Guillermo Vilas turns 70: Björn Borg, the worst enemy in the field and the most faithful friend in life

A couple of years ago, Guillermo Vilas’ health problems were barely known, one of the first to approach Monte Carlo to pass on his love and encouragement to him was Björn Borg, that legendary rival from the 70s.

Four years younger than Vilas, but of the same generation as tennis, it was they who revolutionized tennis with their style of play – and also with their personalities – at that time, completing a memorable trilogy with Jimmy Connors, the one who set a whole generation on fire.

Björn Rune Borg, a native of Sódertlaje and disciple of Lennart Bergelin, is considered one of the most important tennis players in history, author of feats that can only be emulated in the following decades when the Sampras / Agassi or, more recently, this splendid Nadal Big3 appeared. , Federer and Djokovic. When Borg surprisingly decided to retire from official competition, he was only 26 and had won Wimbledon for five consecutive years (which was considered “impossible”) and had added six more Roland Garros titles.

Throughout its passage through the circuitBorg built an aura of unbeatenness for nearly all of his rivals and thus left a favorable record against most. Just the appearance of a talent like John McEnroe, with his audacity and offensive style, stood up and eventually nullified his hegemony at Wimbledon – late 1981, after that great match of the previous year – which marked the point of break for the Swede: he decided to retire a few months later.

Vilas and Borg practically landed on the circuit togetherthey built a certain friendship within what was allowed devastating competition, then they left … and they met again to enjoy those memories. Increasingly.

Although their playing styles were similar – and both represented an innovation in spin management – the Swede had one difference: his increased speed. Y Vilas had a hard time fighting him, so much so that for five years he couldn’t beat him. The series was only interrupted in the European spring of 1980 by the Nations Cup, in Düsseldorf, where it was also their last official confrontation. In total, the Swede beat him in 17 of his 22 games.

In the History of Argentine tennisa true encyclopedia of Edward Puppo Y Roberto AndersenBorg wrote a special column recalling those duels with Vilas.

“We train and spend a lot of time together on the circuit, we connect very well. We noticed that we played similarly, both from the baseline and with the effects. We respected each other on and off the pitch. We had the same style, but I beat it multiple times just because I did some things a little better. And in some cases it was also important to be lucky, but the difference was very small.commented Bor.

The first meeting took place in Buenos Aires, at the end of 1973, and also marked the first of the official titles for Vilas on the professional circuit. It was the Republic Open final and Borg was leading 6-3, 7-6, 4-6, 6-6 when, in the tie break, he ran to respond with a smash and slammed his arm into the back wall. He fell and also hit the waist. He had to go.

But in the following season the Swede established himself as one of the leading tennis players in the world. It was also the take-off of Vilas, although the Swede prevailed in personal duels. Vilas, however, managed to beat him 7-5 and 6-1 on the lawn of Kooyong (Melbourne), during the qualifiers for the Masters, where -days later against Ilie Nastase– won one of the most important titles of his campaign.

The first clash between Vilas and Borg in a Grand Slam final was at Roland Garros in 1975 and there the Swede was overbearing (6-2, 6-3 and 6-4), something that would be repeated three years later on the same stage. At the end of that year they met in Swedish territory … Stockholm, another Masters, and there Vilas won 7-4, 4-6 and 6-1. Five seasons (and ten incidents) would have to pass before he could repeat such a victory.

Borg’s speed, power, and power of concentration have always given him an edge over Vilas’s tiring effort. And this could not even counter it in exhibition matches, which sometimes alternated on the official circuit. There, too, they gave their best.

Not even in the magical 1977 season – when Vilas managed to dominate world tennis by winning his first Grand Slam crowns and producing his still unbeatable 46-game winning streak – did the Swede yield to him in his games. That year Borg beat him in the final in Nice and in the semi-final in Monte Carlo.

Shortly before, in his sort of autobiography (“Who I am and how I play”) Vilas had referred to the series of victories he already had against the Swede: “It’s a mental situation. In play we have pretty much the same shots, with the only variation that I gave the ball the rotation with the wrist and he uses a quick rotation of the hip to give it speed and target. We are both counter-attackers and we move more or less the same way. The difference is that Björn has more speed than me and he reaches the ball with more margin. For my part, they are tougher than him, but slower when it comes to short sprints. But where the fundamental part of the irregularity lies is in trust and concentration ”.

But the series ended on 11 May 1980 at Rochsclub in Düsseldorf, during the Sweden-Argentina match for the semi-final of the Nations Cup, a team competition that served as a set up for Roland Garros for the players. .

Curiously, Borg had beaten Vilas again with all his strength in Monte Carlo a few weeks earlier (6-1 6-0 and 6-2). But Vilas himself arrived confidently at the new clash. In a column in The graph he wrote: “I know few will believe it after seeing this result, but it’s the truth. Plan the game in the only way possible, trying to attack it at the slightest opportunity. I can’t stay on the sidelines, because it’s faster than me. Also I can’t attack after my serve because his return to serve is deadly. So the only option left is to wait, gather three or four times and attack as soon as I see the opportunity. I felt sad about losing, but I still have a positive balance left. Six months ago many thought Vilas was finished. Now I have shown them that it is not true, that I am still one of the best ”.

And it happened, 6-3, 1-6 and 6-1 after Vilas surprised with an offensive play that baffled the Swede. So he paved the way for Argentina’s coronation in that Cup (along with José Luis Clerc and Carlos Gattiker), triumphing in the next day’s match against Italy.

With that result, Vilas took over the favorite Roland Garros poster. It couldn’t be. One of his most annoying rivals, Harold Solomon, knocked him out in the quarter-finals, although Vilas was hit with appendicitis that required immediate intervention in Paris. Borg, meanwhile, was well on his way to one of his many French clay court titles.