Tennis icon Bjorn Borg says Novak Djokovic is the greatest of all time – but are his dreams of winning a 25th Grand Slam fading? He will turn 39 in May!

“Game knows game.” When sporting idol speaks, people listen. Bjorn Borg won 11 Grand Slam titles including five successive Wimbledon crowns and spent 109 weeks as world No 1.

He has seen it all and knows what he is talking about. He pins his colours to the mast in the big tennis debate – who is the greatest?

“I think the way he’s playing, Djokovic, for me, is the greatest player to have ever played the game. And then the second place comes to (Roger) Federer and (Rafa) Nadal. They tied for the second place,” said Borg, who was known as the ice-cool king of Wimbledon.

“It’s amazing how he can play that kind of tennis, 38 years old. I’m very impressed.

“I know he wants to win that 25th Grand Slam tournament. I hope he’s going to play one more year, at least next year too, because the tennis he’s playing. It’s going to be tough with (Jannik) Sinner and (Carlos) Alcaraz and some other players too, but still, he can do it.”

While Djokovic is still going at the age of 38, Borg did not have the same longevity. He retired at the age of 26 – at the time the decision stunned the sporting world.

He lost his motivation, and his fame meant a lack of privacy. “I could never be by myself. I had room service all the time. If I went down to a restaurant or the hotel, there was people around. If I went to a restaurant in town, there was always 15 or 20 photographers outside.”

Borg did make a comeback in the early 1990s but never reached the same levels.

In the 1970s and 1980s, players had coaches but not the additional support staff they have now. There were no psychologists or no nutritionists in the players’ boxes. If he had had that level of support when he was playing, would he have continued?

Borg took a long pause and thought carefully before answering: “That’s a good question. I think today, they have a big entourage. They have their teams, they have agents, they have so many people around them. Not only like when they play tennis, even when they come home.

“If I would have that kind of people around me, like you said, we were by ourselves. If we need to do something, we have to fix it by ourselves. No help at all whatsoever.

“If I had those people around me during that particular time, when I felt that I didn’t feel so good about my life with the tennis, I think maybe it would be completely different because I didn’t have those people. It could be a huge difference with me and maybe with all that kind of help like they have today, maybe I’ll continue to play tennis, yes.”

The rivalry

Tennis lovers of a certain age (the younger fans can search on YouTube) look back fondly on Borg’s rivalry with John McEnroe.

It has left an indelible mark on the sport. There was a stark contrast in their temperaments. Borg was known as the ‘Ice Man’ for his coolness while McEnroe was the bad boy with his verbal outbursts.

The 1980 Wimbledon final contested by the pair is still considered to be one of the greatest matches of all time.

While they always had respect for each other, it grew stronger when, during one match in New Orleans, Borg beckoned McEnroe over when the American was having one of his tantrums on court.

“I think the whole thing changed. We played one match in New Orleans in United States, a big tournament.

“We played the final. I was up 4-1 in the third set, and I was winning. And John, that was the only time he was behaving very bad against me.

“We had a rally or something, and it was 4-1 and 15-0 or something. And I looked at John and said maybe you should come to the net.

“I did like this with the finger, come, John. And John looked at me like, are you crazy? Why should I go up and talk to you? No, come. And he walked slowly up to me, and he said, what do you want? And I told John; this is only a game.

“Just take it easy. And John looked at me like, are you crazy or something? I had match point.

“He ended up winning the match. But after that particular match, we got such a respect from each other, not only the tennis court, but even outside the tennis court. Good friends.”

Drugs, overdose, and subsequent heart attack

Borg was speaking ahead of the launch of his autobiography ‘Heartbeats, a Memoir’ which he has co-written with his wife Patricia.

He revealed the issues he had after he retired from the sport for the first time in 1981. Initially, he enjoyed his life away from tennis, but then then he started to take drugs. In 1989 Borg was taken to hospital after an overdose and a few years later he collapsed on a bridge due to a heart attack connected to drugs.

“I feel so much relief now to tell the story because it’s happening so many things, good things, bad things in my life,” he said. “But it’s kind of a relief to do this book, because I’ve been thinking about the past so many times over the years, and I was thinking like, how could I take this stupid decision sometimes? I mean, I took some good decisions too, but so many stupid decisions.

“I got involved with relationships I shouldn’t be in, or things I shouldn’t be involved with. So, for me right now, sitting here speaking to you, I feel very happy, very satisfied.”

Borg’s fight against prostate cancer

Borg was diagnosed with prostate cancer late in 2023 and had to undergo an operation. He is currently in remission but still needs to go for regular checks.

“The doctors told me, it was good you did it [the operation] because this looks really bad, very, very bad. So still, I have some sleeping cancer cells in my body, but I go every six months and test myself.

“My test last time was in August and I’m okay, I’m very good, no problem. Every six months I go and test myself. But everything is fine, I’m good, I’m happy, so no problem.”

The sporting world is hoping it stays that way.

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