According to informed sources within the Air Force, Air Force Commanding officer Air chief Marshall Roshan Gunatileke who faithfully and loyally commanded the Air Force in the 4th Eelam war victory has been scheduled for retirement today (28), just three days before the celebrations of the Air Force marking the completion of its 60 years in existence.
The former Army Commander Gen. Fonseka too was deprived of a similar opportunity by appointing him as the Chief of the defense staff at that time. Despite Gen. Fonseka making a request to allow him to continue in his Army Commander position until the celebrations were over was declined by the Defense Secretary Gotabaya
Rajapakse.
This time, it is a similar axing that has been performed against Roshan Gunatileke. While the 60 th anniversary celebrations is close at hand, appointing him as chief of defense staff and causing him to retire from the Air chief Marshall post (CDS) with this object of relegating him to a position which carries no powers. This is a position which is equivalent to a post of assistant to a Defense Secretary, and is sans any powers.
According to sources within the Air Force, there had been another area also where dispute has erupted with the Lokka. A request had been made to Gunetileke to send Air fighter pilots on the sly to a friendly foreign dictator Gaddafi who is now in deep trouble following a fierce people’s rebellion against him. As the foreign dictators’s pilots have defied his orders and have left for neighboring countries with the aircrafts, this dictator has made this request from Sri Lanka, his close friend. Gunetileke in keeping with his unwavering policies, integrity and rectitude has refused absolutely to accede to this request.
He had emphatically stated, ‘ I am responsible for the lives of my valuable pilots’. It were his overriding traits oh loyalty to the country, the integrity of his nature and concern for his ‘men’ that cost him this derogation and humiliation at the hands of the defense Ministry chief, denying him even his opportunity to participate at the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Air Force as the Air Force Commander.
Visit lankaenews for further details
Minggu, 27 Februari 2011
Libyan security forces switch sides as Gadhafi hangs on - CNN
Former security forces said they had switched sides and joined the opposition in Zawiya, a town about 55 kilometers (35 miles) from the capital, Tripoli. Some buildings in Zawiya showed signs of damage, including a freshly burned-out police station.
CNN's Nic Robertson, on a government-organized trip to Zawiya, saw armed civilians taking defensive positions on rooftops to prepare for a possible effort by Gadhafi loyalists to retake the town.
About 2,000 people took part in an anti-government protest there, some standing atop tanks or holding anti-aircraft guns. They said they wanted the government overthrown, calling Gadhafi a "bloodsucker."
Later in the day, CNN witnessed two smaller pro-government rallies that had apparently been organized by government officials for international journalists to see, Robertson reported.
The opposition now controls several Libyan cities after weeks of protests inspired by demonstrations that toppled longtime leaders in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt.
Gadhafi criticized the U.N. Security Council resolution Sunday, telling private Serbian station Pink TV by phone that council members "took a decision based on media reports that are based abroad."
He added, "If the Security Council wants to know about something, they should have sent a fact-finding committee."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Security Council measures -- which include an arms embargo, asset freeze, and travel bans for Gadhafi and members of his family and associates -- form "one of the speediest international responses to a government targeting its own people."
"We recognize the killings are ongoing," Clinton told reporters en route to a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Switzerland. "We recognize we need to advance the humanitarian, the military, judicial, and even forensic planning already under way."
British Prime Minister David Cameron and British Foreign Secretary William Hague both called on Gadhafi on Sunday to go.
"Libya's future has no future with him at the helm," Cameron said. "Absolutely none."
Britain also announced it was freezing the assets of Gadhafi, five of his children, and those acting on their behalf.
Gadhafi's son, Saif, denied the government used force on its own people. In an interview that ran Sunday with Christiane Amanpour for ABC's "This Week," he was asked about numerous reports of attacks by government forces on civilians.
"Show me a single attack," he said. "Show me a single bomb. Show me a single casualty. The Libyan air force destroyed just the ammunition sites."
