Word: bergelin
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...Lennart Bergelin, his mentor and masseur since Bjorn was a ninth-grader, never put a clock on the golden career but always knew precisely when it would end. "The day that Bjorn says he is going to take a shortcut and practice only two hours instead of four," said Bergelin some years ago, "then I will know it is finished." Borg's athletic skill has not run down; his ability to concentrate...
...become almost a sport itself. Like a man beholding his first sunset, baseball's Reggie Jackson stands and admires every home run. After sacking the quarterback, football's Mark Gastineau removes himself to a clearing and makes muscles. Borg, who had "the right kind of courage," as Bergelin once said, never pointed to himself. He never even seemed to care if anyone read the advertisements. - By Tom Callahan
...serve. Bergelin had an idea. In the past, Borg had lined up to serve with his left foot parallel to the base line, his left shoulder pointed toward the net. As a result, Borg's toss was loopy, off to his right, and he could bring power to the stroke only with his arm. Bergelin?who had already cured Borg's tendency toward overly whippy wrists by going into a factory and designing a special, extra-heavy racquet?suggested a minor change: line up with the left toe pointing toward the base line. It was a 90° change...
...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...
That containment extends to every area of his life. Borg's very existence is tuned to a single goal: winning tennis tournaments. Bergelin screens his telephone calls, tends to the constantly pinging racquets, arranges courts for practice, even massages away the muscle kinks. Skilled financial advisers invest his winnings, negotiate his contracts. Plane and hotel reservations, cars and drivers materialize in cities around the world, the work of agents and secretaries. Borg moves through life a charmed man; all considerations save tennis have been spared...