Borg in top form

Press, 27 May 1981, Page 44

Borg in top form

NZPA-Reuter Paris Bjorn Borg, five times French and Wimbledon champion, who dropped out of competitive tennis a month ago suffering from shoulder strains and general fatigue, is back in the game, fit and in winning form. As the French Open championships began yesterday in torrential rain, the 24-year-old Swede was one of the few players quick enough to snatch a win during the brief moments when the sky cleared.

His 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, victor}' over a Spaniard, Joe Lopez Maeso, may not have been classic Borg, but it served notice to those who hope to take his French crown, from him that it will not be easy. “I feel fit and strong and I know I can stay out on court for a long time if I need to,” he said after his win.

That durability should be enough to make Borg almost unbeatable on the clay courts of Roland Garros, where he believes patience is the key virtue for a winner. John McEnroe, of the United States, seeded third, is also in good form after a straight sets win over a former television actor, Vince Van Patten, another American.

McEnroe, who survived only two rounds of this tournament last year before going down to the unseeded Australian, Paul McNamee, said yesterday he had decided to prepare for it this year by taking it easy and forgetting about tennis for a week.

He added: “I am feeling fresher than last year, but I really don’t know if it will make any difference — I am more at home on other surfaces.”