My dad’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time and won Wimbledon five times but he’s not my idol as I turn pro
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pBJORN BORG is one of the all-time tennis greats and won Wimbledon five times./p
pHe also secured six French Open titles, was crowned world No1 and lifted the Davis Cup for his country./p
figure id=attachment_23905534 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 801pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/leo-borg-sweden-action-training-844185384.jpg?strip=allamp;w=791 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23905534 width=791 height=960 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figureLeo Borg is making a name for himself in tennis[/caption]
figure id=attachment_23905541 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 702pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/leo-borg-captain-sweden-poses-843963433.jpg?strip=allamp;w=692 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23905541 width=692 height=960 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figureThe 20-year-old is ranked 334th and is in the Sweden Davis Cup team[/caption]
pNow the Hall of Famer is watching his talented lookalike son forge his own career in a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/tennis/tennis/a./p
pLeo Borg, 20, lives in his hometown Stockholm and progressed through the youth tennis ranks to compete at the junior Grand Slams in 2021./p
pBorg Jr kicked on to make inroads on the ATP Challenger and ITF Tours, reaching a final in Cairo in September 2022./p
pAnd he leapt a whopping 1,500 places in the world rankings during the 2022 season./p
pBut it was not until June this year that a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/tennis/3173905/bjorn-borg-jr-is-following-in-the-steps-of-his-legendary-dad-on-the-court-and-in-a-movie/Leo #8211; complete with the same flowing blonde hair/a #8211; earned his first-ever ATP Tour victory./p
pWildcard Borg beat fellow Swede Elias Ymer 7-6 6-3 in the first round of the Bastad Open on the west coast of Sweden./p
pAnd now he has got his first call-up to represent his country, alongside Ymer, in the Davis Cup./p
pIncredibly, though, Leo does not cite legendary dad a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/4522153/who-is-bjorn-borg-borg-vs-mcenroe/Bjorn/a as his idol. /p
p class=has-text-align-centerstronga href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/betting/20812234/free-bets/ target=_blank aria-label=FREE BETS - BEST BETTING OFFERS AND BONUSES NEW CUSTOMERS (opens in a new tab) rel=noreferrer noopenerFREE BETS #8211; BEST BETTING OFFERS AND BONUSES NEW CUSTOMERS/a/strong/p
pBorg revealed: #8220;I met Rafael Nadal at the Laver Cup because my father is the captain of the European team./p
p#8220;He was always my idol since I was little.#8221;/p
pBorg has won three lower-tier titles #8211; one in Egypt and two in Indonesia #8211; contributing to his £63,000 in career earnings./p
pBut he knows he still has a long way to go to achieve his goals #8211; and is well aware he will never shake off the comparisons to his father, who enjoyed a a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/23061419/john-mcenroe-wimbledon-bjorn-borg-rematch-centre-court/gripping rivalry with John McEnroe/a. /p
pAnd the younger Borg, from his dad#8217;s third marriage with Patricia Ostfeld, added that the tennis icon has never pressurised him to pursue a career on the court./p
pWorld No334 Leo said: #8220;I want to be a professional and make a living from tennis… I would like to reach the top ten./p
p“The truth is that I have always wanted to play tennis on my own initiative./p
p#8220;I know that he is proud of me, of what I am doing, and I hope I have a good future.”/p
pHe added: #8220;I was having a hard time with it when I was younger, with people following me on the court or outside the courts, and I was not used to that. /p
p#8220;But I#8217;m getting used to it and I can control it more./p
p#8220;I just have to control it because it#8217;s going to be following me all my career. It doesn#8217;t bother me. I#8217;m just focusing on my goal, on my tennis.#8221;/p
figure id=attachment_23905557 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 756pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/bjorn-borg-sweden-kisses-gentlemens-821960018.jpg?strip=allamp;w=746 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23905557 width=746 height=960 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figureBorg won five Wimbledon titles in a row from 1976 to 1980[/caption]
figure id=attachment_23905822 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/e5c722c4-f13c-4d1c-99f7-ef864d5ef269.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23905822 width=960 height=717 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textLeo has long blonde hair like his old man Bjorn/figcaptionfigcreditRex/figcredit/figure
figure id=attachment_23906080 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2017-three-day-tournament-pitting-355118483.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23906080 width=960 height=620 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditEPA/figcredit/figureRafael Nadal is the youngster#8217;s idol and they met at the Laver Cup[/caption]