The younger Gadhafi -- who is a prominent member of the government -- also played down anti-government protests. Just because "10,000 or 5,000 people" demonstrate against his father, he said, doesn't mean the entire population is against him.
He had harsh words, however, for the Libyan diplomats who have turned their backs on his father, calling them "hypocrites."
"If you are strong, they love you. If not, they say goodbye. That is good. We get rid of them," he told Amanpour.
Meanwhile, Gadhafi's nurse went home to Ukraine. Galyna Kolotnytska gained notoriety in November after WikiLeaks released a cable from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli describing Gadhafi's almost obsessive reliance on the woman, described as a "voluptuous blonde." Kolotnytska's daughter told CNN on Sunday her mother had returned but was not commenting.
Tunisians on the border with Libya waved pre-Gadhafi-era Libyan flags in support of the opposition as tens of thousands surged towards the country that triggered the series of Arab world revolts.
About 100,000 people have fled violence in Libya in the past week, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said.
CNN witnessed the Tunisian army, charities and ordinary Tunisians trying to help Libyans on the border. Refugees said Tunisians were offering them food, water, and even the use of phones.
The Tunisian government reported Saturday that 40,000 people had crossed its borders since February 20, while Egypt reported 55,000 had crossed over since February 19, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Sunday. The evacuees include Tunisians, Egyptians, Libyans, and many from Asian countries.
About 10,000 fled from Libya to Tunisia on Saturday, the Red Crescent said.
"Very large numbers of people amassed in the no man's land between Libya and Tunisia in extremely cold conditions," Red Crescent spokesman Joe Lowry told CNN on Sunday. "People stood in the queue for six hours with no food, water, or access to sanitation."
The Red Crescent is affiliated with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
At least four people were carried away in stretchers because of crush injuries and several lost consciousness as a result of the chaos.
"It was very worrying to see women passing their babies in cots over the crowd to keep them from harm," Lowry said.
There were also chaotic scenes in Tripoli as people rushed to banks to claim a government handout of 500 dinars (just over $400) per family. There were also long lines in Zawiya.
Pharmacies in Tripoli were running out of blood pressure and diabetes medicines, a source in the capital told CNN.
Gadhafi has showed no sign of relinquishing power. Sunday, the world waited to see whether the threat of sanctions will have any effect on a country where the death toll from the recent unrest has topped 1,000, according to an estimate from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Saturday night, the United Nations Security Council voted 15-0 on the draft resolution, which also refers the situation unfolding in Libya to the International Criminal Court. Gadhafi and others could face an investigation for potential war crimes.
"This resolution will be a signal (to) put an end to the fascist regime that is still in existence," said Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgham, Libyan ambassador to the United Nations. Earlier Saturday, he renounced support for Gadhafi, calling him "a leader who loves nobody but himself."
Hours before the Security Council's vote Saturday, Libya's budding opposition picked a former top official as its interim leader.
Libya's deputy ambassador to the world body, Ibrahim Dabbashi, indicated that he and fellow diplomats support "in principle" a caretaker administration under the direction of former Justice Minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil.
City councils in areas no longer loyal to Gadhafi chose Jalil to head an interim government that would represent all of Libya and ultimately be based in Tripoli, according to Amal Bogagies, a member of the coalition of the February 17 Uprising, and a separate Libyan opposition source. Both are based in Benghazi, the eastern city that is under the control of the opposition.
Jalil was in Gadhafi's government until Monday, when he quit to protest the "bloody situation" and "use of excessive force" against unarmed protesters, according to Libyan newspaper Quryna.
Protests began February 15 in Benghazi, Libya's second largest city. At least several other cities are now thought to be under opposition control, according to eyewitnesses. There have been numerous reports of widespread violence -- some of it perpetrated by foreign mercenaries and security forces loyal to Gadhafi, and some by protesters.
While CNN has staff in some cities, the network could not independently confirm reports for many areas in Libya. CNN has also compiled information through telephone interviews with witnesses.
