* The mini-album Nightfreak and the Sons of Becker by The Coral is a reference to him.
* The 1986 Italo disco song "Geil" mentions Becker in a line.
* The Italian techno song "Balla Da Li" makes reference to Becker (the singer follows his name with Becker's well-known ääh, ääh).
* Becker published a tell-all autobiography, Augenblick, verweile doch... (English title: The Player) in 2003.
* On 7 July 2007 Becker was a presenter at the London leg of Live Earth.
On 17 December 1993, Becker married the actress and designer Barbara Feltus, the daughter of an American father and German mother, who later became a well known photographer in Germany. A month later, on 18 January 1994, their son Noah Gabriel was born. He was named after Becker's friends Yannick Noah and Peter Gabriel. Their second child, Elias, was born on 4 September 1999. Before the marriage, they shocked Germans by posing nude for the cover of Stern (the picture was taken by her father).
Becker initiated a separation from Barbara in December 1999, saying he merely wanted some time out. However, Barbara flew to Miami, Florida, U.S. a week later with Noah and Elias and filed a divorce petition in Miami-Dade County Court, sidestepping their prenuptial agreement, which had entitled her to a single $2.5 million payoff. The January 2001 pretrial hearing was broadcast live to Germany. Becker was granted a divorce on 15 January 2001. She got a $14.4 million settlement, their condo on the exclusive Fisher Island, and custody of Noah and Elias.
In February 2001, Becker acknowledged paternity of a daughter, Anna, with Angela Ermakova. The child was the result of a brief sexual encounter in 1999 in a closet at a London restaurant/bar. Becker initially denied paternity, but admitted he was the child's father after a DNA test. In November 2007, he obtained joint custody of Anna after expressing concerns over how her mother was raising her.
Becker was convicted of tax evasion on 24 October 2002, when he admitted that he lived in Germany from 1991–93 while claiming to reside in Monte Carlo. He was given two years probation, fined $500,000, and ordered to pay all court costs.
In October 2005, Becker became a team captain on the British TV sports quiz show They Think It's All Over, a role he held until the show was axed in June 2006.
He is a fan of German football club Bayern Munich and serves on its advisory board together with, among others, former Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber. He is also a fan of Chelsea FC.
Becker lives in Schwyz, Switzerland.
Since 2000, Becker has been the principal owner of the tennis division of Völkl Inc., a tennis racquet and clothing manufacturer.
In October 2006, Becker signed a two-year deal with Vodafone where he would answer selected text messages from fans. The terms of the role performed by Becker would be answering around 300 messages per year. These were predominantly friend requests and trivia about the mens ATP tour. As a result of this Becker has visited several places in Europe promoting the service, including Glasgow, Nairn, Moscow and Airdrie.
In November 2007, Becker joined the Team PokerStars group of poker players sponsored by the PokerStars online poker cardroom. As part of the Team, Becker will play in major poker tournaments like the European Poker Tour.
Becker was engaged to Alessandra Meyer-Wölden for some months in 2008. Her father, Axel Meyer-Wölden, was Becker's most trusted advisor and manager in the 1990s. The couple broke up in November 2008 after she texted him saying that the relationship wasn't working.
Becker's game was based on a fast and well-placed serve that earned him the nicknames "Boom Boom" "Der Bomber" and "Baron von Slam." He had an unorthodox rocking motion on his serve and his penchant to dive for volleys across all surfaces endeared him to his fans. His heavy forehand and powerful return of serve were also very significant factors in his game.
Becker occasionally deviated from his serve-and-volley style to try to outhit from the baseline opponents who normally were at their best while remaining near the baseline. Even though Becker possessed big shots from both wings, this strategy was often criticized by expert commentators.
For much of his career, Becker spent long periods ranked as World No. 2, mostly behind Ivan Lendl and Stefan Edberg. He was the top ranked player for a total of only 12 weeks during two stints in 1991.
Becker had frequent emotional outbursts on court. Whenever he considered himself to be playing badly, he often swore at himself and occasionally smashed his rackets on court. In contrast to John McEnroe, however, Becker rarely showed aggression toward his opponents. Also in contrast to McEnroe, his level of play and focus tended to be diminished rather than enhanced following these outbursts. Becker's highly dramatic play spawned a plethora of new expressions, such as the Becker Blocker (his trademark early return shot), the Becker Hecht (his flying lunge), the Becker Faust ("Becker Fist"), the Becker Shuffle (the dance he sometimes performed after making important points), and Becker Säge ("Becker Saw" – referring to the way in which he famously pumped his fists in a sawing motion).
Becker was one of the most dangerous players on grass courts, hard courts, and indoors. He had less success on clay than other surfaces as he never won a top-level singles title on clay. The closest he came was holding two match points against Thomas Muster in the final of the 1995 Monte Carlo Open. Becker did, however, team up with Michael Stich to win the 1992 men's doubles Olympic gold medal on clay.
Becker played most of his career with racquets from the German company Puma. After production of this racquet was discontinued, he bought the molds and had them continued to be produced by the American company, Estusa. He now has his own personal line of racquets and apparel.
Becker is the only son of the architect who built the tennis centre (Blau-Weiss Tennisklub) in Leimen, where Boris learned the game. Boris turned professional in 1984 and won his first professional doubles title that year in Munich.
As a West German teenager, Becker took the sports world by storm in 1985. He won his first top-level singles title in June at Queen's Club and then, two weeks later on 7 July, became the first unseeded player and the first German to win the Wimbledon singles title, defeating Kevin Curren in four sets. At the time, he was the youngest ever male Grand Slam singles champion at 17 years, 7 months (a record later broken by Michael Chang in 1989, who won the French Open when he was 17 years, 3 months). Two months after his triumph, Becker became the youngest winner of the Cincinnati Masters.
In 1986, Becker successfully defended his Wimbledon title, defeating the then-World No. 1 Ivan Lendl in straight sets in the final.
