Borg to sell Wimbledon trophies

TENNIS: The dashing, blond sex symbol of 1970s tennis - who wore a trademark striped sweat band around his head - is selling all five of his Wimbledon trophies.

Bjorn Borg - also known as The Iceman - ruled the tennis world, winning the French Open six times as well as repeatedly triumphing in London's great tournament.

His silver-gilt trophies, won consecutively from 1976 to 1980, will be sold as a single lot and are expected to reach between €300,000 and €450,000.

It is thought to be the first time a Wimbledon champion has put the treasured prize up for auction.

The 49-year-old - who has a history of struggling business ventures - admitted the sale was to ensure "financial security".

"Obviously it is not easy to part with the trophies that symbolise all the tremendous effort, both physically and emotionally, that it took to win Wimbledon on five occasions," Borg said.

"However, I do need to have some long-term financial security for those close to me and now believe that the time is right for the trophies and racquets to pass to either a tennis collector or a suitable institution where they can be appreciated by a wider number of people.

"Even though the symbols of my victories are being sold, what I will always retain is the knowledge that for such a long period I was the supreme world tennis champion."

Included in the auction at Bonhams in London's Knightsbridge on June 21st are two Donnay racquets Borg used in his 1976 and 1980 Wimbledon finals.

The first he used to beat the Romanian Ilie Nastase and the second helped him to victory in a gruelling five-set match against his US rival John McEnroe. In the fourth-set tie-break, Borg lost to McEnroe 18-16, but he held his nerve to clinch the fifth set and the title 8-6.

The signed racquets are expected to reach between €15,000 and €20,000 each.

The Swede started playing tennis at the age of nine, adopting techniques from ice-hockey to create his famous two-handed backhand. With a total of 11 Grand Slam titles, he retired from the game at 26 - mentally and physically drained by success.