Source ; CNN
Defiant Gaddafi confined to Tripoli
Libyan Dictator continues to blame foreigners and al-Qaeda for the unrest that is threatening his 41-year rule fearing that the end result will be similar to that if Egypt or Tunisia.
As more cities fall into the hands of the pro-democracy protesters, Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan Dictator, is hanging on to the capital where security forces loyal to him seem to have a firm hold, even amid reports of sporadic gunfire.
On Sunday, protesters had taken control of the city of Zawiyah, 50km from Tripoli, further shrinking the control of Gaddafi's government after the opposition took over most of the eastern part of the country. However, tanks were surrounding Zawiyahand locals feared an imminent raid by pro-Gaddafi forces.An AFP reporter arriving in Nalut, 24km west of Tripoli, found that Gaddafi's security forces had entirely disappeared from the streets.
"The towns of Rhibat, Kabaw, Jado, Rogban, Zentan, Yefren, Kekla, Gherien and Hawamed have also been free for days. In all these towns, Gaddafi's forces have gone and a revolutionary committee put in place," Shaban Abu Sitta, a lawyer and member of a local committee, said.
"We have placed ourselves under the authority of the interim government in Benghazi," he explained, referring to the opposition council formed by former justice minister Mustafa Abdel Jalil in the east of the country.
Most political analysis says that he might flee to a country where his fellow dictators are their like Hugoe Chavez, Percy Mahinda & Mugabe
United Nations Security Council also voted for tough restrictions on and possible war crimes charges against the Libyan Dictator for killing of unarmed protesters .
As more cities fall into the hands of the pro-democracy protesters, Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan Dictator, is hanging on to the capital where security forces loyal to him seem to have a firm hold, even amid reports of sporadic gunfire.
On Sunday, protesters had taken control of the city of Zawiyah, 50km from Tripoli, further shrinking the control of Gaddafi's government after the opposition took over most of the eastern part of the country. However, tanks were surrounding Zawiyahand locals feared an imminent raid by pro-Gaddafi forces.An AFP reporter arriving in Nalut, 24km west of Tripoli, found that Gaddafi's security forces had entirely disappeared from the streets.
"The towns of Rhibat, Kabaw, Jado, Rogban, Zentan, Yefren, Kekla, Gherien and Hawamed have also been free for days. In all these towns, Gaddafi's forces have gone and a revolutionary committee put in place," Shaban Abu Sitta, a lawyer and member of a local committee, said.
"We have placed ourselves under the authority of the interim government in Benghazi," he explained, referring to the opposition council formed by former justice minister Mustafa Abdel Jalil in the east of the country.
Most political analysis says that he might flee to a country where his fellow dictators are their like Hugoe Chavez, Percy Mahinda & Mugabe
United Nations Security Council also voted for tough restrictions on and possible war crimes charges against the Libyan Dictator for killing of unarmed protesters .
The night club at the Wellawatte Global Towers Hotel pays Rs. 3 lakhs every month to Mervyn's lackey
He said that Donald also collects Rs. 50,000 every month from each of the 100 small time brothels that operate in Colombo.
Although a largeumber of complaints have been received about this person, authorities have failed to take action against him due to his close affiliations to Mervyn and since he operatesrom an office at the Star Dust casino owned by businessman Ravi Wijeratne, who is close to the President, the officer said. Also it's learnt that all the dirty work of the person who thinks he is a king is done by Doctor Mervyn Silva
one person killed and Five others injured - Knocked down by a vehicle of the security contingent of the IGP Balasuriya's wife returning from Kataragama
A motor cyclist was killed and five others were injured in an accident where a defender vehicle of the security contingent providing security to the vehicle of the IGP’s wife was involved.
This accident has occurred when the IGP’s wife was returning from Kataragama in the evening on Sunday (27th) when the defender vehicle went out of control due to the high speed at which it was travelling . This vehicle has veered off the road and crashed into a shop during which process it has knocked down a motorcyclist . The latter had died instantly . Three inmates of the shop and two of those who were in the defender had sustained serious injuries.