Becker unexpectedly lost in the second round of Wimbledon in 1987. In the Davis Cup that year, Becker and John McEnroe played one of the longest matches in tennis history. Becker won 4–6, 15–13, 8–10, 6–2, 6–2 (at that time, there were no tiebreaks in the Davis Cup). The match lasted 6 hours and 39 minutes.
Becker was back in the Wimbledon final in 1988, where he lost in four sets to Stefan Edberg in a match that marked the start of one of Wimbledon's great rivalries. Becker also helped West Germany win its first Davis Cup in 1988. He won the year-end Masters title in New York, defeating five-time champion Lendl in the final 5–7, 7–6, 3–6, 6–2, 7–6.
1989 was possibly the pinnacle of Becker's career. After losing to Edberg in French Open semi-finals, he defeated Edberg in straight sets in the Wimbledon final, and then beat Lendl in the final of the US Open. He also helped West Germany retain the Davis Cup, winning a long match in the semi-final round against Andre Agassi 6–7, 6–7, 7–6, 6–4, 6–4. The World No. 1 ranking, however, still eluded him.
In 1990, Becker met Edberg for the third consecutive year in the Wimbledon final, losing a long five-set match. He also failed to defend his US Open title, losing to Agassi in the semi-finals.
Becker reached the final of the Australian Open for the first time in his career in 1991, where he defeated Lendl to claim the World No. 1 ranking. Another loss to Agassi in the French Open semi-finals kept him from winning the first two Grand Slam tournaments of the year. He was ranked No. 1 for twelve weeks during 1991, though he never managed to finish a year ranked as the World's No. 1 player.
Becker reached his fourth consecutive Wimbledon final in 1991, where he unexpectedly lost in straight sets to his German compatriot Michael Stich. Becker and Stich developed a long-standing fierce rivalry, with the media often comparing up the raw, passionate Becker to the level-headed, suave Stich. However, Becker and Stich teamed up in 1992 to win the men's doubles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona.
Becker defeated Jim Courier in straight sets to win the 1992 year-end ATP Tour World Championships, held then in Frankfurt.
Becker reached the Wimbledon final for the seventh time in 1995, gaining a measure of revenge over Agassi by defeating him in the semi-finals. In the final, however, he lost in four sets to Pete Sampras. He won the year-end ATP Tour World Championships in Frankfurt that year with a straight-set win over Michael Chang in the final.
Becker's sixth and final Grand Slam title came in 1996, when he defeated Michael Chang in the final of the Australian Open. In that tournament, Becker delivered one of the most humorous victory speeches in recent tennis history. When he listed his sponsors, he cut himself short saying that he did not have the whole day left. He then consoled Chang by saying that his (Becker's) days were numbered, while Chang was still a young guy.
Becker lost to Sampras in the final of the 1996 ATP Tour World Championships in Hannover 3–6, 7–6, 7–6, 6–7, 6–4. Becker saved two match points in the fourth set and held serve 27 consecutive times until he was broken in the penultimate game. Sampras, who had lost to Becker a month earlier in a five-set final in Stuttgart, later called Becker the best indoor player he ever faced.
In 1997, Becker lost to Sampras in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, in what many thought would be Becker's last appearance there. In 1999, however, he played at Wimbledon again, losing in the fourth round to Patrick Rafter.
Becker was most comfortable playing on fast-playing surfaces, particularly indoor carpet (on which he won 26 titles) and grass courts. He reached a few finals playing on clay courts but never won a clay court tournament in his professional career. His best performances at the French Open were when he reached the semi-finals in 1987, 1989, and 1991.
Over the course of his career, Becker won 49 singles titles and 15 doubles titles. Besides his six Grand Slam titles, he was also a singles winner in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in 1988, 1992, and 1995, and at the Grand Slam Cup in 1996. He won a record-equalling four singles titles at London's Queen's Club. In Davis Cup, his career win-loss record was 54-12, including 38-3 in singles. He also won the other two major international team titles playing for Germany – the Hopman Cup (in 1995) and the World Team Cup (in 1989 and '98).
Becker won singles titles in 14 different countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Qatar, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States. In 2003, Becker was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Becker occasionally plays on the senior tour and in World Team Tennis. He is also sometimes a commentator at Wimbledon for BBC.
Country Germany
Residence Schwyz, Switzerland
Date of birth 22 November 1967 (1967-11-22) (age 41)
Place of birth Leimen, West Germany
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 85 kg (190 lb; 13.4 st)
Turned pro 1984
Retired 30 June 1999
Plays Right-handed; one-handed backhand
Career prize money US $25,080,956
* 4th All-time leader in earnings
Singles
Career record: 713–214 (76.91%)
Career titles: 49
Highest ranking: 1 (28 January 1991)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open W (1991, '96)
French Open SF (1987, '89, '91)
Wimbledon W (1985, '86, '89)
US Open W (1989)
Major tournaments
Tour Finals W (1988, 1992, 1995)
Olympic Games 3R (1992)
Doubles
Career record: 254–136
Career titles: 15
Highest ranking: 6 (22 September 1986)
Major doubles tournaments
Olympic Games W (1992)
Boris Franz Becker (born 22 November 1967, in Leimen, West Germany) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17. Since he retired from the professional tour, media work and his personal life have kept him in the headlines.
Borg had one of the most distinctive playing styles in the open era. Borg played from the baseline, with powerful ground-strokes and a two-handed backhand (very rare at the time and unorthodox). He hit the ball hard and high from the back of the court and brought it down with considerable topspin, which made his ground strokes very consistent.Cite error: Closing missing for
Borg's physical conditioning was legendary as he could outlast most of his opponents under the most grueling conditions. Contrary to popular belief, however, this wasn't due to his exceptionally low resting heart rate, often reported to be near 35 beats per minute. In his intro to Borg's autobiography My Life and Game, Eugene Scott relates that this myth arose from a medial exam the 18-year-old Borg once took for military service, where his pulse was recorded as 38. Scott goes on to reveal Borg's true pulse rate as "about 50 when he wakes up and around 60 in the afternoon." Borg is credited with helping to develop the style of play that has come to dominate the game today.
