Borg’s dream: to get kids to fall in love with tennis
Anders Borg, director of the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament, talks about his vision to bring tennis to youngsters in the city
But it was more a happy accident than a desire to follow in the footsteps of the great Bjorn Borg that drew Anders to set up a tennis tournament in a city best known for its world-famous footballing heritage. A native of Oslo, Anders had a high-fl ying job as a derivatives broker when he accepted an invitation from a friend to come and watch a game at Goodison Park in 1985. “I’m an Arsenal supporter and Everton thrashed us 6-1,” recalls Anders of his fi rst experience of the city. Despite that inauspicious start, Anders gradually fell in love with Liverpool and began to formulate the
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IVEN his surname and Nordic roots it’s no surprise that Anders Borg was drawn to the world of tennis.
idea of setting up a tennis tournament there. “I wanted to take tennis out of London and bring it to people who wouldn’t normally go to Wimbledon or Queen’s,” he recalls. “I wanted to show what a fantastic day out it is.” T e fi rst Liverpool International Tournament was held in 2002 but it almost did not happen. “We had signed up the then Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic but he had to pull out of our tournament and Wimbledon that year with a shoulder injury – it was a costly experience.” Despite that setback, Anders’ passion for the sport ensured the event went ahead and thrived
over the intervening years, with support from Liverpool City Council. T e players who have graced the grass courts in Calderstones Park in the south of the city read like a Who’s Who of the game’s greats: Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Novak Djokovic, Martina Hingis, Marat Safi n and even the great Bjorn Borg himself. It has now established itself as one of the premier tennis exhibition events in Europe. But the dapper Norwegian now has his sights set on helping a new generation enjoy the game. Anders knows this is no easy task as tennis has always had something of an image problem in the UK, unlike in other countries. Participation in the game is down and after Andy Murray you have to look pretty far down the rankings, to the mid-200s, to fi nd the next British men in Jamie Baker and James Ward. Anders adds: “Part of the problem is that people think tennis is an expensive, elitist sport but it is no more expensive than swimming or football.
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