When the police had tried to take away the involved defender vehicle after the
accident, the residents have raised objections leading to a commotion.
It is also reported that attempts are being made to suppress this news of the accident from the media.
Epic encounter ends in thrilling tie - What A Match, Went Till the Last Ball !
India 338 (Tendulkar 120, Bresnan 5-48) tied with England 338 for 8 (Strauss 158, Bell 69, Zaheer 3-64)
On an evening that simply beggared belief, England tied with India in an incredible finale in Bangalore. Andrew Strauss was England's inspiration, producing an extraordinary 158 from 145 balls, the highest score by an English batsman in World Cup history, as England threatened the unthinkable, and set off in full pursuit of India's seemingly unobtainable total of 338 - a score that had been made possible by a brilliant 120 from Sachin Tendulkar.
Such was the clarity of Strauss's strokeplay and the passivity of India's attack, at 280 for 2 in the 43rd over, England were cruising towards an extraordinary triumph. However a late intervention, sparked by a reverse-swinging Zaheer Khan, left them clawing for breath as a silenced Chinnaswamy stadium rediscovered its roar, and when the requirement shot up beyond two runs a ball, there seemed no way back into the contest. However, a ballsy volley of sixes from England's lower order hauled them back from the brink, and with two runs needed from the final delivery of the match, Graeme Swann drilled Munaf Patel to cover to salvage a share of the spoils.
The breathless finale was entirely in keeping with a contest that twisted and turned like an insomniac in a mosquito-pit. From the first over of the match, in which Virender Sehwag might have been dismissed three times in five balls, through the sumptuous strokeplay of first Tendulkar and later Strauss, and on through a pair of batting collapses - one apiece for the lower order of both teams - there was scarcely a moment in which normal service was permitted. Tim Bresnan, with 5 for 48 in ten unrelentingly composed overs, was the unsung star of a day that deserves to be remembered as the finest World Cup contest since that semi-final in 1999.
For the first 39 overs of the match, and again for the last seven, the Bangalore crowd was as raucous as a monsoon wedding, as Tendulkar ignited India's first home fixture of the World Cup with his 47th ODI century, before Zaheer Khan hauled them back from the brink of ignominy with 3 for 11 in his final three-over spell. But in between whiles, the game belonged to England, as India shipped their last seven wickets in 25 balls to let their opponents regain a toe-hold in the contest, before turning the stage over to Strauss and his magnum opus.
A positive start was a pre-requisite as England embarked on their second daunting chase in as many matches, and just as Strauss had soothed his team's anxieties with 88 from 83 balls after their flirtation with humiliation against the Dutch, he was once again in the thick of things right from the start of the innings. Zaheer, who was as poor with the new ball as he was devastating with the old, bowled both sides of the wicket to gift two boundaries in six balls, and Strauss was up and running. He barely dipped below a run a ball at any subsequent stage of his innings.
He required some moments of luck, particularly on 17 when TV replays suggested he had nicked a drive against Zaheer that the Indian fielders were unable to hear against the din of the crowd, but for the most part he was rewarded for his intent and aggression, and a common-sense approach to the three key partnerships that propelled England's challenge. By the end of the batting Powerplay, England were 19 runs to the good, on 77 for 1 compared to India's 10-over total of 58 for 1, and with a stream of easy singles to offset the intermittent boundary balls, they never looked like blinking until the summit was within sight.
At the top of the order, Kevin Pietersen's stay was short, sharp and effective. He pounded four fours in eight Zaheer deliveries to rush along to 31 from 22 balls, before dumping Munaf on his backside with a brutally struck drive, only for the ball he had parried from in front of his face to plop into his right hand as he glanced up to regain his bearings. Trott proved an able ally in a 43-run stand for the second wicket before Chawla hurried one through to strike his back pad, whereupon Bell arrived to embark on what should have been the game's decisive stand - a 170-run partnership that spanned 27 overs.