With 11 titles, Borg ranks fourth in the list of male tennis players who have won the most Grand Slam singles titles behind Pete Sampras (14), Roger Federer (13), and Roy Emerson (12). Among his other achievements are a record 89.8 Grand Slam match winning percentage (141–16) and a male open era record 41 winning percentage for Grand Slam tournaments played (11 of 27). The French Open-Wimbledon double he achieved three times consecutively was called by Wimbledon officials "the most difficult double in tennis" and "a feat considered impossible among today's players." Only Rafael Nadal has managed to achieve this double since, and Nadal and Andre Agassi are the only male players since Borg to have won the French Open and Wimbledon men's singles titles over their career.
In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, had already included Borg in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time. And in 2003, Bud Collins chose Borg as one of his top-five male players of all time.
In 2008, ESPN.com asked tennis analysts, writers, and former players to build the perfect open era player. Borg was the only player mentioned in five categories -- defense, footwork, intangibles, and mental toughness -- with his mental game and footwork singled-out as the best in open era history.
Borg never won the US Open or the Australian Open, losing in the final at the US Open four times. The only players to defeat Borg in a Grand Slam final were fellow World No. 1 tennis players John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors. Borg chose to play the Australian Open only once, in 1974, where he lost in the third round. Chris Evert, a contemporary of Borg, has pointed out that skipping Grand Slam tournaments was not unusual then, before counting Grand Slam titles became the norm. Borg has stated publicly that he would have attempted to complete the calendar year Grand Slam and played in the Australian Open had he succeeded in winning the first three Grand Slam tournaments of the year, which he never did. (During Borg's career, the Australian Open was the last Grand Slam tournament of each year.)
* Borg was ranked the World No. 1 in six different stretches between 1977 and 1981, totaling 109 weeks.
* Tennis commentators considered him as the best player from 1977 through 1980.
* During his career, he won a total of 77 (61 listed on the Association of Tennis Professionals website) top-level singles and four doubles titles.
* Borg won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award in 1979.
* Borg was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.
* On 10 December 2006, the British Broadcasting Corporation gave Borg a Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented by Boris Becker.
In March 2006, Bonhams Auction House in London announced that it would auction Borg's Wimbledon trophies and two of his winning rackets on 21 June 2006. Several players then called Borg wondering what he was thinking, but only McEnroe was able to make Borg reconsider. According to Dagens Nyheter – who had talked to Borg – McEnroe called from New York and asked, "What's up? Have you gone mad?" The conversation apparently persuaded Borg to buy out the trophies from Bonhams at an undisclosed amount.
In the early-1990s, Borg attempted a comeback on the men's professional tennis tour. This time around, however, he was completely unsuccessful. Playing with his old wooden rackets in an attempt to regain his once-indomitable touch, he lost his first comeback match in 1991 to Jordi Arrese at the Monte Carlo Open. A series of first-round losses to low-ranked players followed over the next two years. The closest he came to winning a match was in 1993 in Moscow, when he pushed Alexander Volkov to three sets and lost a final set tiebreaker 9–7. After that match, he retired from the tour for good and confined himself to playing on the senior tour, with modern rackets, where he renewed his old rivalries with John McEnroe (he was 7-7 lifetime against McEnroe), Jimmy Connors (against whom he had been 10-7) and Guillermo Vilas.
When he retired, he had a choice of homes, a penthouse in Monte Carlo, not far from his successful pro shop, and a small island off the Swedish coast. Borg's marriage to the tennis player Mariana Simionescu ended in divorce, he fathered a child by another woman, and he was briefly married to the Italian singer Loredana Berte. There were rumors of a drug overdose and an attempted suicide, both of which Borg denies, and he narrowly averted personal bankruptcy.
He later bounced back as the owner of the Björn Borg fashion label, whose most noted advertising campaigns asked Swedes (from the pages of a leading national newspaper) to "Fuck for the Future." His label has since become second only to Calvin Klein in his home country.
As a child growing up in Södertälje, a town near Stockholm, Borg became fascinated with a golden tennis racquet that his father won at a table-tennis tournament. His father gave him the racquet, beginning one of the brightest careers in tennis history.
Borg joined the professional circuit at age 14. 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 against seasoned professional Onny Parun of New Zealand. Later that year, he won the Wimbledon junior singles title, recovering from a 5-2 deficit in the final set to overcome Britain’s Buster Mottram.
In 1973, Borg reached the Wimbledon main draw quarterfinals in his first attempt.
In 1974, 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, defeating Manuel Orantes in the final 2–6, 6–7, 6–0, 6–1, 6–1. Barely 18 at the time, Borg was the youngest-ever male French Open champion (the record has since been lowered by Mats Wilander in 1982 and Michael Chang in 1989).
In early 1975, Borg defeated Rod Laver, then 36 years old, in a semifinal of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) finals in Dallas, Texas 7–6, 3–6, 5–7, 7–5, 6–2. Borg then lost to Arthur Ashe in the final.
A player of great strength and endurance, he had a distinctive and unorthodox style and appearance, bowlegged, yet very fast. His muscular shoulders and well-developed torso gave him the strength to lash at the ball with heavy topspin on both forehand and backhand. He used a two-handed backhand, adapted from the slap shot in hockey, a game he favored as a child. By the time he was 13 he was beating the best of Sweden's under-18 players and Davis Cup captain Lennart Bergelin cautioned against anyone trying to change Borg's rough-looking, jerky strokes. They were effective. Through 1977 he had never lost to a player younger than himself.
Borg retained his French Open title in 1975, beating Guillermo Vilas in the final in straight sets. Borg then reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals, where he lost to eventual champion Ashe 2-6, 6-4, 8-6, 6-1. Borg did not lose another match at Wimbledon until 1981.
Borg won two singles and one doubles rubber in the 1975 Davis Cup final as Sweden beat Czechoslovakia 3–2. With these singles wins, Borg had won 19 consecutive Davis Cup singles rubbers since 1973. That was already a record at the time. But Borg never lost another Davis Cup singles rubber, and, by the end of his career, he had stretched that winning streak to 33--a Davis Cup record that still stands.
