Bjorn Borg: I’ve always been a private person

Bjorn Borg: I’ve always been a private person

Born in 1956 in the Swedish capital, Borg’s lifelong association with tennis began when his father won a full-size racket at a local table tennis tournament, which he gave to the young Borg.

By the age of 14, he had joined the professional tennis circuit, and just a few years later, had won the Italian Open at 17 and the French Open at just 18. Having risen to international prominence in 1975 when he helped Sweden win its first David Cup, Borg became a household name in the years that followed for his distinctive playing style that helped him win Wimbledon five times in a row.

At the peak of his playing career, his on-court rivalry with the American John McEnroe became the stuff of legend, with the pair’s 1980 Wimbledon final considered by many to be one of the greatest matches ever played. This was later immortalised in a 2017 movie.

After unexpectedly retiring in 1983, Borg struggled with life after tennis, battling alcohol and drug abuse. He subsequently returned to the sport in the early 1990s for a couple of years before hanging up his professional tennis racket for good.

He tells Tim Muffett about his journey to the very top of the sport, the challenges of stepping away, and his recent battle with prostate cancer.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service, Mondays and Wednesdays at 0700 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out twice a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Tim Muffett Producers: Ben Cooper, Nadia Dahabiyeh and Nick Smith Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Björn Borg of Sweden prepares to present the trophies on Court Philippe-Chatrie, Credit: Tim Clayton/Getty Images)

Episoder(1845)

Philip Glass - Composer

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As Belle de Jour, she achieved global notoriety for years, writing a blog about her sexual encounters as a high-class escort girl working in London. Now, after revealing herself to be an expert research scientist and no longer engaged in prostitution, Dr Brooke Magnanti is calling for prostitution to be decriminalised.

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Lewis Moody - Former England Rugby Captain

Lewis Moody - Former England Rugby Captain

Former England rugby captain Lewis Moody talks to Stephen Sackur about his battle with bowel disease, and winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup.(Image: Lewis Moody, Credit: Getty Images)

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How far is Egypt becoming polarised between Islamist and secularist forces? The current vote for a new constitution in Egypt has exposed divisions which at times have erupted into violence on the streets between supporters and opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Hardtalk speaks to a leading member of Egypt's liberal and secular elite: Coptic Christian billionaire businessman and politician Naguib Sawiris. Who has a better claim to be democratic - the Islamists or their opponents?(Image: Naguib Sawiris, Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

20 Des 201223min

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Afghanistan is reckoned to be one of the worst places on Earth to be a woman. Forced early marriage, high maternal mortality rates and little secondary education. Hardtalk talks to Dr Sima Samar, a medical doctor, educator and Chairperson of Afghanistan’s Human Rights Commission. Ten years ago she also became her country’s first ever Minister for Women’s Affairs. She has been a pioneer for human rights in Afghanistan but does she have the right strategy to win greater freedoms for Afghan women?(Image: Sima Samar, Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

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Leila Shahid – Palestinian Authority Ambassador to the EU

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The politics of Palestine are in a state of flux. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the stalwarts of his Fatah movement face a crisis of credibility; they've been outmanoeuvred in recent weeks by the hardliners in Hamas whose message is defiance, not diplomacy. Hardtalk speaks with the Palestinian Authority envoy to the European Union Leila Shahid. Is the game up for Palestine's old guard moderates?(Image: Leila Shahid, Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

14 Des 201223min

Jan Cheek - Executive Councillor, Falkland Islands Government

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To Britain it's the Falklands, to Argentina the Malvinas. Thirty years ago, the two countries went to war over these islands in the South Atlantic. Now they can smell oil - eight billion barrels worth is being drilled for this year. Is that why Buenos Aires and London are trading insults once again? Jan Cheek is one of the leaders of the 3000 islanders who are about to be asked to vote on whether there should be negotiations with Argentina. She says no but by what right do the Islanders insist they should stay linked to a country on the other side of the world? And for how much longer will the British be prepared to pay the military and diplomatic bill?

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