After all these years, Bjorn Borg gets another chance to leave on a good note.
Last time around, things didn’t go so well. For those unfamiliar with one of tennis’ most infamous walk-offs, after Borg lost the 1981 US Open final to John McEnroe – his third consecutive loss to McEnroe in a Slam final – he grabbed his bag, headed for the tunnel, barely stopped in the locker room to get his car keys, then headed to the parking lot and drove away, leaving everyone at the awards ceremony feeling a little bewildered as to why the finalist wasn’t there.
And that was it, apart from two very shortened comeback attempts. The 11-time Grand Slam winner never played another Grand Slam match. He was essentially done with it. In January 1983, at the age of 26, he retired from tennis.
Borg after losing the 1981 US Open final to McEnroe (Getty Images)
He made brief (and unsuccessful) attempts at comebacks in the early 1990s, but Borg was largely absent from tennis for decades. Then, finally, he was back on the sidelines seven years ago, coaching Team Europe in the Laver Cup, Roger Federer’s attempt to create a tennis version of the Ryder Cup. McEnroe was coaching Team World, which was basically perfect.
Borg and McEnroe will step down from their Laver Cup roles after this year, with Andre Agassi and Yannick Noah set to replace them. With his final Laver Cup appearance this weekend in Berlin (September 20-22), Borg was motivated to give a rare interview about his life after tennis, his son Leo’s rise to prodom and what being around the best players of this era has meant to him.
“So beautiful,” he said during a phone interview last month while on vacation in Ibiza. That’s about as Borg as you can get, right?
This interview has been edited for length and quality.
The Athletics: So many great players from your era became coaches, but you never really did, except at the Laver Cup. Why?
Deposit: I never had any interest in it. All that traveling. Sweden even asked me to be the Davis Cup captain. I said no. That wasn’t my thing either. But to be the coach of Team Europe, I thought that was a big responsibility. And my friend Roger Federer asked me. It’s a special event every year.
Borg and Federer in the Team Europe locker room at the 2022 Laver Cup (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup)
The Athletics: Why did you stop playing so young? Were you unhappy? I ask because there are a lot of unhappy players these days who stop playing at a young age and in retrospect you may seem like the canary in the coal mine.
Deposit: I was very happy as a player, but the motivation was not there. If you are not motivated every day to train and compete, you cannot focus on what you are doing and what you have to do. I was happy, but I had no motivation and no focus. When I came back for a while, it was a different story.
I’m writing a book. I’m going to tell everyone all about it next year.
The Athletics: What did you learn about the changes in tennis from dealing with players at the Laver Cup?
Deposit: We have two dinners a week and it’s the most special time. We do it to bond the team. They ask me what the tour was like when I played and how I lived my life and we tell each other the stories of our lives. And I listen to what they tell me and what I really learn is that they are not that different from me. They are tennis players. What we did is kind of the same as what they do.
The Athletics: But the world has changed, right?
Deposit: They hit the ball harder. It’s a lot harder to play like they do. There’s also the TV aspect to it. They’re big stars. Tennis has become one of the biggest sports in the world and they have a big responsibility. They have to inspire people and promote the sport. It’s different to being a star in football. You don’t have to promote your sport. But when we talk about their fame, they have to do a great job. They all understand that no player is bigger than the sport itself.
(Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup)
The Athletics: What do you think is the biggest difference between their lives and yours, based on what they tell you at those Laver Cup dinners?
Deposit: They have the big teams around them and these people do incredible work. I did OK, even though I quit too early, but I’ve never had such a big team of people to travel the world with, where you feel so supported.
I was the first one who really went out with a coach. Nowadays everyone has a coach and a physiotherapist and all these other people. Tennis, it’s such a demanding sport. It’s really tough because you’re basically on your own. So you really need that.
The Athletics: Is that what you’re looking forward to as Team Europe coach, to provide that support?
Deposit: I’m going to have great players in Berlin. I want to win. It’s my last year. I’ve lost the last two years. I want to win again, but I don’t know, Team World is very good. John McEnroe and I are good friends, but he wants to win too. We’ve always enjoyed being competitive. We were such big rivals and when he coaches we’re still very competitive. Seeing him now is so special. We keep in touch, but seeing him is something else.
The Athletics: Did you find his behavior on the field annoying?
Deposit: When we played, he was always okay. In retrospect, he never did much with me. We had too much respect for each other, I think, both on and off the field.
Borg after defeating McEnroe in five sets in the 1980 Wimbledon final (Steve Powell/Allsport/Getty Images)
The Athletics: Which modern player reminds you of yourself?
Deposit: I grew up on clay. Nadal grew up on clay. He’s the only one. To watch him play on clay courts is so amazing. He’s incredible. I can imagine how he moves players around the court.
The Athletics: Chris Evert says she was afraid to talk to you when you were a player because you were a quiet star, but now when she sees you, you are very talkative. Have you changed?
Deposit: Chris is a very good friend. We started something together. We were two big stars. We took tennis to another level. I am very happy and proud that we did that. And those who came after us took it even further. Federer, Nadal, Novak, the Williams sisters. But we were there from the beginning.
The Athletics: Your son Leo is trying to break through on the pro tour. Are you coaching him?
Deposit: I support him, but I don’t coach him. He knows he can come to me whenever he wants. He has a whole team around him. He lives in Stockholm. I live in Stockholm. He comes over. We talk.
(Adam Ihse/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)
The Athletics: Is it harder to play a match or to watch him play?
Deposit: Ask any parent. You get more nervous when you watch your kid play. I watch his games. He feels a lot of pressure. He’s my son. He’s starting to perform a lot better, I think. I like watching him. It’s just hard because as a parent you don’t have any control. When you’re on the field, you do have some control. In some ways, it’s easier to sit on the couch and watch on TV. It’s much worse to watch in person.
The Athletics: It seems like Christian and Casper Ruud have a good coach-player relationship and he doesn’t look very nervous. Are you sure you don’t want to try it?
Deposit: The Ruuds are my good friends. Believe me, Christian gets nervous too.
(Top photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup)