The only player who defeated Björn Borg at the French Open is the Italian Adriano Panatta. This happened twice – in the fourth round in 1973 (7–6, 2–6, 7–5, 7–6), and in quarter-finals in 1976 (6–3, 6–3, 2–6, 7–6).
Borg won Wimbledon in 1976 without losing a set, defeating the much-favoured Ilie N?stase in the final. Borg became the youngest male Wimbledon champion of the modern era at 20 years and 1 month (a record subsequently broken by Boris Becker, who won Wimbledon aged 17 in 1985). Some speculate that Borg's surviving the first week of Wimbledon, when the courts were slick and fast, was the key to his success. This might have been due to the unusually hot conditions that summer. The courts played slower in the second week, which suited Borg's baseline game. Borg also reached the final of the 1976 US Open, which was then being played on clay courts. Borg lost in four sets to World No. 1 Jimmy Connors.
Borg missed the French Open in 1977 because he was under contract with WTT, but he repeated his Wimbledon triumph, although this time he was pushed much harder. He defeated his good friend Vitas Gerulaitis in a semifinal 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 8–6. In the final, Borg was pushed to five sets for the third time in the tournament, this time by Connors. The win propelled Borg to the #1 ranking on the computer, albeit for just one week in August.
Borg was at the height of his career from 1978 through 1980, winning the French Open and Wimbledon all three years.
In 1978, Borg won straight-set finals over Vilas at the French Open and Connors at Wimbledon but was defeated in straight sets by Connors in the final of the US Open, now held on hard courts in Flushing Meadow, New York. That autumn, Borg faced John McEnroe for the first time in a semifinal of the Stockholm Open and was upset 6–3, 6–4. Borg did not drop a set at the 1978 French Open, a feat only he, N?stase, and Rafael Nadal have accomplished during the open era.
Borg lost to McEnroe again in four sets in the final of the 1979 WCT Finals but was now overtaking Connors for the top ranking. Borg established himself firmly in the top spot with his fourth French Open singles title and fourth straight Wimbledon singles title, defeating Connors in a straight-set semifinal at the latter tournament. At the French Open, Borg defeated big-serving Victor Pecci in a four-set final, and at Wimbledon, Borg took five sets to overcome an even bigger server, Roscoe Tanner. Borg was upset by Tanner at the US Open, in a four-set quarterfinal played under the lights.
At the season-ending Masters tournament in January 1980, Borg survived a close semifinal against McEnroe 6–3, 6–7, 7–6(3). He then beat Gerulaitis in straight sets, winning his first Masters and first title in New York. In June, he overcame Gerulaitis, again in straight sets, for his fifth French Open title. Again, he did not drop a set.
Borg won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon singles title in 1980 by defeating McEnroe in a five-set match, often cited as the best Wimbledon final ever played. Having lost the opening set 6-1 to an all-out McEnroe assault, Borg took the next two 7-5, 6-3 and had two Championship points at 5-4 in the fourth. But McEnroe averted disaster and went on to level the match in Wimbledon’s most memorable 34-point tiebreaker, which he won 18-16. In the fourth-set tiebreak, McEnroe saved five match points and Borg six set points before McEnroe won the set. Borg then won 19 straight points on serve in the deciding set and prevailed after 3 hours, 53 minutes. Borg himself commented years later that this was the first time that he was afraid that he would lose, as well as feeling that it was the beginning of the end of his dominance. Borg married Romanian tennis pro Mariana Simionescu in Bucharest on 24 July 1980.
Borg lost to McEnroe in another five-set final, this one lasting 4 hours and 13 minutes, at the 1980 US Open. He then defeated McEnroe in the final of the Stockholm Open, 6–3, 6–4, and faced him one more time that year, in the round-robin portion of the year-end Masters, played in January 1981. With 19,103 fans in attendance, Borg won a deciding third-set tie-break for the second year in a row, 6–4, 6–7, 7–6(3). Borg then defeated Ivan Lendl for his second Masters title, 6–4, 6–2, 6–2.
Borg won his last Grand Slam title at the French Open in 1981, defeating Lendl in a five-set final. Borg's six French Open singles titles remains a record for a male player.
In reaching the Wimbledon final in 1981, Borg stretched his winning streak at the All England Club to a record 41 matches. In a semifinal, Borg was down to Connors by two sets to none before coming back to win the match 0–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–0, 6–4. However, Borg's streak was brought to an end by McEnroe, who defeated him in four sets, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Borg went on to lose to McEnroe at the 1981 US Open, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3, and the defeat effectively ended Borg's career. After that defeat, Borg walked off court and out of the stadium before the ceremonies and press conference had begun. Borg said that his consecutive losses to McEnroe at Wimbledon and the US Open had confirmed that he was no longer the World No. 1 tennis player and that he did not want to be World No. 2. It would turn out to be the Swede's last Grand Slam final. By the end of 1981, Borg was on the verge of break-down and was mentally drained and physically exhausted.
The U.S. Open was his particular jinx. He failed to win in 10 tries, losing four finals, 1976 and 1978 to Jimmy Connors, and 1980 and 1981 to McEnroe. Thrice (1978, 1979 and 1980) he was halfway to a Grand Slam after victories at the French and Wimbledon only to falter at the three-quarter pole at Flushing Meadow, lefty Tanner his conqueror in 1979.
He had appeared only once at the Australian Open, earlier in his career, at which he lost in one of the earlier rounds.
In 1982, Borg played only one tournament, losing to Yannick Noah in the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo. Nevertheless, Borg's announcement in January 1983 that he was retiring from the game at the age of 26 was a shock to the tennis world. McEnroe tried unsuccessfully to persuade Borg to continue.
Borg was born in Södertälje, Sweden. Before he was 21, Björn Rune Borg had registered feats that would set him apart as one of game's greats, and before he was 26, the golden-locked Swede was through.
