The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Not the Borg way, that one

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Tuesday, Jun 26, 2007
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Not the Borg way, that one

TWO OF A KIND: Roger Federer (left) and Bjorn Borg have both enjoyed a lot of success at Wimbledon.

Wimbledon: Roger Federer wants to emulate Bjorn Borg by winning a fifth consecutive Wimbledon title. One thing Borg did that Federer has no plans to copy? Announce his retirement at age 26.

“Such a pity. He could have played so much more,” Federer said, a day before his first-round match against Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia.

“My big goal is still to be coming back here in 2012, playing the Olympics here at Wimbledon,” the 25-year-old Federer said.

“That is still a long way away. Then after that, we’ll see where my health takes me.”

Only player

In the last 100 years, Borg is the only man to win Wimbledon five years in a row. Pete Sampras won the grass- court major four straight times from 1997-00, but his bid for No. 5 was ended by Federer in a fourth-round match in 2001.

A couple of months after that upset, Federer got a phone call from Borg. “He called me up and thanked me for breaking Sampras’ streak, keeping his alive. And now I’m going for Borg’s record. It’s ironic,” Federer said.

“But I’ve heard he’s happy if I would tie it up.”

They crossed paths last year in Dubai, where Borg played an exhibition match against old foe John McEnroe. Federer and Borg hit for about two hours and got a chance to chat.

“I was, like, so excited,” Federer said.

The buzz around Wimbledon is that Borg will make an appearance, perhaps to participate in a trophy ceremony should Federer match his mark.

“I heard he’s coming for the final weekend. I hope I’ll be there, too,” Federer said with a smile.

Roddick can’t wait

Enough with the clay. Andy Roddick was thrilled to get back to the grass.

After bowing out in the first round at the French Open, Roddick figures he’ll have much more success on the manicured lawns of Wimbledon. He won the grass-court tuneup at Queen’s Club last weekend for the fourth time.

Sense of excitement

“There’s a certain sense of excitement, anxiousness. I got over here really early. I had to guard against getting too fired up the first couple days in practice, because there was still a long time before I was even going to play a match.”

And the top-seeded Federer counts Roddick as among the threats in this year’s tournament.

“If Andy’s in form, I think he’s in good shape, because I think grass is one of his best surfaces.”

The speed the ball travels on grass makes Roddick’s record-setting serve — he’s been clocked at 155 mph — even more difficult for opponents to handle. He lost in the third round at Wimbledon in 2006, but that was before pairing up with coach Jimmy Connors. — AP

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