Nothing Royal About Loss in Borg Comeback

“Vive Le Roi! Long Live the King!” chanted groupies as Bjorn Borg headed toward center court Tuesday for his first tournament match in eight years.

But it soon became clear how far Borg has to go to regain his throne as he lost badly to Jordi Arrese of Spain, 6-2, 6-3, in the first round of the Monte Carlo Open.

The 75-minute match proved it will take more than will and hard work for the 34-year-old Swede to make a successful comeback in the sport he left in 1983.

In some ways, this was the Borg of old. He looked the same--long blond hair, headband, broad shoulders, athletic build. He played the same--topspin groundstrokes, two-handed backhand, cool demeanor, no show of emotion.

But in other ways, Borg seemed old in a game now dominated by youngsters who hit the ball harder and make fewer mistakes than the generation of 10 years ago.

Arrese, 26, is a clay-court expert ranked No. 52 in the world. Ten years ago, a player of that rank would have had trouble taking a few games off Borg.

But, with the new graphite rackets and cut-throat competition of today, Arrese has all the tools to stop the man who won the French Open six times and Wimbledon five years in a row.

Borg remained upbeat about it all. He blamed the long layoff for his poor showing, and said he needs more match play to become competitive.

“My expectations were not that high,” he said. “After eight years, it’s impossible to play great tennis in your first match. I learned a lot from this match. Even if I lost, I enjoyed just playing a match. I enjoyed competing again.”

Borg said he still plans to enter the Italian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.

“It’s going to take a few more tournaments before I will be 100% confident again,” he said. “I’m sure if I play more matches I’m going to improve my game. I’m pretty confident about that.”

Arrese had all the confidence Tuesday. He controlled the points with heavy topspin shots. He moved Borg around the court.

Borg, still playing with a wooden racket, could do little more than keep the ball in play. The points often ended with Borg badly handling a backhand or sailing a forehand beyond the baseline.

The match began with Borg hitting a backhand long and ended with him slapping a forehand approach shot long.

Borg committed 31 unforced errors, compared with 25 by Arrese. The Spaniard had 13 winners, five more than Borg. In all, Arrese won 59 points to 44 for Borg.

“The type of game I have was the worst thing that could happen to Borg,” Arrese said. “You could see he was moving his feet trying to slow the game down. It was too fast for him.

“It would have been better for him to play against someone who makes more mistakes.”

Arrese agreed that the wooden racket was a handicap for Borg, who says the graphite models don’t give him enough control.

“I know it will be a problem for him,” Arrese said. “It’s not strong enough, and players today will take advantage of it.”

Others noticed that the racket was not Borg’s only weakness.

“Of all the things I saw, he didn’t move like he used to,” said Nick Bollettieri, the Florida-based coach of Andre Agassi.

Borg’s former coach, Lennart Bergelin, said, “I don’t think the racket was the problem. It’s Bjorn. To me he looked a little slow.”

Borg’s performance came as a disappointment to the more than 7,000 spectators at the Monte Carlo Country Club, where he announced his retirement in 1983.

When he walked onto the red clay court, Borg was his usual stoic self. But Arrese, appearing slightly awed by the occasion, nervously glanced around the stadium.

The crowd broke into rhythmic cheers and clapping as Borg hit his first shots in the warmup.

Arrese admitted he had dreaded the thought of playing Borg in such conditions. But by the time the match was over, Arrese had a different outlook.

“I wouldn’t want to trade places with anybody in the world,” he said. “This day will stay in my heart forever.”