Just before his 18th birthday Borg was the youngest winner of the Italian Championship, and two weeks later he was the youngest winner of the French Championship (a record lowered by countryman Mats Wilander, 17, in 1982, and subsequently by Michael Chang, a younger 17 in 1989). Eighteen months later, at 19, he climaxed a Davis Cup record winning streak of 19 singles by lifting Sweden to the 1975 Cup for the first time in a 3-2 final-round victory over Czechoslovakia. His Cup singles streak of 33 was intact at his retirement, still a record.
During a nine-year career, Borg won 41 percent of the Grand Slam singles tournaments he entered (11 of 27) and 89.8 percent of the Grand Slam singles matches he played. Both are male open era records. In addition, Borg's six French Open singles titles is the all-time record for a male player.
Borg is the only player in the open era to have won both Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year more than once; he did so in three consecutive years. (In 2008 Rafael Nadal became the first player since Borg to win both titles in the same year.)
Country Sweden
Residence Stockholm, Sweden
Date of birth 6 June 1956 (1956-06-06) (age 52)
Place of birth Södertälje
Height 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 72 kg (160 lb)
Turned pro 1973 (international debut in 1971)
Retired April 4, 1983[1] (unsuccessful comeback from 1991 to 1993)
Plays Right-handed; two-handed backhand
Career prize money US$3,655,751
Singles
Career record: 597–127 (82.46%)
Career titles: 100 (including 63 listed by the ATP)
Highest ranking: 1 (23 August 1977)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open 3R (1974)
French Open W (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981)
Wimbledon W (1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980)
US Open F (1976, 1978, 1980, 1981)
Major tournaments
Tour Finals W (1979, 1980)
Doubles
Career record: 86–81 (51.2%)
Career titles: 4
Highest ranking: 890 (22 March 1993)
Read more...
* About Pete Sampras' retirement: "You grow up with a guy, you compete against him for so long, he's such a big part of your career, something that's pretty special, so you do have that sense of personal regret that he's not around any more. You miss having that around."
* During the 2005 US Open: "I've been motivated by overcoming challenge and overcoming the hurdles and obstacles that face me. There still is plenty out there to get motivated by." And after defeating James Blake in a quarterfinal, Agassi said, "First of all, let me say, 1:15 in the morning, for 20,000 people to still be here, I wasn't the winner, tennis was. That's awesome. I don't know if I've ever felt so good here before."
* John McEnroe on "Center Court With Chris Meyers" said, "If I had to name the top five or six guys at this point, I would put Sampras, I would put Laver, I'd have to put Borg up there because he won the eleven, I'd put Federer in there now, I'd put Agassi in there...if I could be thrown in the same breath as those guys I'd be happy."
* When Mats Wilander was asked in 2005 to name the top five tennis players of all time, he placed Agassi, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Björn Borg in the top four (in no order) and tied John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors for fifth place. Concerning Agassi, Wilander said, "He has some limitations, like he can't serve and volley, yet he has won all four Slams. He has a very high energy level, quite like Borg. He is on fifth gear from the very first point. There is some abnormality in his eyes, otherwise he wouldn't have had such a phenomenal return. He sees the ball like no one else and just guides it wherever he wants to. He's just played a Grand Slam final at 35, that tells me he wasted the first five years of his career, otherwise, he couldn't have lasted this long. No one has done more to tennis than Agassi and Borg."
* On September 3, 2006, after playing his final match and losing in the third round of the US Open to Benjamin Becker, Agassi gave these departing remarks to his fans: "Thanks. The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I have found. And over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life. I've found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed sometimes even in my lowest moments. And I've found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I could have never reached without you. Over the last 21 years, I have found you. And I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life. Thank you."
Agassi has participated in many charity organizations and founded the Andre Agassi Charitable Association in 1994, which assists the youth of Las Vegas. He was awarded the ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian award in 1995 for his efforts to help disadvantaged youth. He is regularly cited as the most charitable and socially involved player in professional tennis. It has also been surmised that he may be the most charitable athlete of his generation, which includes Lance Armstrong.
Agassi's charity often takes the form of assisting children with their athletic potential. His Boys & Girls Club sees 2,000 children throughout the year and boasts a world class junior tennis team. It also has a basketball program (the Agassi Stars) and a rigorous system that encourages a mix of academics and athletics.
In 2001, Agassi opened up the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, a tuition-free charter school for at-risk children in the area. Ironically, Agassi never finished his own formal education due to his decision to turn pro.
Among other child-related programs that Agassi supports through his Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation is Clark County's only residential facility for abused and neglected children called Child Haven. In 1997, Andre donated funding to Child Haven for a six-room classroom building now named the Agassi Center for Education. His foundation also provided "$720,000 to assist in the building of the Andre Agassi Cottage for Medically Fragile Children. This facility opened in December 2001 and accommodates developmentally delayed or handicapped children and children quarantined for infectious diseases. It houses approximately 20 beds and gives children with special needs the special attention needed to make them feel comfortable in their new surroundings."
In 2007, Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong, Warrick Dunn, Jeff Gordon, Mia Hamm, Tony Hawk, Andrea Jaeger, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mario Lemieux, Alonzo Mourning and Cal Ripken, Jr. founded Athletes for Hope, a charitable organization, which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and inspires millions of non-athletes to volunteer and support the community.
Agassi dated famed American singer Barbra Streisand in the early 1990s before marrying actress Brooke Shields on April 19, 1997. That February, they had filed suit against The National Enquirer claiming it printed "false and fabricated" statements about the couple. The case was dismissed. He later filed for divorce from Shields, which was granted on April 9, 1999.
At the 1999 French Open, Agassi and Steffi Graf were the surprise champions, since he had not won a Grand Slam title since 1995 and she since 1996. At the winners' ball, they danced the traditional champions dance. After that evening, they began dating. Graf retired after they both reached the Wimbledon final in July. They were married on October 22, 2001. Their son, Jaden Gil, was born on October 26 of the same year. Their daughter, Jaz Elle, was born on October 3, 2003. The couple lives in the Las Vegas area and own several vacation homes.
Agassi's older sister, Rita, was married to the late former tennis legend Pancho Gonzales. In 1995, when Gonzales died in Las Vegas, Agassi paid for the funeral.
