Björn Borg is truly the ‘iceman’, on and off the court, and Bengaluru recently got a taste of it. Staying at the Leela Palace, Borg and Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj retrospected their careers. The two faced one another six times during the 1970s and early ’80s, out of which two were in Grand Slams, the 1974 US Open and the 1979 Wimbledon, where Amritraj took the former and Borg the latter.
Speaking about competing with Borg, regarded as one of the all-time greats, Amritraj feels both those matches were tough ones. “Both of us were watching one of those matches recently, and it was great to see how tight that match was and how great we looked (laughs). When I look back and how it has been in the past 40-50 years, I feel privileged to have played in the ’70s. I got to play with and against Björn, got to play against other great players like Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe,” shares Amritraj.
The two tennis aces have shared a friendship for over half a decade. “The first time I met Vijay was at Wimbledon in 1973. We always have had a friendly relationship and we respect each other on and off the court. Coming from India, what he did for the country is a spectacular achievement. Back in the ’70s, I remember no one really wanted to play him because he was very good and we all knew it was always going to be a tough game,” says Borg.
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