't surprise me if one day he is on the Centre Court and lifting that trophy."