"He goes, 'I owe you big time'" - Roger Federer recalls Bjorn Borg thanking him for beating Pete Sampras at Wimbledon 2001 and protecting his record
Roger Federer recently recalled when Bjorn Borg thanked him for beating Pete Sampras at the 2001 Wimbledon Championships and protecting his record. The Swiss, still in the early stage of his career at the time, defeated the American tennis legend 7-6 (9-7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 7-5 in the fourth round to reach the first Wimbledon quarterfinals of his career.
Bjorn Borg was the first man in the Open Era to win the Wimbledon Championships for five consecutive years between 1976 and 1980. Pete Sampras, who had won Wimbledon for four straight years between 1997 and 2000, was on the verge of equalling Borg's record at the 2001 edition, which did not sit well with the Swede.
In the recently released documentary, "Federer: Twelve Final Days," which details the events leading up to his retirement at the 2022 Laver Cup, the 20-time Grand Slam champion recounted how Bjorn Borg thanked him after the 2001 Wimbledon fourth-round match for preventing Sampras from going on to equal his record, saying:
“I have a funny story with Björn as well, when I beat Sampras at Wimbledon back in 2001. Sampras was going for his record fifth Wimbledon in a row. My agent said, "Hey, look I've somebody on the phone with you who wants to talk to you," and it was Björn. And Björn told me, "Roger, I just wanted to let you know, thank you so much for protecting my record," because he had won five in a row. And I was, like, "Oh, well, yeah. I mean, you're welcome. I didn't do it because of you, but, yeah." (41:50)
Federer added that Bjorn had told him he felt indebted to him
“And he goes, "I owe you big time," he told me, and I'm, like, "No, you don't, but okay, thank you very much.” the 42-year-old said
Federer, went on to equal Bjorn's record by winning Wimbledon five consecutive times between 2003 and 2007. In 2017, the Swiss became the only man to win the tournament eight times, surpassing Pete Sampras and William Renshaw's record.
Roger Federer on Borg Bjorn - “He's the one that opened the door for us players to be more than just tennis players”
In the same documentary, Federer also opened up about how Bjorn is a hero of his. He explained how the Swede paved the way for tennis players to be more than just athletes, serving as brand ambassadors and appearing as models on magazine covers.
“Björn Borg, he's always been a hero of mine. I always call him the king, will always call him the king. He's the one that opened the door for us players to be more than just tennis players. I guess to be able to be on the cover of magazines, to be a brand ambassador. Those were made for models, you know, and not for athletes, and I think he's the one that broke that barrier down. Funnily enough, he retired at 26, 27, really, really early, and I'm on the other spectrum, retiring super late. Björn used to be never around, we very rarely saw him. So he was this icon, but he was untouchable,” he said (40:06)
Since his active years, Federer has been an ambassador for Mercedes-Benz, Rolex, Credit Suisse, Moët & Chandon, and many more popular brands. Post-retirement, Federer has continued in his ambassadorial role for various brands. He was recently featured in a commercial alongside his rival, Rafael Nadal, for the French fashion house Louis Vuitton, as they climbed the Dolomites mountain range.