Quick Loss Leaves Borg Speechless

Bjorn Borg finally showed up for his quarterfinal singles match at the Champions tennis tournament at 8:25 p.m. Thursday.

Unfortunately, play at the Sherwood Country Club began at 7:54.

The legendary Swede, who won Wimbledon five times and the French Open six, lost to unheralded Tim Wilkison, 6-0, 6-3, showing his only signs of life midway through the second set.

Borg, the second-seeded player on the tour for players 35 and older, lost the first set in 20 minutes and the match in 51.

A break of Wilkison’s serve in the second set’s fifth game to draw within 3-2 was as much as Borg could produce before more than 2,000 stunned fans. Borg declined to comment after the match.

Wilkison, making only his third appearance on the tour and his second in singles, plays in Saturday’s semifinals against third-seeded Johan Kriek, who defeated Jose-Luis Clerc in Thursday’s other match, 6-3, 7-5.

The 35-year-old Wilkison, whose brightest moment was a quarterfinal berth at the 1986 U.S. Open, hastened Borg’s departure with well-chosen shots.

However, it was 39-year-old Borg’s own ineptitude that decided the match. He consistently hit balls long with his trademark two-handed backhand and could hit only a few winners when Wilkison advanced to the net.

“He obviously had a very bad day,” Wilkison said. “But I also didn’t give him a chance to get his rhythm. I went ahead and attacked.”