Bjorn Borg and Vijay Amritraj hold court, go down memory lane

A nailbiting match followed — Amritraj took the first two sets, only for Borg to claim the next two before Amritraj clinched the win in the fifth.

Nearly half a century later, at a media interaction in Bangalore’s Leela Palace, the two legends of the sport shared memories of their friendship, love for the sport, and what lies ahead for tennis.

Borg said, “Vijay and I have always had a good relationship on and off the court…this is my third visit to India, and Vijay has been a great host to me and my wife Patricia. It has been a great two weeks.” Borg’s son Leo also plays in the Bengaluru Open after a wild-card entry.

Bjorn Borg and Vijay Amritraj photographed during the media interaction in Bengaluru. (Express photo)

Borg also hoped that India and his native Sweden could find common ground to revive tennis in these countries. “There may be one person from Sweden playing in the top 100,” he said.

Amritraj concurred, “There used to be a time when the Swedes owned the Davis Cup. It was as if it never left their homes.”

Borg and Amritraj have made something of a start in this regard, conducting a tennis clinic for children in Chennai last week.

Amritraj said, “Generally, when you look at world tennis…..there are three men right now – Nadal, Federer and Djokovic, who have dominated the sport today. And whenever someone comes to challenge them, they have improved.”

A legend in Montevideo!

Bjorn Borg cheered on his son Leo, who played at the @uruguayopen yesterday 😍

📸: @uruguayopen pic.twitter.com/cx9fSilZex

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) November 9, 2022

Borg added, “Now Federer has retired, and we don’t know how long Nadal will continue. Djokovic will probably be there for some more time. But no one is bigger than the sport. The new generation of players must be supported.”

Remembering the 70s, Amritraj said, “When we look back at the sport, we were privileged to have played during that time. Every year when Bjorn returned to Wimbledon, we would think – he couldn’t win this time and would win it again. In those days, there was less of a gap between the French Open and Wimbledon, so Bjorn would come to play on the faster grass courts soon after playing on clay.”

Borg was the first man in the Open Era to win 11 Grand Slam singles, with six French Open and five consecutive Wimbledon crowns.

Candidly speaking of his decision to retire still in his prime at the age of 25, Borg said, “Whatever I did, if I went to a restaurant or somewhere, there would be hundreds of people over there. At first, I liked it; anyone would in the beginning. But later, I wanted more of a private life. The younger players today have more security than we did. I called my coach one day and said – let’s go have lunch. And after lunch, I told him I no longer wanted to play tennis. He thought I was crazy!”

He added, “You have to learn how to handle situations outside the court; dealing with the media scrutiny can be tough. It took me many years to learn what to do.”

But for all that, the face of the sport has changed in some ways. Amritraj said, “Tennis in the US has dropped these days, with the popularity of baseball and the NFL. The texture of the grass is also different from when Bjorn and I used to play – the court is not as fast. So many Europeans who were used to clay courts have come up.”

It has not only been tennis through the years, though for Amritraj, who is known for his commentary. He acted alongside Roger Moore in the James Bond film Octopussy. He also played a spaceship captain in Star Trek 4.

“I don’t know if they are sending me a message – I always die in these scripts!” he quipped.