Bell, England's best player of spin, was beaten twice in his first two balls as Chawla ripped first his googly then his legspinner to perfection, but his hairiest moment came on 17, when Yuvraj Singh referred an appeal for lbw that Hawkeye suggested met all the criteria for an overturned decision. However, umpire Billy Bowden, applying the letter of the law even if it meant contravening the evidence on a billion TV screens, reprieved Bell on the grounds that he had advanced more than 2.5 metres down the pitch, and that the technology's prediction could not be deemed conclusive.
The despondency of the crowd was reflected in India's subsequent bowling, as Strauss motored through to his sixth ODI century, from 99 balls, and on towards his third in excess of 150. Liberated by the match situation, he launched Yuvraj for one of the biggest sixes of his career, straight down the ground, to bring up the hundred partnership, and Bell did likewise to Chawla to rush through to his fifty from 45 balls.
It was England's decision to take the batting Powerplay, at 280 for 2 in the 43rd over, that triggered the devastating late reversal of momentum. India's last chance appeared to have gone begging when Bell, on 68, was dropped by Virat Kohli at slip off Chawla, but Kohli made amends 10 balls later, when Bell miscued a tired slog off Zaheer to extra cover. With the crowd alive to the contest once again, Zaheer then put himself on a hat-trick with an unplayable late-swinging yorker that crushed Strauss's toe in front of leg stump.
With the pressure proving smothering and Chawla's variations now illegible to the new batsmen, Paul Collingwood missed a wipe across the line to be bowled for 1 from five balls, before Prior gave up all hope of threading the gaps and took a huge top-edged heave at Harbhajan to be caught for 4 from 8. Michael Yardy chipped and chivvied before dinking an attempted boundary shot straight to Sehwag at short backward square, but it was Swann's flat six off Chawla, with 29 needed from two overs, that reawakened England's challenge. Three balls later, Bresnan also put Chawla into the stands, and though he was bowled having a mow in the same over, Ajmal Shahzad sent his first ball, from Patel, in the same direction, to set up the grandstand finish.
If England felt that they'd let a golden opportunity go, then at least it could be said that they proved themselves equal to one of the best performances of a legendary career. Even by Tendulkar's matchless standards, his was a vintage performance, and a masterful example of how to pace an innings. He was a casual bystander in the day's opening exchanges, while Sehwag ran amok, before picking up his tempo throughout a second-wicket stand of 134 with Gautam Gambhir, without ever needing to take risks to make his mark. The high point of his innings came when he belted consecutive sixes at the start of Swann's second spell, a calculated show of class that undermined England's trump bowler, and left Strauss floundering for alternatives as his tactics were picked apart.
In all Tendulkar stroked 10 fours and five sixes in what was, somewhat curiously, his first one-day hundred against England for nine years. By the time he was dismissed with 11 overs of the innings remaining, caught off a leading edge at cover (to give James Anderson his first one-day wicket in India for 53 overs dating back to 2006, on a day in which he conceded the most expensive analysis in England's World Cup history), India's total stood at an imposing 236 for 3, and it was a measure both of Tendulkar's brilliance and of England's dogged refusal to give in, that Yuvraj and MS Dhoni were unable to cut loose to quite the extent they might have expected.
The omens for England had not been exactly positive going into the start of this match. Eleven defeats in their last 12 away matches against India underlined their status of underdogs, as did the two team's respective performances in their opening fixtures of the tournament - England's laboured victory over the Netherlands compared distinctly unfavourably to India's crunching win against Bangladesh in Dhaka, and when Stuart Broad, their best and most aggressive seamer, was ruled out with a stomach complaint before the start of the match, a vast swathe of England's gameplan went down with him. Nevertheless, they thought on their feet and showed precisely the pluck that was in stasis throughout their one-day campaign in Australia. Two of the best teams in the world were on show in Bangalore, and what a show they produced.