Agassi is also a staunch Democrat and has donated more than $100,000 to different Democratic candidates.
Since retiring after the 2006 US Open, Agassi has participated in a series of charity tournaments and continues his work with his own charity. On September 5, 2007, Agassi was a surprise guest commentator for the Andy Roddick/Roger Federer US Open quarterfinal.
1986-1993: Image is everything
Agassi turned professional in 1986 and won his first top-level singles title in 1987 at Itaparica. He ended the year ranked World No. 25. He won six further tournaments in 1988, and, by December of that year, he had surpassed US$2 million in career prize money after playing in just 43 tournaments – the fastest anyone in history had reached that level. His year-end ranking was World No. 3, behind second-ranked Ivan Lendl and top-ranked Mats Wilander.
As a young up-and-coming player, Agassi embraced a rebel image. He grew his hair to rocker length, sported an earring, and wore colorful shirts that pushed tennis' still-strict sartorial boundaries. He boasted of a cheeseburger diet and endorsed the Canon "Rebel" camera. "Image is everything" was the ad's line, and it became Agassi's as well.
In addition to not playing the Australian Open (which would later become his best Grand Slam event) for the first eight years of his career, Agassi chose not to play at Wimbledon from 1988 through 1990 and publicly stated that he did not wish to play there because of the event's traditionalism, particularly its "predominantly white" dress code to which players at the event are required to conform. Many observers at the time speculated that Agassi's real motivation was that his strong baseline game would not be well suited to Wimbledon's grass court surface.
Strong performances on the tour meant that Agassi was quickly tipped as a future Grand Slam champion. While still a teenager, he reached the semifinals of both the French Open and the US Open in 1988, and the US Open again in 1989. He began the 1990s, however, with a series of near-misses. He reached his first Grand Slam final in 1990 at the French Open, where he lost in four sets to Andrés Gómez. His second Grand Slam final was against Pete Sampras at the US Open. The last time Agassi had played Sampras, he won 6–1, 6–1. After that match, he told his coach that he felt bad for Sampras because he was never going to make it. Looking at the draw, Agassi was happy that he did not have to face Lendl or McEnroe in the final, and he planned to make Sampras hit more balls than he could handle. Despite being the favorite in the match, he lost to Sampras 6–4, 6–3, 6–2. The rivalry between these two American players became the dominant rivalry in tennis over the rest of the decade. Also in 1990, Agassi helped the United States win its first Davis Cup in 8 years and won his only ATP Tour World Championship.
In 1991, Agassi reached his second consecutive French Open final, where he faced fellow Bollettieri Academy alumnus Jim Courier. Courier emerged the victor in a five set final. Agassi decided to play at Wimbledon in 1991, leading to weeks of speculation in the media about the clothes he would wear. He eventually emerged for the first round in a completely white outfit. He went on to reach the quarterfinals on that occasion.
To the surprise of many, Agassi's Grand Slam breakthrough came at Wimbledon, not at the French Open or the US Open where he had enjoyed so much success. In 1992, he defeated Goran Ivaniševi? in a five set final. Along the way, Agassi dispatched two former Wimbledon champions in Boris Becker and John McEnroe. No other baseliner would triumph at Wimbledon until Lleyton Hewitt ten years later, on slower, higher bouncing grass better suited for baseline play. Agassi was named the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year in 1992.
Agassi once again was a key player on the United States' Davis Cup winning team in 1992. It was their second Davis cup title in three years.
1993 saw Agassi win the only doubles title of his career, at the Cincinnati Masters, partnered with Petr Korda. Agassi missed much of the early part of that year with injuries and struggled at the major events with a first-round exit at the US Open and a wrist surgery late in the year.
1994-1997: Memorable rivalries and injury
Agassi started slowly in 1994, losing in the first week at the French Open and Wimbledon. Nevertheless, Agassi emerged during the hard court season, winning the Canadian Open. His comeback culminated at the 1994 US Open with a 5-set fourth-round victory against compatriot Michael Chang and then becoming the first man to capture the US Open as an unseeded player, beating Michael Stich in the final.
In 1995, Agassi shaved his balding head, breaking with his old "image is everything" style. He attended the 1995 Australian Open for the first time and won, beating Sampras in a four set final. Agassi and Sampras met in five tournament finals in 1995, all on hardcourt, with Agassi winning three. Agassi won three Masters Series events in 1995 (Cincinnati, Key Biscayne, and the Canadian Open) and seven titles total. He compiled a career-best 26-match winning streak during the summer hardcourt circuit, which ended when he lost the US Open final to Sampras.
Agassi reached the World No. 1 ranking for the first time in April 1995. He held that ranking until November, for a total of 30 weeks. In terms of win/loss record, 1995 was Agassi's best year. He won 72 matches and lost only 10. Agassi was also once again a key player on the United States' Davis Cup winning team - the third and final Davis Cup title of Agassi's career.
1996 was a less successful year for Agassi, as he failed to reach any Grand Slam final. He suffered two early round losses at the hands of compatriots Chris Woodruff and Doug Flach at the French Open and Wimbledon, respectively. The high point for Agassi was winning the men's singles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, beating Sergi Bruguera of Spain in the final 6–2, 6–3, 6–1. Agassi also successfully defended his singles titles in Cincinnati and Key Biscayne.
1997 was the low point of Agassi's career. His wrist injury resurfaced, and he played only 24 matches during the year. He won no top-level titles and his ranking sank to World No. 141 on November 10, 1997. He ultimately finished the year ranked World No. 122. Agassi was also subject to intense publicity surrounding his high-profile marriage to actress Brooke Shields.
In 1998, Agassi rededicated himself to tennis. He began a rigorous conditioning program and worked his way back up the rankings by playing in Challenger Series tournaments (a circuit for professional players ranked outside the world's top 50). Perhaps most remarkably, the one-time rebel emerged as a gracious and thoughtful athlete, admired by younger players. After winning matches, he bowed and blew two-handed kisses to spectators on each side of the court, a gesture seen as a rather humble acknowledgement of their support for him and for tennis. He played some classic matches in this period, most notably against his rival Pete Sampras and popular Australian Patrick Rafter.
