Wimbledon Needs Another Borg, and Roger Isn't It

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND — For two rainy weeks with too little tennis, Wimbledon has waited for Bjorn Borg to return, waited to put its first five-time defending champion alongside its next one. Borg, who won this title from 1976 to 1980, says he's rooting for Federer to equal the feat, and everybody expects that Federer will.

Federer won't, however, be the new Borg. No two men have dominated Wimbledon so thoroughly, yet not wo Wimbledon champions, or eras at Wimbledon, have so little in common. Where Borg was awkward, Federer is smooth. Borg had unkempt hair and a scruffy beard, Federer wears an embroidered jacket and a sweater, and combs his hair just so. Borg showed no emotion on court and had no flash of his own: He was reactive, rather than creative, when confronted with the artistry and big mouths of men like John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors. Gifted shot-makers brought out the best in Borg, and the best in Wimbledon when he was here — his was the most thrilling time in the tournament's history. Federer, the most gifted ball-striker of them all, looks marvelous but tends to bring out the worst in everyone else.

Wimbledon desperately needs another Borg, someone to inject some life into a tournament that's become every bit as predictable as England's wretched weather. it needs a champion who, like Borg, doesn't belong. Someone like Rafael Nadal.

Like Nadal — who escaped a two-set deficit yesterday against an injured Mikhail Youzhny, less than 24 hours after finishing a match that lasted five days — Borg played tennis that didn't suit grass. He hit more topspin than anyone who came before him, swung a two-handed backhand, and didn't volley particularly well. John Lloyd, the former British pro, speaking to the BBC for its documentary on Borg, said that when Borg practiced on grass the week before Wimbledon, he looked awful, like a certain first-round loser. But what Borg lacked in comfort, he made up for with concentration, determination, and a strict adherence to rituals. He practiced long hours at the same club, roomed in the same cottage every year, ate the same food, and wouldn't shave or have sex during the tournament.

Though he won his first Wimbledon title in 1976 without losing a set, Borg often struggled here. In 1977, he lost the first two sets to Australian Mark Edmondson in the second round. He later beat Vitas Gerulaitis in a fabulous five-set semifinal, and then Jimmy Connors in another five-setter in the final. Victor Amaya pushed Borg to five sets in the first round in 1978; Vijay Amritraj did the same in the second round in 1979. Borg's most entertaining match, and his finest performance, came against McEnroe in the 1980 final. Borg squandered seven championship points in the fourth set — "I think I never felt so bad in my whole life," he said of the 18–16 tiebreaker he lost — but recovered to win the fifth set. McEnroe beat him a year later, and Borg played one tournament the following year before officially quitting tennis in 1983 at age 26. once that supreme concentration had cracked, he could not piece it together again. While Borg adapted his unusual (and often awkward) style to Wimbledon and, against long odds, conquered it, Federer has dominated it. No one has brought so many weapons to grass: A good serve, the best forehand in tennis, crisp volleys (when he decides to hit them), impeccable footwork, supreme quickness, and a preference, especially on the backhand, for balls that don't bounce too high.

Since the last time he lost at Wimbledon, in the first round in 2002, Federer hasn't had anything close to a tussle. In the last four years, he lost five sets total and dropped the first set of a match once. Unlike Borg, he's not superstitious. Federer skipped his customary grass court warm-up event in Germany this year, citing fatigue after the French open final. So far, he hasn't looked any worse for the decision. in three matches during this rain-delayed tournament, Federer hasn't lost a set — not even Marat Safin, perhaps the second-most talented tennis player of his generation, could bruise him. in a brief appearance on Centre Court yesterday, his first in nearly a week, Federer relinquished a 5–2 lead against Juan Carlos Ferrero, but who doubts that he will dispatch the Spaniard today, probably in straight sets?

Six other men remain, six unlikely champions: Andy Roddick, whose 145 mph serve has been good enough to steal one set in 10 against Federer at Wimbledon; Richard Gasquet, the Frenchman with the pretty game and shaky confidence; Marcos Baghdatis, the Cypriot who reached the semifinal last year; Novak Djokovic, the most well-rounded young player in the game; Tomas Berdych, a 6-foot-4-inch slugger, and Nadal, last year's finalist.

Nadal has the most difficult road, a road that Borg would appreciate. He'll have to tame Berdych's serve today, then subdue either Baghdatis, or more likely, Djokovic, tomorrow. if he makes the final after that, he might not have much left for Federer.

Unless, of course, the rain that infuriated Nadal this week has decided to do him a favor. After skipping a round in this tournament and watching everyone else suffer, Federer won't have any more leisure days. He played his last full match a week ago, yet now has to win nine sets in the next three days, same as everyone else. Will he have to play too much tennis too soon?

in 2001, when a 19-year-old Federer defeated Pete Sampras at Wimbledon and prevented Sampras from tying Borg's record of five straight titles, Borg called Federer to thank him. Perhaps his visit to Wimbledon this year is not meant to congratulate, but to secretly pull for Nadal — the man whose superstitions, determination, and unorthodox game are thoroughly Borg. That Borg won Wimbledon once or twice in an era with so many strong grass players is astonishing, never mind that three of his titles followed wins at the French open. He is Wimbledon's most remarkable champion, no matter what Federer does this weekend. but no one would blame him if he wanted to hang on to his record a little longer.