bjorn borg good tennis players
Björn Rune Borg (Swedish pronunciation: [bjœːɳ bɔrj] ( listen); born 6 June 1956) is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Sweden. Between 1974 and 1981 he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles (a record shared with Roger Federer) and four consecutive French Open singles titles (a record shared with Rafael Nadal). He is considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
During his relatively brief pro career, Borg won 41 percent of the Grand Slam singles tournaments he entered (11 of 27) and 89.81 percent (141-16) of the Grand Slam singles matches he played, which is an all time record. He also has the highest all surfaces (grass, clay, hard, carpet, court) career match winning percentage of any other male player 82.68 (730/603). All three are open era male records for an entire career. In addition, Borg's six French Open singles titles are an open era male record.[6][7] He is one of four players in the open era to win both Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year and the only player to do so for three consecutive years. He also won three year end championship titles including two Masters Grand Prix titles and one WCT Final title
Life and career
Borg was born in Södertälje, Sweden. As a child, Borg became fascinated with a golden tennis racquet that his father won at a table-tennis tournament. His father gave him the racquet, beginning his tennis career.[citation needed]
A player of great athleticism and endurance, he had a distinctive style and appearance—bowlegged, yet very fast. His muscularity allowed him to put heavy topspin on both his forehand and backhand. He used a then unorthodox two-handed backhand, adapted from the slap shot in hockey, a game he favored as a child. By the time he was 13 he was beating the best of Sweden's under-18 players, and Davis Cup captain Lennart Bergelin cautioned against anyone trying to change Borg's rough-looking, jerky strokes. They were effective.[citation needed]
Borg joined the professional circuit at age 14. In 1972, at the age of 15, Borg became one of the youngest players ever to represent his country in the Davis Cup and won his debut singles rubber in five sets against seasoned professional Onny Parun of New Zealand. Later that year, he won the Wimbledon junior singles title, recovering from a 5-2 deficit in the final set to overcome Britain's Buster Mottram.
In 1973, Borg reached the Wimbledon main draw quarterfinals in his first attempt. Just before his 18th birthday in 1974, Borg won his first top-level singles title at the Italian Open, becoming its youngest winner. Two weeks later he became the then-youngest winner of the French Open defeating Manuel Orantes in the final 2–6, 6–7, 6–0, 6–1, 6–1. Barely 18 at the time, Borg was the youngest-ever male French Open champion (the record has since been lowered by Mats Wilander in 1982 and Michael Chang in 1989).
In early 1975, Borg defeated the great Rod Laver, then 36 years old, in a semifinal of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) finals in Dallas, Texas 7–6, 3–6, 5–7, 7–6, 6–2. Borg subsequently lost to Arthur Ashe in the final.
Borg retained his French Open title in 1975, beating Guillermo Vilas in the final in straight sets (three sets). Borg then reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals, where he lost to eventual champion Ashe 2-6, 6-4, 8-6, 6-1. Borg did not lose another match at Wimbledon until 1981.
Borg won two singles and one doubles rubber in the 1975 Davis Cup final as Sweden beat Czechoslovakia 3–2. With these singles wins, Borg had won 19 consecutive Davis Cup singles rubbers since 1973. That was already a record at the time. But Borg never lost another Davis Cup singles rubber, and, by the end of his career, he had stretched that winning streak to 33—a Davis Cup record that still stands.
In early 1976, Borg won the World Championship Tennis year ending WCT Finals in Dallas, Texas with a four-set victory over Guillermo Vilas in the final.
At the 1976 French Open Borg lost to the Italian Adriano Panatta, who remains the only player to defeat Borg at this tournament. Panatta did it twice: in the fourth round in 1973 (7–6, 2–6, 7–5, 7–6), and in the 1976 quarter-finals (6–3, 6–3, 2–6, 7–6).
