Ouch!
At his home in Sweden over the weekend, Bjorn Borg (pictured above this year with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal) was severely bitten in the leg by a German shepherd while trying to stop a dogfight. This has forced him to withdraw from his first competitive grasscourt match in a quarter-century! He was scheduled to play 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash in an exhibition at the Liverpool International this week, marking his first grass-court singles match since losing to John McEnroe in the 1981 Wimbledon final.
"I'm so disappointed that I cannot play at Liverpool," Borg said on the tournament Web site. "I've been really looking forward to this event and have been practicing hard for four months to get ready."
Borg received medical treatment at a Stockholm hospital and is unable put any weight on the leg for at least six weeks. 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek will replace Borg, who is still expected to attend the event as a spectator.
Borg's name was mentioned a lot the past two weeks as Rafael Nadal became the first man since Borg to win three consecutive French Open titles. Whether Nadal can match Borg's six titles overall is another story. Now Roger Federer will be trying to match Borg's record five consecutive Wimbledon titles. It reminds us of what an amazing champion Borg was to be able to win on clay and grass back-to-back all those years.