Rob McLean - Why Bjorn Borg and Boris Yeltsin are both pants
Underpants might not be the first thing you associate with the former Russian president Boris Yeltsin or tennis legend Bjorn Borg (11 Grand Slams), but the tennis-mad leader was once found in his smalls outside the White House, while Borg has a company that produces underwear.
Being something of a Borg obsessive but, I hasten to add, a happily married one, I bought some at a seniors event at the Royal Albert Hall.
Moving seamlessly on, Yeltsin and Borg are inextricably connected in another way and this brings us to the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, the first professional event in Russia launched in 1990, which tales place this week.
The former world number one Marat Safin is the star attraction, and plays for the last time in the tournament, but 16 years ago Borg was about to play his final match on the ATP Tour. The Swede, of course, had walked away from the game in 1981 after a glorious career and this was the second and last chapter in his ill-fated comebacks.
At the start of the 1990s, Yeltsin had become the catalyst for a tennis revolution in his country from the moment he was seen on TV screens jumping up and down in white shorts on a tennis court, probably after having too much vodka.
He was obsessed with the sport and mentored a few of the home players, but had the habit of turning up at matches, often at critical points, and putting them off their stride. One who suffered from this was Alexander Volkov, who was mortified to hear he had been drawn to play his idol Borg in the first round.
Volkov knew there was the awful prospect of being remembered as the only man to be beaten by the ageing superstar during his comebacks. Yeltsin arrived with Volkov cruising, but the sight of his leader was enough for Volkov to start imploding. Borg took the second set before the Russian pulled himself together to win in three, but he had to save a match point.
Borg's parting shot was to refuse to play Yeltsin in a doubles match and went off into the sunset to join Jimmy Connors on the senior tour.
Safin will hope to make more of an impression but whatever happens he will be remembered for two Grand Slam titles and a couple of mesmerising displays, against Pete Sampras in the US Open final and Roger Federer in the Australian Open semi-finals.
Finally back to Borg. Can anyone name any of Borg's opponents in his 11 comeback matches? Unfortunately, he didn't manage to win a set so, I suppose, it was all pants.
BRIT WATCH: Congratulations to Alex Bogdanovic, Britain's perennial Davis Cup whipping boy and serial Wimbledon first-round loser. Yesterday he won his first Challenger Tour event when he beat Croatian Ivan Dodig in the final in Kolding, Denmark. Bogdanovic is still only 25 and let's hope he can finally make a breakthrough on the main tour. He certainly has the talent. At the end, Dodig smashed the vase he had been awarded as a runner-up prize and abused the linesperson. His compatriot, Goran Ivanisevic, would have been proud.
- Rob McLean
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Date published :
20 Oct 2009 - 09:00:44