Borg won Wimbledon in 1976 without losing a set, defeating the favored Ilie Năstase in the final. Borg became the youngest male Wimbledon champion of the modern era at 20 years and 1 month (a record subsequently broken by Boris Becker, who won Wimbledon aged 17 in 1985). It would be the last time Borg played Wimbledon as an underdog. Ilie Năstase later exclaimed,"We're playing tennis, he's [Borg] playing something else."
Borg also reached the final of the 1976 US Open, which was then being played on clay courts. Borg lost in four sets to World No. 1 Jimmy Connors.
Borg skipped the French Open in 1977 because he was under contract with WTT, but he repeated his Wimbledon triumph, although this time he was pushed much harder. He defeated his good friend Vitas Gerulaitis in a semifinal 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 8–6.[8] In the final, Borg was pushed to five sets for the third time in the tournament, this time by Connors. The win propelled Borg to the #1 ranking on the computer, albeit for just one week in August.
Through 1977 he had never lost to a player younger than himself.
Borg was at the height of his career from 1978 through 1980, completing the difficult French Open-Wimbledon double all three years.
In 1978, Borg won the French Open with a win over Vilas in the final. Borg did not drop a set during the tournament, a feat only he, Năstase (in 1973), and Rafael Nadal (in 2008 and 2010) have accomplished at the French Open during the open era.
Borg defeated Connors in straight sets at the 1978 Wimbledon. At the US Open, now held on hard courts in Flushing Meadow, New York, he lost the final in straight sets to Connors. That autumn, Borg faced John McEnroe for the first time in a semifinal of the Stockholm Open and was upset 6–3, 6–4.
Borg lost to McEnroe again in four sets in the final of the 1979 WCT Finals but was now overtaking Connors for the top ranking. Borg established himself firmly in the top spot with his fourth French Open singles title and fourth straight Wimbledon singles title, defeating Connors in a straight-set semifinal at the latter tournament. At the French Open, Borg defeated big-serving Victor Pecci in a four-set final, and at Wimbledon, Borg took five sets to overcome an even bigger server, Roscoe Tanner. Borg was upset by Tanner at the US Open, in a four-set quarterfinal played under the lights.
bjorn borg good tennis players
bjorn borg good tennis players
bjorn borg good tennis players
bjorn borg good tennis players
bjorn borg
bjorn borg
bjorn borg
bjorn borg
bjorn borg
During his relatively brief pro career, Borg won 41 percent of the Grand Slam singles tournaments he entered (11 of 27) and 89.81 percent (141-16) of the Grand Slam singles matches he played, which is an all time record. He also has the highest all surfaces (grass, clay, hard, carpet, court) career match winning percentage of any other male player 82.68 (730/603). All three are open era male records for an entire career. In addition, Borg's six French Open singles titles are an open era male record.[6][7] He is one of four players in the open era to win both Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year and the only player to do so for three consecutive years. He also won three year end championship titles including two Masters Grand Prix titles and one WCT Final title
Life and career
Borg was born in Södertälje, Sweden. As a child, Borg became fascinated with a golden tennis racquet that his father won at a table-tennis tournament. His father gave him the racquet, beginning his tennis career.[citation needed]
A player of great athleticism and endurance, he had a distinctive style and appearance—bowlegged, yet very fast. His muscularity allowed him to put heavy topspin on both his forehand and backhand. He used a then unorthodox two-handed backhand, adapted from the slap shot in hockey, a game he favored as a child. By the time he was 13 he was beating the best of Sweden's under-18 players, and Davis Cup captain Lennart Bergelin cautioned against anyone trying to change Borg's rough-looking, jerky strokes. They were effective.[citation needed]
Borg joined the professional circuit at age 14. In 1972, at the age of 15, Borg became one of the youngest players ever to represent his country in the Davis Cup and won his debut singles rubber in five sets against seasoned professional Onny Parun of New Zealand. Later that year, he won the Wimbledon junior singles title, recovering from a 5-2 deficit in the final set to overcome Britain's Buster Mottram.
