STOCKHOLM: Almost 40 years after his father Bjorn Borg won a fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, 16-year old Leo Borg is set to make his debut at the legendary tournament, according to media reports.
According to reports in British tabloid The Sun and Swedish tabloid Expressen, Borg will be awarded a wildcard to play in the Wimbledon junior event.
“Leo is very grateful about getting a wildcard for the qualifiers to junior Wimbledon,” Bjorn Borg told Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet.
“It will be an incredible experience and useful practice for the future,” he added.
A spokeswoman for the Wimbledon tournament did not want to confirm the decision, only saying that wildcard announcements and the main draw for the Juniors tournament would be made next week.
If confirmed, Leo Borg’s Wimbledon debut comes 39 years after Bjorn Borg defeated American rival John McEnroe, winning him his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title.
The iconic match has been called one of the greatest matches of all time and the story was adapted for the screen in the 2017 feature film “Borg vs McEnroe,” where Leo, bearing a striking resemblance to his father, played a younger version of Bjorn Borg. During the 1970s and early 1980s Bjorn Borg won a total of 11 Grand Slam titles, five Wimbledons and six French Opens.