In 1998, Agassi won five titles and leapt from World No. 122 at the start of the year to World No. 6 at the end of it, making it the highest jump into the top 10 made by any player during a single calendar year. He won five titles in ten finals and was runner-up at the Masters Series tournament in Key Biscayne, losing to Marcelo Ríos, who became World No. 1 as a result of winning that tournament.
Agassi entered the history books in 1999 when he came back from two sets to love down to beat Andrei Medvedev in a five-set French Open final, thereby becoming only the fifth male player (joining Rod Laver, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson, and Don Budge) to have won all four Grand Slam singles titles during his career. He is, however, the only male player in history to have won all four Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces (clay, grass, and hard courts), a tribute to his adaptability, as the other four men won their Grand Slam titles on clay and grass courts. Agassi also became the first male player to win the Career Golden Slam, consisting of all four Grand Slam tournaments plus an Olympic gold medal.
Agassi followed his 1999 French Open victory by reaching the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Sampras in straight sets. He rebounded from his Wimbledon defeat by winning the US Open, beating Todd Martin in five sets (rallying from a 2 sets to 1 deficit) in the final. Agassi ended 1999 as the World No. 1, ending Sampras's record of six consecutive year-ending top rankings (1993–1998). This was the only time Agassi ended the year at number one.
Agassi began the next year by capturing his second Australian Open title, beating Sampras in a five-set semifinal and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in a four-set final. He was the first male player to have reached four consecutive Grand Slam finals since Rod Laver achieved the Grand Slam in 1969. At the time, Agassi was also only the third player since Laver to be the reigning champion of three of four Grand Slam events, missing only the Wimbledon title.
2000 also saw Agassi reach the semifinals at Wimbledon, where he lost in five sets to Rafter in a match considered by many to be one of the best ever played at Wimbledon. At the inaugural Tennis Masters Cup in Lisbon, Agassi reached the final after defeating Marat Safin 6–3, 6–3 in the semifinals to end the Russian's hopes to become the youngest World No. 1 in the history of tennis. Agassi then lost to Gustavo Kuerten in the final, allowing Kuerten to be crowned year-end World No. 1.
Agassi opened 2001 by successfully defending his Australian Open title with a straight-sets final win over Arnaud Clément. Enroute, he beat a cramping Rafter (7–5, 2–6, 6–7, 6–2, 6–3) in front of a sell-out crowd in what turned out to be the Aussie's last Australian Open. At Wimbledon, they met again in the semifinals, where Agassi lost another close match to Rafter, 8–6 in the fifth set. In the quarterfinals at the US Open, Agassi lost a 3 hour, 33 minute epic match with Sampras 6–7(7), 7–6(7), 7–6(2), 7–6(5), with no breaks of serve during the 48-game match. Despite the setback, Agassi finished 2001 ranked World No. 3, becoming the only male tennis player to finish a year ranked in the top 10 in three different decades (1980s - finishing World No. 3 in 1988 and No. 7 in 1989; 1990s - finishing World No. 4 in 1990, No. 10 in 1991, No. 9 in 1992, No. 2 in 1994 and 1995, No. 8 in 1996, No. 6 in 1998 and No. 1 in 1999; 2000s - finishing World No. 6 in 2000, No. 3 in 2001, No. 2 in 2002, No. 4 in 2003, No. 8 in 2004 and No. 7 in 2005). He also was the oldest player (age 31) to finish in the top three since 32-year old Connors finished at World No. 2 in 1984.
2002 opened with disappointment for Agassi, as injury forced him to skip the Australian Open, where he was a two-time defending champion. The last duel between Agassi and Sampras came in the final of the US Open, which Sampras won in four sets and left Sampras with a 20–14 edge in their 34 career meetings. The match proved to be the last of Sampras's career. Agassi's US Open finish, along with his Masters Series victories in Key Biscayne, Rome, and Madrid, helped him finish 2002 as the oldest year-end World No. 2 at 32 years and 8 months.
In 2003, Agassi won the eighth (and final) Grand Slam title of his career at the Australian Open, where he beat Rainer Schüttler in straight sets in the final. In March, he won his sixth career and third consecutive Key Biscayne title, in the process surpassing wife Steffi Graf who was a 5-time winner of the event. The final was his 18th straight win in that tournament, which broke the previous record of 17 set by Sampras from 1993–1995. (Agassi's winning streak continued to 20 after winning his first two matches at the 2004 edition of that tournament before bowing to Agustín Calleri.) With the victory, Agassi became the youngest (19 years old) and oldest (32) winner of the Key Biscayne tournament. On April 28, 2003, he recaptured the World No. 1 ranking after a quarterfinal victory over Xavier Malisse at the Queen's Club Championships to become the oldest top ranked male player since the ATP rankings began at 33 years and 13 days. He held the World No. 1 ranking for two weeks when Lleyton Hewitt took it back on May 12, 2003. Agassi then recaptured the World No. 1 ranking once again on June 16, 2003, which he held for 12 weeks until September 7, 2003. During his career, Agassi held the World No. 1 ranking for a total of 101 weeks. Agassi's ranking slipped when injuries forced him to withdraw from many events. He did manage to reach the US Open semifinals, where he lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero and surrendered his World No. 1 ranking to Ferrero. At the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, Agassi lost in the final to Federer and finished the year ranked World No. 4. At age 33, he was the oldest player to rank in the top five since Connors, at age 35, was World No. 4 in 1987.
In 2004, the 34-year-old Agassi won the Masters series event in Cincinnati to bring his career total to 59 top-level singles titles and a record 17 ATP Masters Series titles, having already won seven of the nine ATP Masters tournament -- all except the tournaments in Monte Carlo and Hamburg. He became the second-oldest singles champion in Cincinnati tournament history (the tournament began in 1899), surpassed only by Ken Rosewall who won the title in 1970 at age 35. He finished the year ranked World No. 8, the oldest player to finish in the top 10 since the 36-year-old Connors was World No. 7 in 1988. Agassi also became only the sixth male player during the open era to reach 800 career wins with his first round victory over Alex Bogomolov in Los Angeles.
