After Dinner Speakers: Bjorn Borg, Gordon Owen, The Chemical Brothers

Born in Sweden in 1956, Björn Borg personified and fashioned a era in Tennis, with his long hair, headband and superbly elastic legs. Borg started playing tennis at age nine, left school at age 14 and within a year was the world's top-ranked junior player. He was selected for the Swedish Davis Cup team at the age of 15. At 16, Borg was to win the junior title at Wimbledon. In 1974, Borg was to win the first of his 11 Grand Slam titles, winning the French Open. He was to win the French Championship another 5 times; 1975, 78, 79, 80, 81. Primarily a baseline player and not a serve-volleyer, Borg seemed an unlikely Wimbledon champion. His style of play was much more suited to the slow clay courts of Europe. But between 1975 and 1981 “Ice Borg” won a record 41 matches. One of the most successful modern tennis players, Borg captured five successive Wimbledon singles titles (1976–80). There were three years when he won both the French Open and Wimbledon with one week of preparation for the grass between the two events. Borg’s unusual hard hitting baseline style made it very difficult for opponents to attack him, and many say that he developed the style of play that still dominates the world game today. Many things about Borg are still an enigma, especially the fact that he retired having just turned 25 after losing the 1981 Wimbledon final to John McEnroe. Yet it is exactly this air of mystery which makes Björn Borg one of the most sought-after and fascinating speakers in sport today.