Bjorn Borg

Bjorn Borg

The coolest head the game has known arrived with a headband, a two-handed backhand and heavy topspin no one else dared hit. Bjorn Borg won the French Open at 18 in 1974 and spent the rest of the decade making tennis look like a test only he could pass. His 11 Grand Slam titles split six Roland Garros and five Wimbledons, the Wimbledons in one unbroken run from 1976 to 1980, and in 1978, 1979 and 1980 he did what the sport considered impossible: Paris clay and London grass swept back to back, three years running.

The 1980 Wimbledon final against John McEnroe became his monument, an 18-16 fourth-set tiebreak lost, a fifth set won 8-6 with the ice intact. McEnroe took their next three major finals, and in January 1983, after 109 weeks at No. 1 and 66 career titles, Borg walked away at 26, the US Open unwon after four final defeats there. No champion has left so young with so much still in reach.