Agassi's 2005 began with a quarterfinal loss to Federer at the Australian Open. Agassi had several other deep runs at tournaments but had to withdraw from several events due to injury. He won his fourth title in Los Angeles and reached the final of the Rogers Cup before falling to World No. 2 Rafael Nadal.
Still, Agassi's 2005 was defined by an improbable run to the US Open final. After beating R?zvan Sab?u and Ivan Ljubi?i? in straight sets and Tomáš Berdych in four sets, Agassi won three consecutive five-set matches to advance to the final. The most notable of these matches was his quarterfinal victory over James Blake, where he rallied from two sets down to win 3–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3, 7–6(6). His other five-set victims were Xavier Malisse in the fourth round and Robby Ginepri in the semifinals. In the final, Agassi faced Federer, who was seeking his second consecutive US Open title and his fifth Grand Slam title in two years. Federer defeated Agassi in four sets, although Agassi gave him a scare when Agassi was up a break in the third set after splitting the first two sets.
Before the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, Agassi rolled his ankle in a racquetball accident and tore several ligaments. He was unable to walk for weeks. He nevertheless committed to the tournament, in which he was seeded third, and played Nikolay Davydenko in his first round robin match. Agassi's movement was noticeably hindered, particularly on his backhand return of serve, and he lost in straight sets. He then withdrew from the tournament, to the criticism of the tournament director who had already dealt with several other withdrawals.
Agassi finished 2005 ranked World No. 7, his 16th time in the year-end top 10 rankings, which tied Connors for the most times ranked in the top 10 at year's end. In 2005, Agassi left Nike after 17 years and signed an endorsement deal with Adidas.
2006: The end of an era
Agassi had a poor start to 2006. He was still recovering from an ankle injury and also suffering from back and leg pain and lack of match play. Agassi withdrew from the Australian Open because of the ankle injury, and his back injury and other pains forced him to withdraw from several other events, eventually skipping the entire clay court season, including the French Open. This caused his ranking to drop out of the top 10 for the last time.
Agassi returned for the grass court season, playing a tune-up and then Wimbledon. He was defeated in the third round by World No. 2 (and eventual runner-up) Rafael Nadal 7–6(5), 6–2, 6–4. Against conventions, Agassi, the losing player, was interviewed on court after the match. At Wimbledon, Agassi announced his plans to retire following the US Open.
Agassi played only two events during the summer hardcourt season, with his best result being a quarterfinal loss at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles to Fernando González of Chile 6–4, 3–6, 7–5. As a result, he was unseeded at the US Open.
Agassi had a short but dramatic run in his final US Open. Because of extreme back pain, Agassi was forced to receive anti-inflammatory injections after every match. After a tough four-set win against Andrei Pavel, Agassi faced eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis in the second round, who had earlier advanced to the 2006 Australian Open final and Wimbledon semifinals. Agassi, nevertheless, won 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 5–7, 7–5 as the younger Baghdatis succumbed to muscle cramping in the final set.
In his last match, Agassi was in obvious pain on court and fell to 112th ranked big-serving Benjamin Becker of Germany in four sets. Agassi received an eight minute standing ovation from the crowd after the match and delivered a memorable retirement speech.
Agassi earned more than US$30 million in prize-money during his career, third only to Sampras and Federer. In addition, Agassi earned over US$25 million a year through endorsements, the most by any tennis player, during his career and fourth in all sports at the time.
Agassi employed a baseline style of play, but unlike most such players, he typically made contact with the ball inside the baseline — exceptionally difficult even for professionals as this requires great reaction time. This was possible because of his short backswing and his extraordinary hand-eye coordination. These same attributes helped him aggressively return serves. John McEnroe, Jim Courier, and others have called Agassi the best service returner ever to play tennis. Many, including Brad Gilbert, call him the best ball striker in the history of tennis.
Agassi was known for his ability to hit sharply angled winners from the baseline. Early on in his career, Agassi would look to end points quickly, typically by inducing a weak return with a deep, hard shot, and then playing a winner at an extreme angle. In 1995, he added a backhand drop shot to his repertoire, which was one of the most effective drop shots on tour (partly due to the fact that Agassi's groundstrokes forced most opponents to play far behind the baseline). On the rare occasion that he charged the net, Agassi liked to take the ball in the air and hit a swinging volley for the winner. This requires exceptional timing and reflexes, which Agassi was famous for; he once entered a batting cage and hit 90 mph fastballs with a bat while running toward the machine.
After Agassi's rededication to tennis in 1998, he focused more on physical conditioning than in the past and became one of the fittest players on the tour. He had remarkable endurance and rarely appeared tired on court.
Because of his conditioning and groundstrokes, one of Agassi's central strategies was to wear down his opponents. Agassi tried to minimize time between points, so that his opponents had as little recovery time as possible. Agassi continually put pressure on opponents by returning the ball early and at deep angles, and attempted to dictate play from the center of the baseline and make his opponent scramble. When in control of a point, Agassi would often pass up an opportunity to attempt a winner and hit a slightly more conservative shot, both to minimize his errors and to make his opponent run more. His penchant for running players around point after point has earned him the nickname "The Punisher".
In the last year of his career, various injuries, most notably in his back, robbed Agassi of consistent speed and court coverage. As a result, players who were able to consistently hit at sharp angles with pace, particularly those who could do this on the run, gave him trouble. To make up for this weakness, Agassi began playing more aggressive shots, to keep his opponent on the defensive and deny them opportunities to run Agassi around the court. This both limited his options from the baseline and increased his errors.
Agassi's serve was never the strength of his game, but it improved steadily over the course of his career, and went from being a liability to being average. His most effective serve was a hard slice, which he would often use in the deuce service box to seek to send his opponent off the court, followed by a shot to the opponent's opposite corner. He relied on a heavy kick serve for his second serve, particularly early in his career.
|
|