In 1973, Borg reached the Wimbledon main draw quarterfinals in his first attempt. Just before his 18th birthday in 1974, Borg won his first top-level singles title at the Italian Open, becoming its youngest winner. Two weeks later he became the then-youngest winner of the French Open defeating Manuel Orantes in the final 2–6, 6–7, 6–0, 6–1, 6–1. Barely 18 at the time, Borg was the youngest-ever male French Open champion (the record has since been lowered by Mats Wilander in 1982 and Michael Chang in 1989).
In early 1975, Borg defeated the great Rod Laver, then 36 years old, in a semifinal of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) finals in Dallas, Texas 7–6, 3–6, 5–7, 7–6, 6–2. Borg subsequently lost to Arthur Ashe in the final.
Borg retained his French Open title in 1975, beating Guillermo Vilas in the final in straight sets (three sets). Borg then reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals, where he lost to eventual champion Ashe 2-6, 6-4, 8-6, 6-1. Borg did not lose another match at Wimbledon until 1981.
Borg won two singles and one doubles rubber in the 1975 Davis Cup final as Sweden beat Czechoslovakia 3–2. With these singles wins, Borg had won 19 consecutive Davis Cup singles rubbers since 1973. That was already a record at the time. But Borg never lost another Davis Cup singles rubber, and, by the end of his career, he had stretched that winning streak to 33—a Davis Cup record that still stands.
In early 1976, Borg won the World Championship Tennis year ending WCT Finals in Dallas, Texas with a four-set victory over Guillermo Vilas in the final.
At the 1976 French Open Borg lost to the Italian Adriano Panatta, who remains the only player to defeat Borg at this tournament. Panatta did it twice: in the fourth round in 1973 (7–6, 2–6, 7–5, 7–6), and in the 1976 quarter-finals (6–3, 6–3, 2–6, 7–6).
Borg won Wimbledon in 1976 without losing a set, defeating the favored Ilie Năstase in the final. Borg became the youngest male Wimbledon champion of the modern era at 20 years and 1 month (a record subsequently broken by Boris Becker, who won Wimbledon aged 17 in 1985). It would be the last time Borg played Wimbledon as an underdog. Ilie Năstase later exclaimed,"We're playing tennis, he's [Borg] playing something else."
Borg also reached the final of the 1976 US Open, which was then being played on clay courts. Borg lost in four sets to World No. 1 Jimmy Connors.
Borg skipped the French Open in 1977 because he was under contract with WTT, but he repeated his Wimbledon triumph, although this time he was pushed much harder. He defeated his good friend Vitas Gerulaitis in a semifinal 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 8–6.[8] In the final, Borg was pushed to five sets for the third time in the tournament, this time by Connors. The win propelled Borg to the #1 ranking on the computer, albeit for just one week in August.
Through 1977 he had never lost to a player younger than himself.
Borg was at the height of his career from 1978 through 1980, completing the difficult French Open-Wimbledon double all three years.
In 1978, Borg won the French Open with a win over Vilas in the final. Borg did not drop a set during the tournament, a feat only he, Năstase (in 1973), and Rafael Nadal (in 2008 and 2010) have accomplished at the French Open during the open era.
Borg defeated Connors in straight sets at the 1978 Wimbledon. At the US Open, now held on hard courts in Flushing Meadow, New York, he lost the final in straight sets to Connors. That autumn, Borg faced John McEnroe for the first time in a semifinal of the Stockholm Open and was upset 6–3, 6–4.
Borg lost to McEnroe again in four sets in the final of the 1979 WCT Finals but was now overtaking Connors for the top ranking. Borg established himself firmly in the top spot with his fourth French Open singles title and fourth straight Wimbledon singles title, defeating Connors in a straight-set semifinal at the latter tournament. At the French Open, Borg defeated big-serving Victor Pecci in a four-set final, and at Wimbledon, Borg took five sets to overcome an even bigger server, Roscoe Tanner. Borg was upset by Tanner at the US Open, in a four-set quarterfinal played under the lights.
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