Sport: The Tennis Machine

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of the fifth set, more than three hours after both players began running in the broiling sun, it is will that wins the final points. Borg is will made flesh. He says: "It does not matter if I am so tired that I do not think I can take one more step, I will not give up that point. I am too stubborn. I will keep going."

The will to keep going has helped make Borg the best tennis player of his generation. But is he the greatest of all time? No one, of course, will ever know how many Wimbledon titles Laver might have won had not the rules against professional players of that era exiled him from the tournament for five years. Nor can it be said how Fred Perry, Big Bill Tilden, Jack Kramer, Pancho Gonzalez and Don Budge might have fared against Borg. But the quality of his competition suggests he may be the best ever. Undoubtedly, more fine players contest tournaments today than at any time in history; incontestably, Borg is the best of them. The match records are astounding: Borg 18, Gerulaitis 0; Borg 17, Guillermo Vilas 5; Borg 11, Tanner 4. He is only 14 and 10 against Connors, but Connors has not beaten him in their eight meetings since 1978.

McEnroe, victorious over Borg in two matches out of five, marvels at the Swede's stamina.

When Borg was 18, tests at a Swedish sports medicine clinic showed that he had a resting heartbeat of 38 per minute, nearly half the norm. His cardiovascular capacity then was the kind found only in mature distance runners and swimmers. Says McEnroe: "He's in the best shape of anyone. He's just got a great physical build for tennis. He's thin, and he can run all day. Some guys you see panting. You never see Borg do that. You never know if he's tired." Says Vilas: "John Newcombe once claimed that Borg's arm would wear out in five years because he swings at the ball so hard. Nonsense. Borg's body is his best stroke."

At 5 ft. 11 in., 165 Ibs., Borg is lean as a greyhound, his limbs long and supple, his shoulders almost incongruously broad. He practices at tournament speed four hours each day to keep in condition. No other player spends more time in workouts. Bergelin explains Borg's success with two gestures. First he slaps his thigh: "It's all here." Then he points to his head: "And here."

Harold Solomon, ranked sixth on the pro circuit, has never beaten Borg in 14 attempts. He has a different idea about the mainsprings of Borg's success. Says Solomon: "He has this operating range that goes from about 5 or 6 ft. behind the base line to 3 or 4 ft. inside the base line, and he's like a god in there. To try to beat him in that range is almost impossible. I think he's two or three levels above everybody else. My playing him is almost like some good high school team playing the Pittsburgh Steelers."

Even Borg's racquets are a notch above the norm. A strong club player will have his racquets strung to a pressure of 55 Ibs. per sq. in. Pro players, whose skill enables them to control the ball better, will gain extra power by having their strings tightened to as much as 60 to 65 per sq. in. Borg's racquets are strung to a slab-hard 80 per sq. in. The strings are under such tremendous pressure that they often snap even when they are not being used. "At night sometimes in the hotel, they'll wake us