Borg seemed an unlikely Wimbledon champion. His style of play was much more suited to the slow clay courts of Europe and the French Open in particular, where he won six titles.

But between losing to the eventual champion Arthur Ashe in 1975 and John McEnroe in the 1981 final, "Ice Borg" won a record 41 matches.

And this was in an era when there were many great champions gunning for the greatest prize in the game, including John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl.

There were three years when he won both the French and Wimbledon, and in those days there was only one week of preparation for the grass between the two events.

The one rule of grass court tennis is that you have be a supreme volleyer. But Borg was the exception that proved the rule.

Although no stranger to the net, Borg powered away from the baseline with powerful ground strokes, including a double-handed backhand.

He hit the ball high and brought it down with excessive top-spin. It made it very difficult for opponents to attack him. In other words, he developed the style of play that still dominates the world game today.

Many things about Borg are still an enigma. He retired having just turned 25 after losing the 1981 final to John McEnroe.

The year before the pair had played out probably the classic Wimbledon final of all time - but not everyone remembers Borg actually won that match.