pHe also secured six French Open titles, was crowned world No1 and lifted the Davis Cup for his country./p
figure id=attachment_23905534 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 801pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/leo-borg-sweden-action-training-844185384.jpg?strip=allamp;w=791 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23905534 width=791 height=960 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figureLeo Borg is making a name for himself in tennis[/caption]
figure id=attachment_23905541 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 702pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/leo-borg-captain-sweden-poses-843963433.jpg?strip=allamp;w=692 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23905541 width=692 height=960 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figureThe 20-year-old is ranked 334th and is in the Sweden Davis Cup team[/caption]
pNow the Hall of Famer is watching his talented lookalike son forge his own career in a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/tennis/tennis/a./p
pLeo Borg, 20, lives in his hometown Stockholm and progressed through the youth tennis ranks to compete at the junior Grand Slams in 2021./p
pBorg Jr kicked on to make inroads on the ATP Challenger and ITF Tours, reaching a final in Cairo in September 2022./p
pAnd he leapt a whopping 1,500 places in the world rankings during the 2022 season./p
pBut it was not until June this year that a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/tennis/3173905/bjorn-borg-jr-is-following-in-the-steps-of-his-legendary-dad-on-the-court-and-in-a-movie/Leo #8211; complete with the same flowing blonde hair/a #8211; earned his first-ever ATP Tour victory./p
pWildcard Borg beat fellow Swede Elias Ymer 7-6 6-3 in the first round of the Bastad Open on the west coast of Sweden./p
pAnd now he has got his first call-up to represent his country, alongside Ymer, in the Davis Cup./p
pIncredibly, though, Leo does not cite legendary dad a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/4522153/who-is-bjorn-borg-borg-vs-mcenroe/Bjorn/a as his idol. /p
p class=has-text-align-centerstronga href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/betting/20812234/free-bets/ target=_blank aria-label=FREE BETS - BEST BETTING OFFERS AND BONUSES NEW CUSTOMERS (opens in a new tab) rel=noreferrer noopenerFREE BETS #8211; BEST BETTING OFFERS AND BONUSES NEW CUSTOMERS/a/strong/p
pBorg revealed: #8220;I met Rafael Nadal at the Laver Cup because my father is the captain of the European team./p
p#8220;He was always my idol since I was little.#8221;/p
pBorg has won three lower-tier titles #8211; one in Egypt and two in Indonesia #8211; contributing to his £63,000 in career earnings./p
pBut he knows he still has a long way to go to achieve his goals #8211; and is well aware he will never shake off the comparisons to his father, who enjoyed a a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/23061419/john-mcenroe-wimbledon-bjorn-borg-rematch-centre-court/gripping rivalry with John McEnroe/a. /p
pAnd the younger Borg, from his dad#8217;s third marriage with Patricia Ostfeld, added that the tennis icon has never pressurised him to pursue a career on the court./p
pWorld No334 Leo said: #8220;I want to be a professional and make a living from tennis… I would like to reach the top ten./p
p“The truth is that I have always wanted to play tennis on my own initiative./p
p#8220;I know that he is proud of me, of what I am doing, and I hope I have a good future.”/p
pHe added: #8220;I was having a hard time with it when I was younger, with people following me on the court or outside the courts, and I was not used to that. /p
p#8220;But I#8217;m getting used to it and I can control it more./p
p#8220;I just have to control it because it#8217;s going to be following me all my career. It doesn#8217;t bother me. I#8217;m just focusing on my goal, on my tennis.#8221;/p
figure id=attachment_23905557 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 756pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/bjorn-borg-sweden-kisses-gentlemens-821960018.jpg?strip=allamp;w=746 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23905557 width=746 height=960 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figureBorg won five Wimbledon titles in a row from 1976 to 1980[/caption]
figure id=attachment_23905822 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/e5c722c4-f13c-4d1c-99f7-ef864d5ef269.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23905822 width=960 height=717 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textLeo has long blonde hair like his old man Bjorn/figcaptionfigcreditRex/figcredit/figure
figure id=attachment_23906080 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2017-three-day-tournament-pitting-355118483.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23906080 width=960 height=620 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditEPA/figcredit/figureRafael Nadal is the youngster#8217;s idol and they met at the Laver Cup[/caption]