"I owe him a call" - Jimmy Connors turns emotional over 'buddy' Bjorn Borg's cancer diagnosis

Bjorn Borg, one of Jimmy Connors' biggest rivals in the 1970s, recently revealed a prostate cancer diagnosis. Despite an advanced stage of the disease, the American former player hoped for the technology to cure the Swedish legend.

Borg made the revelation in his autobiography 'Heartbeats: A Memoir,' which he co-wrote with his wife, Patricia. Popularly known as the 'Ice Borg,' he won 11 Grand Slam titles before his unprecedented retirement at the age of 26, sending shockwaves across the tennis world.

As far as his rivalry with Connors is concerned, the American was leading 8-5 after 13 encounters. However, Borg shifted gears to win the last 10 head-to-head matches and finish with a 15-8 record against the eight-time Major winner.

On the latest episode of the 'Advantage Connors' podcast, Jimmy Connors said he spoke to Bjorn Borg almost every month. However, the American added that they had not communicated since the news of Borg's cancer diagnosis broke. Connors said he will soon get in touch with the 69-year-old.

"Yeah, I saw that. I talk to him once a month, once every four-five weeks, and I haven't talked to him since I found that out. But I talk to him and Patricia, so I owe him a call to really wish him well because there are a lot of things you can do with that now, and I hope he's caught it in time, and I hope he's feeling good," Connors said. "You live life, no matter what. He's never still. I talk to him, he's in Stockholm. I talk to him next time, he's in Ibiza. I talk to him next time, he's in India. He's everywhere. He's non-stop. But he's my buddy, I don't want him going through all that," he added.

Borg won five consecutive Wimbledon titles from 1976 to 1980. He defeated Connors in two of the five championship matches.

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Bjorn Borg vows to beat cancer, compares it to Wimbledon final

Bjorn Borg at the 2025 Wimbledon - Source: Getty

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Bjorn Borg opened up about his battle with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, which he said was discovered in 2023.

“I spoke to the doctor and he said this is really, really bad. He said you have these sleeping cancer cells; it’s going to be a fight in the future. Every six months, I go and test myself. I did my last test two weeks ago. It’s a thing I have to live with. I hope that I’m going to be okay. I take it day by day, year by year, hopefully," Borg said.

Despite the advanced stage, the Swedish icon has decided to fight the disease, which he equates to a Wimbledon final. Borg won five out of six title clashes at SW19. He wrote in his memoir:

“Now, I have a new opponent in cancer, one I can’t control. But I’m going to beat it. I’m not giving up. I fight like every day is a Wimbledon final. And those usually go pretty well, don’t they?”

After retiring at 26, Bjorn Borg turned to drugs and alcohol to escape reality. In his final two Grand Slam appearances in 1981, he lost the Wimbledon final and the US Open final to John McEnroe.

Edited by Parag Jain